Montana to Rice to … the Chiropractor
Joe Montana, legendary former NFL quarterback, called it “a big part of my game … it works for me.” Nowadays, he is a spokesman of this type of care for the state of California. Montana’s former teammate, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, said, “it works better for me than anything else.” To what are they referring? What kept these two football heroes on the field and winning Super Bowls for the 49ers in the 1980s and ‘90s? The answer is chiropractic care. At Wrightstown Health and Fitness, we value its enduring effectiveness in keeping both professional and casual athletes healthy and at their peak performance.
Athletes who are constantly training, practicing and competing to perfect their game gradually build up stresses and fatigue on their bodies. Over a long period of time, intense athletic competition can lead to pain and injury just as significant as a sudden, acute injury. Think about a baseball pitcher for example. All of their warm-ups and in-game pitches involve the same movements and mechanics, which are particularly difficult on the throwing arm. Believe it or not, the human body is not built to fire thousands of 90 mile-per-hour fastballs and sharp breaking balls per season. Overuse of certain joints due to repetition of the same movements frequently leads to tendonitis.
The spine is one of the most commonly injured areas of the body. Every athletic movement someone makes directly or indirectly affects the back and spine. Chiropractic care can work wonders in preventing back issues and, in turn, this will stop athletes from overcompensating and injuring other areas of the body. Think about how many fantastic athletes have had their careers affected or destroyed by chronic injuries – Bo Jackson (hip), Greg Oden (knee), Derrick Rose (knee), to name a few. We can’t say for sure whether their injuries were preventable, but science has proven that a fully healthy back could have taken some of the burden off the injured areas in their rehab processes. As an athlete, wouldn’t you want to take every preventative measure to keep your ability so that you could someday achieve your full potential?
If you were to study the sideline at a professional sporting event, like an NFL game, you would probably see a chiropractor in additional to the many trainers and doctors that are always present. The entire sports world has taken note of the success of chiropractic care in helping keep athletes performing at their best. The keys are prevention (when possible) and rapid diagnosis and treatment (when prevention is not possible). The instant an injured player goes down on the field, medical professionals are tending to them. At WHF, we use the same principle. We encourage athletes of all ages and skill levels to take advantage of our chiropractic services as soon as possible, preferably before an injury even takes place. There is great value and peace of mind in knowing that you can take the field or court with a healthy backbone and no limitations.
If you have a competitive fire inside you, chances are you take pride in being in good shape and never taking time off your sport due to injury. But at some point, the injury bug hits even the most physically fit athletes. When this happens, many will ask why it happened to them, despite being in such great shape. The answer is simple: they play too hard, too long or too fast. Chiropractic care offers an expert approach to treating and healing sports injuries. Adjustments return spinal segments to their correct position and function, a vital part of staying healthy. So come to WHF for a visit with our chiropractors, Dr. Patrick Donohue and Dr. Nikki Tukdarian, and begin the journey towards maximizing your athletic potential.
Written by: Anthony Iati and Christian Zetterberg
