Guest Author: Justin Copeland, D.C.
The term “athlete” encompasses a massive spectrum of
constituents. Membership in the club is hardly exclusive and ranges from the
three year-old T-baller to the Olympian performing at the highest level of
competition. Without exception…well, almost without exception as little Jack
the T-baller might not yet have that killer instinct…athletes continually seek
a competitive advantage. One competitive advantage that is trending upward
among athletes is the use of chiropractic care for improved performance.
In general, quantifying the benefit of the countless tactics
used to enhance athletic performance is a futile undertaking. It is improbable
if not impossible to incrementally calculate added benefits of performance
boosters. In fact, in the professional sports realm if something is simply
perceived as a performance enhancer then it is generally defined as such.
Why is this the case? In short, it results from the fact
that the specific mechanisms through which performance is improved are often
unknown and heavily debated.
In contrast, the
mechanism through which chiropractic care improves athletic performance is
simple: “where chiropractic truly excels is in its ability to actually improve
performance, since it is through the full
use of the nervous system that peak performance can be achieved.” (1)
As the control center of the human body, the nervous system
regulates and coordinates each and every function of the body. This biological
fact makes the nervous system inarguably the most important unit of the human
body. Spinal misalignments have been proven to wreak havoc on this control system
resulting in decreased function and a reduction in overall health. Chiropractic
treatment, as a means to eliminate these spinal misalignments is therefore
invaluable for improving overall function and health in the human body.
These improvements in function can manifest in several ways
in athletes. One functional parameter, muscle inhibition, has been shown to be
reduced in individuals after undergoing chiropractic care. Muscle inhibition occurs
when there is a breakdown in communication between the brain and the muscle
itself. If muscle inhibition occurs the muscle cannot completely contract and
thus is firing at less than full capacity. This renders the control of muscle
contraction highly inefficient when muscle inhibition is present. In 2000,
Suter et al. found that after a chiropractic adjustment of the sacroiliac
joint, muscle inhibition was markedly decreased in the legs of the involved
group. Similarly, in 2002 Suter and McMorland determined that significant
decreases were found in muscle inhibition in the triceps muscle groups
following cervical spine adjustments. These improvements in muscle efficiency
portend elevated performance in athletes.(1)
Likewise, the force of muscle contraction is vital to
athletic performance. Pollard and Ward found that short-term increases in
muscle strength were realized subsequent to chiropractic adjustments in the
lumbar spine. In fact, an increase of 3.03 Newton’s (4.6% higher than before
the adjustment) was recognized as potentially beneficial to “the performance of
strength athletes.”(1) It is reasonable to conclude that chiropractic
adjustments that increase functional strength of skeletal muscle would be
optimal for the peak performance of any athlete.
The premise that chiropractic care can decrease reaction times
has been tested as well by several investigators. Reaction time represents the interval
between the introduction of a cognitive stimulus and the body’s response in the
form of a motor function. In 2000, Kelly et al. determined that reaction times
decreased in subjects immediately following cervical spine adjustments.
Similarly, Taylor and Murphy discovered improved sensorimotor integration as
well as improved response of the central nervous system to a functional task
directly following chiropractic adjustments. The link between decreased
sensorimotor reaction times and enhanced athletic performance is easy to
bridge.
More often than not, athletic performance is reactionary in
nature. Reaction time is essential for a batter facing a pitcher that has a
multitude of speeds and planes with which he can throw a pitch. In fact the
difference between a hall of fame player and someone that never even sniffs the
field in Major League Baseball is measured in reaction differences of
hundredths of a second. Improved reaction times allow for improved performance.
The literature points to decreased muscle inhibition (increased
muscle efficiency), increased muscle strength and decreased reaction times following
chiropractic adjustments. Each of the aforementioned gains subsequent to
chiropractic adjustments herald improved performance in the athlete.
What does all of this mean to you? It’s simple. Before you
reach for the supplement that claims to improve performance but harbors a
litany of toxic chemicals, give your chiropractor a shot at improving your
performance at the field, on the course and in the gym.
1. Miners AL. Chiropractic treatment and the enhancement of
sport performance: a narrative literature review. J Can Chiropr Assoc. 2010;
54(4):210-221.