Sports Performance and Chiropractic

These days more and more professional athletes and organizations, alike, are looking toward chiropractic care to help improve their athletic performance. You can find chiropractic in almost every sporting arena on the planet. Is it coincidence? I think not. There are now dozens of well documented studies on the affect of chiropractic on athletic performance, and athletes are listening.

One such study was highlighted in Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation [1991; 6:84-87].

Fifty athletes were divided into two groups, one receiving chiropractic care and the other serving as a control group. The athletes were then tested in 11 different areas such as agility, balance, perception of body movement, power, and reaction time that measured their athletic abilities.

After six weeks, the control group measured only minor changes in 8 of the 11 tests, while the group under chiropractic care improved significantly in all 11.

In a test of hand reaction time, the control group improved less than 1% after six weeks, while the chiropractic group improved 18%. At 12 weeks, the chiropractic group improved more than 30%.

A study in the March/April 2002 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics finds that more and more professional sports teams are utilizing chiropractic care for their team members.

This survey study targeted the head athletic trainers of the 36 National Football League (NFL) teams. The trainers each had a minimum of 17 years of experience and at least one year of experience as a head trainer.

Questionnaires the trainers answered revealed that:

• 45% of the trainers themselves had been to a chiropractor

• 71% of the trainers had worked professionally with a chiropractor.

• 77% of the trainers have referred players to a chiropractor.

• 31% of NFL teams use an official team chiropractor.

• 100% of the trainers revealed that some players use a chiropractor without being referred by the team doctor.

• 81% of the trainers agree that there is a role for chiropractors in the NFL.

• While 31% of the teams have a chiropractor officially on staff, an additional 12% of teams that do not have chiropractors on staff, refer players to chiropractors.

These numbers are not uncommon in any sporting arena where athletes are serious about maintaining their game time performance. Chiropractic is an important tool to help athletes increase power, reaction time, agility, and balance. In addition, chiropractic also serves to reduce degeneration of the spine, boost immune system function, and help these athletes recover faster so they can play harder.