How Chiropractic Benefits Cheerleaders
How Chiropractic Benefits CheerleadersWhen we think of cheerleaders we usually think of pretty girls in colorful outfits, pom-poms in hand, cheering for a sports team. They are way more than that though. Cheerleaders are serious athletes.
It has taken a while, but the public is starting to realize finally just how true this is. Data collected by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR), revealed that between 1982 and 2009, cheerleaders made up for more than 70 percent of catastrophic injuries in women’s college sports. At the high school level, the number exceeded 60 percent for the same time period.
Some claim this high percentage of injuries among cheerleaders is due to lax regulations at state levels since some states refuse to recognize cheerleading as a sport, and other organizations, such as the NCAA, still do not either. The resulting situation is there are negative consequences for those in the cheerleading arena. There's no continuity of sportsmanship rules or equipment standards mandated for cheerleaders or cheerleading squads. In addition, cheerleaders because of this may feel the need to prove themselves as "real athletes" to other members of the sports world—and so carry out harder, more dangerous maneuvers in order to do so.
Since chiropractic treats the whole body via spinal adjustments, physical therapy, and soft tissue techniques, patients can receive complete care after an injury and during rehabilitation. Cheerleaders are finding that chiropractic care provides numerous benefits and can even make them better athletes.
It helps to improve range of motion
Chiropractic care helps to improve a person’s range of motion which in turn helps to prevent injury and relieve the pain of injury. Chiropractic is growing in its popularity within the field of sports medicine because of its effectiveness.
It helps to prevent injury
Even when no injury is present, athletes can benefit from chiropractic care. This is especially true in high impact sports like cheerleading where athletes push their bodies beyond limits through acrobatics and some of the strenuous tricks that they do in the course of their sport. Chiropractic helps to loosen muscles, making them more pliable and flexible, thus less prone to injury.
Chiropractic helps relieve pain from injury
A study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in March 2011 shows that chiropractic for pain relief can alleviate the pain of hamstring injury. The study was conducted over the course of a football season and involved 43 professional cheerleaders for football various football teams.
Throughout the study, the cheerleaders received specific exercise intervention. At the end of the study, those who had reported pain due to a hamstring injury experienced a significant reduction in pain from the chiropractic treatment they received.
Chiropractic care can increase physical strength
While chiropractic is considered a therapy typically for alleviating skeletal and muscular complaints, a study in 2011 showed it can also improve physical strength. The study involved judo athletes competing at the national level who used cervical spinal manipulative therapy (SMT). The final results of the study showed a 16 percent improvement in grip strength among the athletes who received only three SMT sessions.
The case for chiropractic care for athletes is very strong. It can help during training, recovery from injury, rehabilitation, and at every point in between. Although cheerleaders are still in their infancy of being recognized as serious athletes, the case for chiropractic care as a viable sports medicine therapy to improve performance and recover from injury is significant.
The benefits that cheerleaders can receive from chiropractic therapy as well as other therapies they employ, such as modalities using light therapy (like Class III or IV Lasers), can really give them something to cheer about both on and off the field. Give Millar Chiropractic a call today at 256-830-0000 if you're a cheerleader and are experiencing pain because of your high activity level or because of an injury. We are here for you!
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