Tag Archives: sports chiropractic care

How Chiropractic Care Can Help You Enjoy Spring

Spring into Wellness 

 

As the seasons change and the days grow warmer, patients across the U.S. are preparing for spring. While winter is an enjoyable time for many, others are looking forward to a season of new beginnings. Still, others are looking forward to relief from the joint pain that often comes with winter. Whether you’re looking to alleviate the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or relief from sports-related injuries, there are many ways a chiropractor can help improve your quality of life throughout spring.

 

Say Goodbye to Winter Blues

 

Winter is a beautiful season but leaves many susceptible to joint pain, injuries, and depression. Season Affective Disorder (or SAD), which is more common during fall and winter, occurs due to a lack of serotonin. Left untreated, SAD can lead to bouts of depression and joint pain. Thankfully, a chiropractor can alleviate the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Through spinal manipulations and adjustments, your chiropractor can relieve joint pressure and improve nerve function. This, in turn, alleviates the symptoms of SAD. 

 

March Madness 


As the days get warmer, more and more people will spend their time outdoors. While some will engage in low-risk activities, others will play high-impact sports. This includes, but is not limited to: 

  • Baseball 
  • Basketball 
  • Football
  • Waterskiing
  • Running
  • Rugby
  • Tennis
  • Gymnastics

 

While high-impact sports are a great way to exercise and build strength, they come with a higher risk of injuries. Thankfully, chiropractors are fully equipped to handle any sports-related injuries. To help treat any injuries you might receive on the field, a chiropractor will perform a full assessment. This includes gathering information about your medical history and any past injuries. Then, after carefully examining the injury, a chiropractor will perform soft tissue manipulation, spinal manipulation, therapeutic modalities, education, and exercise prescriptions.

 

Mood Boosters 

Finally, chiropractic care can boost your mood and give you extra energy. Chiropractors reduce joint restrictions which, in turn, can reduce any pain or suffering you might experience throughout spring. Plus, the more energy you have and the better your body functions, the better you will feel! 

 

If you would like to add chiropractic care to your routine before spring hits, contact the professionals at Allen County Family & Sports Chiropractic. Dr. Michael Hartle and his team are experts in treating patients no matter their activity level. Book an appointment today! Dr. Hartle can usually see you the same day you book an appointment.

5 Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Athletes

In 2019 alone, over one million injuries were caused by playing sports. Many of these injuries happened on the field, where over 800,000 injuries were caused by participating in sports. Bicycling had the highest casualty numbers (over 417,000 cyclists were injured while riding), with basketball (404,000 injuries) and football (292,000 injuries) following close behind. As athletes debate where and how to treat their injuries, many will inevitably turn to chiropractic care. Chiropractic care offers many benefits for aspiring and professional athletes, but there is an overwhelming amount of information on the internet. To help, here are five benefits that athletes can expect from chiropractors:

1. It can Treat (and Prevent) Injuries:

Experienced athletes know how common it is to injure themselves on the field. Therefore, a large part of an athlete’s healthcare program should include preventing, as well as treating, common injuries. Thankfully, a chiropractor can do both! 

Athletes’ bodies undergo enormous amounts of stress daily. To combat this, chiropractors can perform spinal adjustments and massage therapy to treat injuries. Spinal adjustment reduces pain in the joints and muscles, which helps to prevent injuries, while massage therapy increases blow flow to the muscles to help them heal. Additionally, it also restores one’s range of motion.  

2. It can Increase Performance

According to The Odyessy, athletes who make repeated visits to the chiropractor see increased performance while playing. In fact, several studies claim that athletes can see a 30% increase in performance after 12 weeks of care. This, according to The Odyessy, is a result of the increased range of motion people receive after repeated chiropractic care. 

3. Improved Strength 

The European Journal of Supplied Physiology published a study in 2018 claiming that regular chiropractic care can improve athlete’s strength. After separating a group of Taekwondo athletes into two groups – one which received chiropractic care and one that did not – they found that those who received care demonstrated increased muscle strength. The experiment was replicated with a group of U.S. military personal and found similar results. 

4. It’s a Natural Treatment

Surgeries and medication are typically the last resort in a treatment plan. Many people, athletes included, turn to natural remedies before considering extreme measures. Chiropractic treatment is non-invasive and drug-free. As an added bonus, the lack of surgery means that, for most athletes, they can return to the field straight away. 

5. It Reduces Stress 

Massage therapy is incredibly relaxing! If you’re an athlete looking to relieve stress and anxiety before playing, try the Swedish massage, one of the most commonly used techniques in America. The Swedish massage promotes general health and wellbeing throughout the body and is reportedly very relaxing. 

