You are a serious athlete. You spend countless hours training your body and pushing yourself to the limit. You fearlessly perform difficult and often dangerous stunts with timing, strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination – all while looking good doing it. At Dr. Phil Pinto Family Chiropractic, we want you and your families to know how quality chiropractic care can give your athletic performance a competitive edge and, most importantly, help reduce the risk of injuries to you and your squad.
What is Chiropractic?
The word chiropractic literally means “done by the hand” and it’s defined as a healthcare system devoted to the analysis and correction of nerve interference. When your body is stressed (either by physical, chemical, or emotional factors) a bone in your spine, or vertebrae, can become misaligned. When this occurs it can cause pressure or irritation to nerves, creating a disturbance in nervous system function. This whole process is known as a subluxation. Your nervous system controls every major function in your body, and affects your internal organs, glands, muscles, joints and discs. In children and teens, the nervous system is the master control system of growth,
repair, and the function of every tissue and organ in the body.
What Our Chiropractors Do
To restore optimum expression of this vital system, our doctors make a series of safe, gentle ‘adjustments’ carefully restoring normal alignment and function to the spine. At Dr. Pinto Family Chiropractic, we also recognize that strengthening, toning and stabilizing the muscles that support your spine helps to maintain these adjustments. Our doctors incorporate the most effective physical therapy techniques into your chiropractic regimen so you can get the best possible results.
A Competitive Edge
The spine is the core of your body, and all of your muscles and extremities are attached to it. If you stabilize your spine and remove nerve interference, your body is free to perform at its maximum potential. Chiropractic adjustments keep an athlete’s body balanced and in proper alignment. By having the hips, shoulders and spine aligned, an athlete can run, jump and perform at 100%
The major athletic benefits of chiropractic are:
- Improves balance and posture
- Increases flexibility and range of motion
- Improves reaction time
- Naturally boosts the immune system
- Reduces the risk of injury and helps an athlete recover more quickly after an injury
- Allows athletes to be treated naturally, without the use of drugs
Something to Cheer About
Whether you’re a flyer, base or spotter, chiropractic care can benefit your athletic performance, but most importantly it can help prevent injuries. The last thing anyone wants is to be injured or cause an injury to a teammate. Cheerleading injuries often result from gymnastic tumbling or a flyer falling from a pyramid or basket toss. However, did you know that serious injuries can also occur during basic routines, especially when performed on a hard gymnasium floor? Keeping your body aligned and in peak performance is vital in reducing the risk of an injury. For example, you’re less likely to roll an ankle when one leg isn’t presenting shorter than the other. You’re also less likely to strain your wrist when your shoulders are balanced and not favoring one side. Here are some examples of how chiropractic care can benefit specific positions on the squad. In many cases, balance is key to avoiding many cheerleading injuries.
Flyers – Keeping your hips and thighs ‘pinch penny’ tight can be easier when your hips are balanced and your spine is aligned. Improved balance and core strength can also help you stay as stiff as possible for your bases. Improved coordination and control of your extremities can make it easier to hold your position while doing a stunt.
Bases – You are the foundation of a stunt and your position requires strength, alertness and timing. Keeping your back straight and having excellent posture are vital to the lifting required of you. Injuries to the back often occur from not being able to maintain a strong, aligned core, resulting in using your back to lift instead of your legs, shoulders, and arms.
Spotters – Your position is no easy task. The responsibility of preventing injury to the flyer rests on your shoulders, or rather in your arms, and having the quickest reaction time possible is vital. Catching flyers can put a lot of strain and stress on your body, resulting in reduced performance and a greater risk of injury to everyone.
Most Common Cheer Injuries
It’s not surprising that cheerleaders are vulnerable to a vast number of injuries, and the ankle and wrist/hand appear to be the most common – Consistent chiropractic care can help reduce the risk of an ankle or wrist injury from happening in the first place. In addition, when an injury does occur chiropractic care has been shown to be highly effective in alleviating pain and disability after an ankle or wrist injury.
Be Safe & Proactive
We recommend a visit to your chiropractor after any cheerleading injury, regardless of how minor it may seem. Remember that subluxations can affect many areas and inhibit your body from performing at its maximum potential. Even in situations when you don’t fall and hit the ground, the sudden seizing up of the muscles is enough to throw things out of place. A problem caught early is always easier to take care of before it worsens and becomes a serious issue. Not to mention that a serious injury can take you out for weeks. At Dr. Pinto Family Chiropractic, our doctors will work hard to ensure that your injury, big or small, heals as quickly and safely as possible. And don’t wait for an injury to get checked by your chiropractic.
Regular chiropractic care benefits all athletes – including cheerleaders – by preventing injury and maintaining optimum performance.
For more information, you can contact Dr. Pinto at:
661-253-9600 or info@scvwellnessclinic.com