Upper Cervical Care For Sports
Can Upper Cervical Chiropractic Boost Sports Performance?
As an athlete, one is always on the lookout for a new and better way to get a leg up on the competition. Can upper cervical chiropractic care assist in this endeavor? It is helpful to consider some of the research that reveals a correlation between upper cervical chiropractic and improvement in sports performance.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION - So important for every sport!
Participation in sports does place a heavy load on a number of abilities from a person’s agility to their level of endurance. One skill that is really put to the test when it comes to just about every sport is hand-eye coordination. Vision plays a key role. Any type of impaired vision would affect all of these sports-related activities greatly:
- Basketball: Shooting a free throw in a game
- Baseball: Hitting a fastball during a game
- Football: Catching a pass in a fourth-down play
- Tennis/Squash/Racquetball: Hitting a ball with a racquet
- Volleyball: Digging a spike during a volleyball match
Vision impacts every sports-related activity from kicking a field goal to making a big save against that slapshot!
The connection between vision and upper cervical care is highlighted in the results of a study analyzing upper cervical care and its impact on vision.
One study involved 67 participants of both genders, ages 7 to 79. The Snellen chart, where a participant is asked to identify letters that progressively get smaller, was utilized for the initial eye exam. After being under upper cervical chiropractic care for 6 weeks, the subjects were tested again. The results are certainly interesting to consider:
-Improvements, while varied, were enhanced across the chart for just about every patient! What may be the causation of these results? If the C1 vertebra , the atlas, is misaligned, this can cause the brainstem to function improperly. Correction of the misalignment will allow the brainstem to function at its optimal level. This specific part of the central nervous system sends the signals back and forth throughout the entire body; improvement in functionality would help with the senses, sight in particular, when all systems are operating at their optimum!
BREATHING AND SPORT PERFORMANCE
Oxygen is necessary for your muscles to function properly. The lungs are the entryway for the oxygen to access the bloodstream. This is why the act of breathing is such an integral element in overall sports performance. The athlete’s muscles won’t be optimally available during those last two ever-important minutes of a contest or that last push at the end of a long run if proper breathing is not part of the equation. How does any of this relate to the upper cervical spine? The brainstem comes into play once again!
The body’s involuntary functions, including breathing, are all powered by the brainstem. In another study to see if upper cervical chiropractic would affect pulmonary function, participants between the ages of 48 and 80 experienced quite a wide range of results. Increases in the amount of air that the participants could exhale following a deep breath were meaningful! More air was able to be ingested, which equals more oxygen for the body to use, more energy, and greater overall endurance. In order to help a person achieve their overall maximum athletic performance, upper cervical chiropractic can assist in more ways than one!
BASEBALL PLAYERS IMPROVE PERFORMANCE FOLLOWING UPPER CERVICAL FROM A SPORTS CHIROPRACTOR
Upper cervical chiropractic allowed for a control group to be easily established because it is a gentle approach versus one in which the athlete might be twisted and/or ‘popped’. Twenty-one baseball players in one study underwent the exercise of either receiving a true upper cervical adjustment or an ‘imitation’ adjustment. What did this study find?
Those players receiving upper cervical adjustments demonstrated more improvements in muscle strength, long jump ability, and microcirculation of both the right and left middle fingers, which is used to measure circulation, after a mere five weeks than the others in the control group. At the end of the study, which lasted for 14 weeks, every category continued to see improvement except for the long jump category. The vertical jumping ability was also enhanced for those receiving care as opposed to those who were not.
As an athlete seeks to improve all areas of their athletic prowess, including strength, jumping ability, and circulation in an attempt to produce their optimal potential on the field, coming under upper cervical care certainly makes sense! Upper cervical chiropractic care at Limitless Chiropractic, Ballantyne, Charlotte, is here to help you achieve the athletic success you desire!
To clarify, the adjustments that take place during upper cervical care are gentle in nature. Because upper cervical care is all about accuracy and low-force, the adjustment “holds” (can stay in place) and provides the body with the time it requires for proper healing and restoration to normal functioning.
Athletic injuries, such as a concussion and sciatica, can greatly benefit from upper cervical care, which can play a key role in eliminating some of the long-term effects from both of these conditions. The neck is an important area of focus as changes to the lower back leading to sciatica can start here and then work their way downward to lower portions of the body. Athletes will want to pay particular attention in the rehabilitation process following an injury that could potentially produce “benching” or limit future playing time.
Upper cervical chiropractic care has been proven to provide a gentle and safe method to enhance your athletic skills and abilities. The benefits of boosting brainstem function and its impacts on sight, breathing, strength, agility, circulation, endurance, and other vital athletic skills can help to prolong the length of the athlete’s career while allowing the athlete to live limitless!
CONTACT LIMITLESS CHIROPRACTIC!
The Charlotte Chiropractor & chiropractic experts at Limitless Chiropractic that specialize in many chiropractic services including: Chiropractic Adjustments, Pregnancy Chiropractic Care, Pediatric Chiropractor Care, Sports Chiropractor Care & Upper Cervical Care.