Dr. Michael Hartle and his team are experts in treating patients no matter their activity level. Book an appointment today! Dr. Hartle can usually see you the same day you book an appointment. 

Chronic vs Acute Pain: How Chiropractors Help

Chiropractors are well-versed in treating pain. Whether it’s back, neck, or spinal complications, chiropractors correct ailments throughout the body. However, not all pain is temporary. Chronic pain, which the NHS defines as “persistent pain that carries on for twelve weeks” and resists medication, is a serious condition that causes unnecessary suffering. On the other hand, acute pain lasts less than three months and is typically the result of an injury. While chronic and acute pain can be debilitating, both conditions can be treated.

Chronic vs Acute Pain: What’s the Difference?

Before discussing how chiropractors treat different types of pain, we must understand the difference between chronic and acute pain. Chronic pain is constant: it can last for weeks, months, and even years. Caused by several factors, including, but not limited to poor posture, traumatic injury, spinal issues, and more, chronic pain lasts long after injuries have healed. Examples of chronic pain include:

  •       Headaches
  •       Lower back pain
  •       Cancer pain
  •       Arthritis pain
  •       Nerve damage

Acute pain, according to WebMD, “starts suddenly and usually feels sharp.” Unlike chronic pain, acute pain can last moments or even months. While acute pain normally signals an injury, it disappears after the injury has healed. Acute injuries include, but are not limited to:

  •       Broken bones
  •       Burns
  •       Cuts

If left untreated, acute pain can become chronic pain.

How Chiropractors Treat Acute and Chronic Pain

For those who suffer from prolonged pain, there is hope. There is a wide variety of medical and holistic treatments available to help treat pain. If you’ve exhausted all your medical options, chiropractic treatment may be right for you.

Chiropractors are well-versed in treating different types of chronic pain. First, your chiropractor will perform a physical assessment to local the pain. Next, they’ll develop a treatment plan. The most popular remedy for chronic pain is a spinal adjustment – a series of firm movements that apply pressure to vertebrae. For other issues, chiropractors may use the flexion-distraction technique (most commonly used for whiplash injuries) or instrument-assisted manipulation. As the name suggests, your chiropractor will use a small, hand-held instrument to apply gentle pressure to stretch soft tissue. This, in turn, will relieve pain.

Chiropractors treat chronic pain and acute pain similarly. To treat acute pain, a chiropractor will first perform a physical assessment. Next, they’ll work with you to develop a treatment plan. Your treatment will depend on your symptoms: for example, those suffering from subluxation or joint restriction as a result of a fracture should undergo a Gonstead chiropractic evaluation. Patients with burn scars may benefit from massage therapy, which controls the development of scar tissue and helps burn victims heal more quickly.

Allen County Family & Sports Chiropractic treats both acute and chronic pain using proven, natural methods. To help manage your pain, schedule an appointment with us today. Dr. Michael Hartle and his team of experts can usually see you the same day you call.

What Athletes Use Sports Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic services aren’t limited to just those who suffer from acute or chronic pain. Chiropractors use their techniques for specific issues on people of all ages and walks of life. But one of the most popular services is sports chiropractic, which can help boost athletic performance and prevent injury. There are many athletes and sports fields that utilize the methods of chiropractic care.

Sports Chiropractic Favored by Athletes

Do your favorite all-stars see a chiropractor? You may be surprised to learn many famous and successful athletes use sports chiropractic care to maintain and boost athletic performance. They also use it to:

  • Enhance flexibility
  • Reduce pain
  • Increase recovery
  • Prevent or lessen injury

All of these benefits are why stars like Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Arnold Schwartzenegger, and others relied on sports chiropractic care to help them achieve goals and win championships.

Benefits of Sports Chiropractic Care

Let’s dive a little deeper into some of these benefits so you can fully understand why these athletes — and many sports teams, including 32 NFL and 28 MLB teams — use chiropractors on-site.

Flexibility and Injury Reduction

Do your muscles ever feel tight, and your movement limited? This issue can be detrimental to an athlete. Not only will their athletic performance drop, but stiff, locked muscles and joints make them more vulnerable to injury. Chiropractic services focused on sports aim to enhance an athlete’s flexibility. By correcting alignment and encouraging movement in our joints, athletes can safely move and twist their bodies (and come into contact with others or hard surfaces) without the same risk of injury.

