For 10 years, I was a competitive swimmer, and a swim coach for 5 years. I played rugby league, cricket, basketball and many more sports. The biggest problem I’ve seen in this time is people over-stretching, over-triggering and over-rolling without any understanding of why certain muscles are going tight in the first place.
So, it doesn’t surprise me to see these stats related to Australian injuries:
- In 2016-17, there were approximately 531,000 sports-related injuries reported in Australia, which equates to about 1 in 19 Australians getting injured while playing sport. (1)
- In 2018-2019, there were approximately 107,335 serious workers’ compensation claims lodged, which translates to a rate of around 10.1 claims per 1,000 employees. (8)
Top Complaints We See
Some of the main complaints we see regularly in clinic are –
- Hamstring sprains,
- Calves’ sprains,
- Achilles tears,
- ACLs,
- Shoulder impingements,
- Headaches,
- Low back & neck pain.
Re-injury Rates
It may surprise you that the re-injury rates of some of the most common complaints are:
- Low Back Pain – up to 95% (9)
- Neck pain & Headaches – 50-85% (12)
- Hamstring sprain – 12-63% (2)
- ACL tear – 8-30% (10)
- Rotator Cuff Tears (Shoulder) – 26% (11)
Now doesn’t that all seem a bit high?
So what are we doing wrong?
What needs to happen to heal?
Before we can figure out what we are doing wrong, we need to understand what it takes to heal.
What do you think is required to heal? What’s in charge of that?
I’m sure those people with the injuries mentioned above thought they’d healed, but their injury came back… why is that?
The healing process involves several stages, including Pain, Inflammation, Tissue Formation, and Remodelling.
- Pain
Pain allows us to know when something is wrong. It makes sure we don’t move our injured area in a way that could create further injury or affect or mess with our natural healing process. - Inflammation
When the body experiences injury or damage, it initiates an inflammatory response. Inflammation helps to protect the injured area and remove any foreign substances. It also attracts immune cells which help remove any bacteria and dead cells creating a great environment for healing. - Tissue Formation
Once the inflammation subsides, the body begins to rebuild the damaged tissue. Cells migrate to the injured area and start producing collagen, a protein that forms the structural framework for new tissue to form. Blood vessels also flow into the area to provide oxygen and nutrients necessary for healing. - Remodelling
Over time, the newly formed tissue undergoes remodelling to strengthen and refine its structure. This stage can take weeks to months, depending on the extent of the injury.
The body’s innate power to heal itself really is remarkable!
Pain Killers & Steroid Injections
What do pain killers do? And how does Panadol find the injury?
It doesn’t, it just numbs everything. Now if everything’s numb and injected up, how are you able to listen to your body’s natural intelligence to allow it to heal? Our bodies are made to heal themselves.
When you cut yourself, who heals it?
Your body does!!!
Power of a Chiropractic Adjustment
So now that we’ve established that the nervous system can heal and improve itself, what are some of the benefits that can come from a healthy nervous system?
- Improved reaction time
- Improved muscle strength
- Improved speed
- Improved jumping distance
► Post chiropractic adjustment can improve strength by 6-8% (7)
► Post chiropractic adjustment can improve reaction time by 0.1 seconds(6)
► Post chiropractic adjustment can improve speed by up to 22 seconds (3)
► Post chiropractic adjustment can improve Jumping height by up to 6 cm (3)
Now you might be thinking, “Ok, I’m no athlete… how does this fit into my day-to-day life?”
Is reaction time more important for an athlete wanting to win the Olympics, or for a parent driving their kids home after a long day and a reckless driver pulls out in front of them?
Is strength more important for the athlete, or for the parents/grandparents/uncle/aunty/brother/sister to allow them to run around and play with their kids/nephews/nieces/grandkids and have the ability to create long lasting memories?
► “You only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep. The only thing is, there are no dentures for your spine!!”
Investing in your nervous system and spine today means investing in your long-term health, and that’s where I can help!
Book An Appointment
If you have any questions on this topic, please call us on (07) 3357 3366 or alternatively, you can book an appointment at Blue Align Chiropractic.
We’d love to help you experience better health.
References:
- https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/injury/trends-in-hospitalised-injury-2007-08-to-2016-17/summary
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245931056_The_effect_of_sports_chiropractic_on_the_primary_
prevention_of_hamstring_injuries_A_randomised_controlled_trial - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00337-020-00663-9?fbclid=IwAR34X_Qq2pCAHUXRpg7tqc8tEZYYkw0ZyAXUHSLxcHo_5GgfXPh_pGVIxCU
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1568252
- https://www.stamfordhealth.org/healthflash-blog/orthopedic-spine-sports-medicine/cortisone-injections/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12498286_Use_of_mental_rotation_reaction-time_paradigm_to_measure_the_effects_of_upper_cervical_adjustments_on_cortical_processing_A_pilot_study
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6389925/
- https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/australian-workers-compensation-statistics-2018-19
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31208917/
- https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/50/13/804
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6042049/
- Kenneth Olson. The Cervical Spine. Chapter 6 In: Olson, K. Manual Physical Therapy of the Spine. Elsevier, 2015.