Many patients have been referred to sports chiropractors but few really understand the benefit. Indeed sports chiropractors undergo the same training that standard chiropractors do and even incorporate most of the same treatments.
However, sports chiropractors receive additional, specialized training in several areas that distinguish them from standard chiropractors. This makes them more capable of treating movement-impairing sports injuries often suffered by athletes.
In addition to standard spinal alignments, sports chiropractors are able to perform more advanced chiropractic techniques such as:
- Adjusting extremities
- Applying chiropractic techniques to systems affecting movement. This includes the knee, ankles, shoulder, and other joints as well as their surrounding muscle tissues.
- Prescribe exercise plans meant to optimize specific movements necessary for athletic activity.
- Designing custom rehabilitation programs meant to stretch and work areas injured in athletic performance to help players return to their sport.
Keep in mind that “athletes” tend to only form a relatively small portion of patients. While they are specialized in sports to treat the unique needs of athletes, sports chiropractors treat all manner of patients. Their brand of care, specializing in restoring movement, is also ideal for elderly patients or those who have received debilitating injuries.
Governor’s Park is an industry leader in chiropractic care in the Denver, Lone Tree, and Wheat Ridge areas. Qualified caregivers are specialized in a variety of areas including sports chiropractic care.
How Do You Become A Sports Chiropractor?
To become a sports chiropractor, one needs to first complete the training to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. This includes at least three years of undergraduate study and an additional three to five years of graduate study. This training means that all sports chiropractors have the same training as standard chiropractors do.
However, to become an accredited sports chiropractor, one must undergo additional post-doctoral licensing. They must first obtain a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physicians (CCSP) certificate. This proves they have had at least 100 hours of sports medicine-related post-doctoral education and passed a board examination.
After attaining the CCSP, prospective sports chiropractors must then acquire a Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians (DACBSP). The program to gain a DACBSP is a long one, requiring a written exam, multipart practical exams, a written thesis, and 250 hours of practical experience in the field.
What’s The Difference Between Sports Chiropractors And Standard Chiropractors?
After all this training, what makes sports chiropractors so special? Traditional chiropractors mainly focus on diagnosing and treating neuromuscular disorders. This is primarily accomplished by manually manipulating and adjusting a patient’s spine. Sports chiropractors instead take a more holistic approach to treatment and pain relief, with their primary goal being restoring and improving the patient’s range of movement.
This is especially beneficial for athletes, whose range of movement greatly affects their performance. While they also treat neuromuscular disorders, sports chiropractors offer more services to help athletes improve their movements.
What Do Sports Chiropractors Treat Exactly?
Sports chiropractors can provide chiropractic adjustments and chiropractic care, just like standard chiropractors. However, they can offer more services. A big part of their kit is the ability to perform extremity adjustments, something traditional chiropractors are not usually trained to do.
Extremity adjusting is based on aligning a patient’s neurological system (the spine) with their mechanical control system (their extremities). When one’s extremities are misaligned, it offsets their spine into misalignment, and vice versa.
Most athletes still get unexplained soreness and pain occasionally. These ailments could result from misaligned extremities that, if left untreated, can cause misalignment in the spine. However, aligning a spine will not fix the alignment of extremities. Aligning extremities so they are in place to support your nervous system is one of the most important therapies a sports chiropractor can perform.
On top of curative therapy, sports chiropractors are also equipped to provide preventative therapy and offer treatments to reduce pain and improve performance. Sports chiropractic medicine instills a deep knowledge of the mechanics of the body. Sports chiropractors use this knowledge to prescribe treatment plans aimed at improving movement to boost overall athletic performance. This can not only prevent injury of those muscles but can help athletes better perform the movements they use most often.
For those looking to improve their performance or even just restore their range of motion to the highest level, a sports chiropractor could be exactly what you need.
Our experienced and friendly chiropractic staff understands the level of care demanded by athletes to ensure they are at their peak performance level. This is why we work with athletes and anyone else looking to take advantage of our team’s sports chiropractic expertise to form personalized treatment plans. No matter your healthcare needs or goals know that the team at Governor’s Park is here to help.
Contact us today at (720) 928-3683 and discover what our full-service Governor’s Park Chiropractic office can do for you.