Enhanced Recovery Time

Nothing can prevent injury completely. Even if I ran behind Michael Jordan and checked him after every slam dunk, he could still suffer an injury! However, sports chiropractic services invigorate our body’s systems to speed up healing time when damage does occur. By aligning your spine and lessening the irritation and inflammation between the vertebrae, the body gets a significant boost that allows you to perform better overall. When your body is optimized, and the injury is less impactive, you shorten the healing time. 

Reduced Pain

Lastly, chiropractic services can assist athletes by reducing pain. Many athletes are just like you, and experience bouts of acute flareups or chronic pain. These conditions can be due to injury or strain, or directly from daily stress, lack of sleep, or dehydration. Athletes also suffer from things like headaches or neck and back pain. Traditional chiropractic adjustments correct misaligned or stuck bones and decompress joints.

Ice Baths, Heat, and Massage

Athletes can use other techniques to help with stressed bodies. You may see movies showing ice baths and heat applications to help relieve muscles, injury, and pain. Chiropractic services often include these techniques. Massage can be particularly healing, as it removes “knots” (aka tense muscle fibers and fascial tissues) to reduce trigger points and tightness. Massage can reduce pain and make your muscles more loose and agile.

Why We Offer Chiropractic Care in Fort Wayne, Indiana

At Allen County Sports and Family Chiropractic, we love providing fantastic chiropractic care in Fort Waye, Indiana. It’s our home, and we feel lucky to live and work in such a beautiful community. As chiropractors in Indiana, we believe that every town, city, and neighborhood should have exceptional chiropractic care, including family- and sport-focused.

When it comes to healthcare, you have a lot from which to choose. We feel honored to be your source of healthy, safe, chiropractic care here in Fort Waye. 

Finding Good Chiropractors in Indiana

We know that people can feel nervous about seeking chiropractic therapy. We’ve addressed some of the myths and fears that are often associated with chiropractors on our blog before. Because we know that it’s at the back of your mind, we understand the importance of finding safe, high-quality treatments. We strive to provide outstanding service from our team of trained, certified, and reputable staff.   

There are many chiropractors in Indiana, but not all provide what we feel is the necessary diversity of services. At Allen County Sports and Family Chiropractic, we focus on the entire body as a whole. We combine traditional chiropractic techniques, like adjustments, with training, nutrition, and even massage. Together, these four practices fully support your body exactly as you need it. 

We Provide a Variety of Chiropractic Care in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Our primary chiropractic physician, Dr. Michael Hartle, specializes in traditional and sports chiropractic medicine. He’s also a board-certified Clinical Nutritionist (DACBN), a Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician (CCSP), an Active Release Technique (ART) provider, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). 

We value this variety of specialties because we understand the body’s connection between skeletal health, nutrition, muscle strength, and training. You can rest assured that Dr. Hartle has you covered! In addition to sports and nutrition specialties, we also offer therapeutic massage from our Massage Therapist, Joshua Poulin. Massage is a significant complement to our adjustments. Whether you’re old or young, an athlete or not, we can help you feel your best with regular chiropractic care in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

Sports in Fort Wayne

The community of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is particularly active. We live in a beautiful place with rolling plains that allow for superb opportunities to bike, run, and walk. We’re also lucky to live at the confluence of three rivers, meaning we have many watersports to enjoy.

Being active is great for your health, but it also puts a strain on your muscles and joints that, over time, can cause misalignment issues. That’s why we rest after exercise. But sometimes your body needs a little help with chiropractic care. Slight manipulations of the joints will help your body relearn proper alignments and keep you more loose and flexible. As a result, you recover faster and feel better sooner. 

So when looking for chiropractors in Indiana, be sure to find one that provides full-body support. Your body works together to ensure you can continue to enjoy the outdoor activities in beautiful Fort Wayne, and throughout our entire great state. And if you’re ever in our neighborhood, pop in and say hi!

What Do Chiropractors Do?

The question may sound simple enough, but a lot of people misunderstand what chiropractors do. There are a lot of rumors and misconceptions that make people even fear going to the chiropractor. Because we provide family chiropractic care in Fort Wayne, Indiana, we want to address the common myths and assure our community that we’re here to help!

Chiropractors Address Pain

Patients often seek chiropractic care when dealing with one (or more) of these three main types of pain: acute pain that flares up from time to time, chronic pain that impairs their daily life, and pain associated with sports and exercise. Chiropractors address other issues, too, but let’s focus on pain management to start. 

Acute and Chronic Pain

Chiropractors help patients manage and heal the pain that impairs their bodies. Whether it’s acute or chronic, first, we determine its source and cause. We work with bones, muscles, and joints. These three work together to keep your body aligned, loose, and flexible. When any of these goals are missing, that’s when you feel pain. 

