What is it?
A therapy in which a practitioner makes manual adjustments to joints, mostly to those in the spine, to relieve pain and restore range of motion. Misaligned vertebrae can cause discomfort and tightness in the back, hips, and extremities. A chiropractor works to help joints realign into a functioning position. We asked Christopher Anselmi, D.C., a board-certified chiropractor at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, to break down the details.
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It’s purported to correct musculoskeletal imbalances and improve joint mobility to allow athletes to run with proper biomechanics and to prevent and treat overuse injuries.
What to Expect
A sports chiropractor will watch you run and test for imbalances. Then you’ll lie on a table while he or she moves you into various positions and pulls or presses your body to align joints.
Treatment Plan
Sessions are often twice a week with reevaluations at two and four weeks. Some chiropractors provide other therapies such as massage, Active Release Techniques (ART), and acupuncture.
Providers
Doctors of chiropractic medicine have completed four to five years of post-college education at an accredited chiropractic college. Find one near you at the American Chiropractic Association.
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Joint manipulation goes back to 2700 B.C., but it got a big bump later in ancient Greece when Hippocrates, often called the father of medicine, altered vertebral alignment. More than a thousand years later, in 1897, D.D. Palmer opened the first chiropractic college in Iowa.
Fan Club
“I’ve been going since 1993 when I was in high school,” says Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. “Now I try and get adjusted at least once every two weeks. What I like about chiro is that they look at the whole body, not just the injury. I might have pain in my hip but the problem might be in my shoulder.”
Elite runner—and recent mom—Stephanie Bruce is also a fan. “My team of chiropractors and massage therapists have worked one on one weekly with me to figure out my biggest weaknesses and focus their efforts on strengthening those. It began with my very intrinsic core muscles the first few weeks post-partum, and as I grew stronger, we targeted the large group of muscles that contribute to core stabilization and general hip and glute strength. Now more than ever, my strengthening exercises, chiro appointments, gym work, sleep will be the contributing factors to my ultimate success.”
How to Treat Tight Quads from Running, Desiree Linden needed to take time off, and then spend time rebuilding her strength. She credits Phoenix-based chiropractor John Ball with helping her regain world-class form so she could run the 2014 New York City Marathon, where she finished 5th. “He’s been able to work out a lot of the scar tissue that was kind of holding me back,“ she said. ”My stride feels a lot more normal. I feel really smooth right now.”
