Can Chiropractic Care Help Improve Basketball Performance?
Basketball is a sport that requires extreme athleticism.
Basketball players at the highest levels can jump, run, and perform athletic feats in ways that most of the population could only dream of.
However, basketball also poses a significant injury risk. A sprained ankle, for example, can put an athlete out of commission for weeks, months, or even longer.
Fortunately, chiropractic care can help basketball players recover from injuries and improve their performance through natural, tried and true treatment methods.
Common Basketball Injuries
With tall, athletic individuals sprinting and jumping on a 90-foot by 50-foot court, injuries are bound to happen. Let’s review some of the most frequently encountered injuries in basketball players.
- Sprained Ankles. The human ankle is made up of a series of bones and ligaments that allow for incredible mobility and power production. However, ankle sprains are extremely common issues, especially in basketball players. Generally, ankle sprains occur on the lateral, or outside, portion of the ankle. That being said, there are also injuries known as medial, or inside, ankle sprains, as well as high ankle sprains (also known as syndesmosis sprains). Each of these injuries can take a long time to heal, depending on the extent of the damage.
- Pulled Hamstrings. “Pulls”, or strains, are injuries to muscles and/or tendons. Hamstring strains are extremely common in basketball players due to the lower body demands involved in the sport. Namely, basketball players need to accelerate into a max sprint at the drop of a hat during a game. Hamstring pulls can decrease performance and limit the ability of basketball players overall. For this reason, it’s always best to avoid these injuries through strength training and an effective warmup before games and practices.
- Knee Injuries. Sports that require significant amounts of jumping, such as basketball and volleyball, put incredible stress through the knee joints. Therefore, many basketball players will often experience knee pain. This knee pain can be vague in nature, or it may be due to a specific condition. Regardless, keeping the knees healthy is critical for a long, successful basketball career.
- Broken Noses. Bokeh bones are common in any sport. Broken noses, specifically, are very common in basketball. This is especially true for undersized forwards or centers who are right at elbow height of their competitors. In truth, broken noses aren’t generally considered to be severe injuries. However, quickly setting and addressing the nose injury is vital for ensuring that the player is able to breathe through his or her nose again in the future.
Each of these injuries can respond well to chiropractic care. By ensuring that the spine is in perfect alignment, chiropractors can help injured athletes heal and develop better connections between the nervous system and the rest of the body’s tissues.
But while we know that chiropractors can aid in recovery for basketball players, it’s worth investigating whether chiropractic treatments can improve athletic performance. Let’s take a look.
Improving Basketball Performance through Chiropractic Care
The nervous system is involved, in some way, with every single process in the body. When an injury or subluxation prevents the spinal cord from conveying and receiving messages to and from the body’s tissues, problems tend to arise.
Furthermore, having a suboptimal alignment in the spine is often associated with decreased athletic performance. Through receiving regular chiropractic treatment, basketball players and other athletes can restore their spines to perfect health and thereby improve their athletic performance.
Are you a basketball player who has been looking for ways to recover from injury or improve performance? If so, it’s time for you to stop by your Noblesville chiropractor’s office at Anchor Health Chiropractic. Book your appointment today!