High-quality chiropractic care in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is easy to find with us! We always take a comprehensive look at the entire body, often starting with X-rays and an assessment. Once we find the source of the pain, we can make a treatment plan. 

Integrative Treatment Plans

Family chiropractors work with people of all ages, including children, so each treatment plan is unique to you, your body, and your pain. Some are quite simple, requiring a few adjustments over time, followed by a regular annual visit. Others require more adjustments or other components like physical training, diet, and massage. It all depends on the type of pain and its location in your body.

Sports chiropractors work similarly, but those treatment plans often focus on long-term care that helps enhance athletic performance. Perhaps we’ll work with athletes during an entire season or even throughout the year. Regular adjustments, stretching, massage, training, and a healthy diet can keep the body more flexible and less prone to injuries. 

What is an Adjustment?

We often hear questions about adjustments. They sound scary, we agree. But forget the images of muscle and bone manipulation or the fear that family chiropractors can hurt you! Our exceptional chiropractic care in Fort Wayne, Indiana, provides the most advanced methods. We use gentle movements and small tools that help stimulate joints back into an optimal position. Misaligned joints shift bones, tighten muscles, and put a strain on your body, causing pain. Adjustments move everything back into the place where it should be.

Family chiropractors recommend several adjustments at the beginning of your treatment because our muscle memory will slowly put them back into an uncomfortable position. Gradually, we help those joints, bones, and muscles remember the correct, pain-free placement, which is why you can phase out of chiropractic care. Still, annual visits can help maintain the pain for longer and even prevent it in the future.

Can Seeing a Sports Chiropractor Help your Athletic Abilities?

Patients generally use chiropractic care to help alleviate and prevent pain in the body. The targeted pain tends to be in the muscles and joints because of alignment issues. This type of care is beneficial to all because don’t we all want to be pain-free? But there’s also an entire focus that often goes unnoticed in the field, which is the work of sports chiropractors. 

Good, strategic chiropractic care goes beyond the stereotypes surrounding it. As a family chiropractor in Indiana, Allen County Family and Sports Chiropractic offers services and a treatment philosophy that promotes overall health and well-being. This focus goes beyond muscles and bones and includes food, exercise, and sports. With consistent treatment by a sports chiropractor, you can: 

  • Enhance your athletic performance 
  • Prevent injuries
  • Reduce recovery time for injuries
  • Increase endurance during training

Sports Chiropractors & Enhanced Performance

Spine misalignment can cause a ripple effect throughout your body. Many normal bodily functions and systems can suffer, leaving your body more prone to acute and chronic pain. You can develop pain within your muscles, nerves, and joints, plus generate issues with discs and ligaments. When your body is experiencing discomfort and reacting to it, it can limit your athletic potential by slowing down your ability to perform adequately.

Sports chiropractors implement the same techniques and treatments as any chiropractor, but they focus on athletic bodies and performance. By keeping the spine aligned and healthy, you create a balance in the body. As a result, athletes experience less pain and better performance within their sport. 

If you think chiropractic care isn’t for athletes, then you’re mistaken. Over 90% of professional athletes use sports chiropractors, as do most teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.  

Increased Endurance & Fewer Injuries

If you’re an athlete and want to increase your endurance for training purposes, consider chiropractic care. When your spine is aligned correctly—resulting in reduced pain in muscles, joints, ligaments, and more—you can train harder and longer. With better training comes a reduction in injuries, as your body’s alignment lessens stress on the body and improves your range of motion. When your body is stiff in action, it’s more prone to injury. But when you have fluid movement without the risk of injury, you can do so much more.

Reduced Recovery Time

As a family chiropractor in Indiana, we offer sports care to keep athletes healthy and to prevent injury. But we can’t prevent all damage, so when an injury does occur, we use regular chiropractic care to reduce healing time. Because your chiropractor aligns your spine and lessens the irritation and inflammation between the vertebrae, the body performs better overall. This enhanced function also includes the body’s ability to heal. 

Aside from regular adjustments, massage and stretching can also help reduce healing time due to sports injury. Healthy eating and mental health are also essential components in optimal athletic performance. With a holistic view of treatment, athletes can benefit greatly from chiropractic care.

Types of Chiropractors

Visiting a chiropractor is often a result of some pain in the body. When deciding which type of chiropractor to see, it’s essential to understand which variety of practice is best for your situation. In general, there are a few types of chiropractic methods: symptom-relief, sports, and wellness. Your symptoms, kind of pain, and treatment goals will all determine which approach is best for you. 

It’s also essential to consider the purpose of your treatment. Are you interested in relieving symptoms or healing the body? Are you hoping to enhance sports performance and daily life, or do you need simple adjustments? Whatever your goals for recovery, there is a different type of chiropractor for you.

Symptom-Relief Chiropractors

For those that need to decrease symptoms of pain, such as headaches or neck and back pain, musculoskeletal treatment may be best. This method involves traditional chiropractic adjustments focused on painful areas set within the spine. Symptom-relief chiropractors temporarily reduce pain, free misaligned or stuck bones, and decompress joints.

One reason why patients gravitate toward symptom-relief chiropractors is that they tend to work with more insurance companies. So check your policy because it may cover these types of traditional adjustments. However, remember that to remain pain-free requires regular visits and an extended treatment plan. Many chiropractors advise against only persuing symptom-relief practices. Instead, many practitioners recommend combining regular adjustments with wellness therapy.

Wellness Chiropractors

Wellness chiropractors use traditional adjustments and techniques to relieve pain, but they also focus on long-term healing of the body. Daily life can stress the body, specifically the spinal column. After so many weeks or years of built-up pressure, small misalignments or fixations can occur. These issues result in pain that can lead to more severe symptoms if left untreated. 

Unlike a symptom-relief-only focus, wellness chiropractors continue treatment beyond feelings of pain to keep the body regenerating and healing itself. They also use healthy eating, exercise, hydration, and mental health to support the body. If you’re looking to relieve symptoms of pain quickly, but also help the body in long-term healing, then wellness chiropractic care is the better choice. 

You’ll often find other professionals in wellness chiropractic offices, such as a dietician, a massage therapist, or a personal trainer. Additionally, you may use tools at home, such as foam neck extenders or specialized pillows. All-in-all, wellness chiropractors use a more holistic view to heal the entire body.

Sports Chiropractors

Those who are athletes can visit a chiropractor specific to sports. Sports chiropractors work with those who develop pain and injury from their careers in athleticism. You may be surprised to learn that many professional teams use sports chiropractors to assist with injuries on and off the field. That’s because they can use symptom-relief techniques immediately, while also focusing on wellness methods. 

Sports chiropractors use their knowledge to focus on sports performance. They are well-informed about how different wellness benefits, such as diet, exercise, training, and conditioning, can enhance athletic achievement. They also use adjustments for symptom relief and to encourage natural healing and regeneration in the body when injuries occur.

Sports Chiropractors – Facts vs. Myths

If you’re a professional sports player or athletic trainer, chances are you’ve heard of – if not been to – a sports chiropractor. If you’re not one of those two groups (like the rest of us), you might have never heard of this type of chiropractic physician before. As such, we wanted to get you in the know one of the best ways we know how – busting myths and telling facts. 

Are Sports Chiropractors Doctors?

Yes! Just like all other types of doctors, a certified chiropractic sports physician is required to go to chiropractic college and obtain a graduate-level degree. This enables them to practice and ensures that they can do everything in their power to heal their patients while keeping them safe. 

Are Chiropractors Legitimate?

This (annoying) myth claims that chiropractic care is nothing but a scam. In reality, these doctors are real and helpful without a doubt. Trusted by NFL teams, world-class athletes, and many Olympians – these doctors know how to help your body stay in top shape. They don’t “crack bones.” They help to manipulate your spine to heal you without medicine – something everyone should love.

Do they really boost athletic performance? 

In some cases, yes! While a chiropractic sports medicine doctor’s real goal is to treat and prevent injury, a byproduct can be a boost in the performance of the athlete that’s getting treated. In fact, that’s why so many professional athletes choose to go to a doctor regularly. 

Is Pain Relief Real? 

Along the lines of “scam” myths, many think that the benefits of chiropractic care are fake. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Sports-trained chiropractic doctors have a deep understanding of the musculoskeletal system as it related to a sports-related injury. As such, they understand what’s wrong with the body and can help heal it and reduce pain. 

Are They Covered by Insurance? 

In the United States, insurance is expensive. It’s no surprise and talked about almost daily on the news. That usually brings this myth to the forefront of many new patient’s minds. While it varies by insurance, chiropractors specializing in sports injury and family (like us) are part of the specialist coverage section of your insurance. However, you should always talk to your provider and call ahead to make sure you’ll be covered. 

What Can They Help With? 

If you think nothing is the answer, you’re not alone – but you are wrong! The truth of the matter is chiropractic doctors can help to relieve lower back pain, relieve neck pain, improve range of motion, and so much more. If you have a bodily pain and don’t know what can be done, get a consultation with us to see how it can be improved today!