Athletes have been benefiting from chiropractic care for many years; however, it has only recently been receiving attention from the media. Athletes of all types, from the weekend warrior to the world-class athlete, utilize chiropractic because it is a drug-free way to better health and performance.

Chiropractic adjustments help ensure that the body functions as efficiently as possible, which can maximize healing and recovery from all types of injuries.

Anyone who engages in athletics can benefit from regular chiropractic checkups to ensure that their spine is balanced and free from structural stress. When the spinal column is brought into balance and alignment, the body's nervous system and body biomechanics (posture) are maximized.

Chiropractors focus on the nervous system and postural biomechanics that allow the body to function properly and to heal itself. The healing process always occurs from within the body, but research has shown that chiropractic has an amazing potential to assist the body in the recovery process.

Doctors of chiropractic focus on the entire structure of the body rather than just the obviously injured part. For this reason, they can often detect and help to prevent an injury that might normally be overlooked or ignored.

Because doctors of chiropractic are experts in the field of human biomechanics, they are very aware of proper posture and movement. By observing an athlete in action, a chiropractor can often detect and prevent a structural problem that can lead to injury or poor performance. Athletic injures are often caused by improper biomechanics or muscle imbalances within the spine.

A Canadian research team included chiropractic care in the rehabilitation program of 16 injured female long-distance runners. Not only did these runners recover quickly, seven of them actually scored "personal best" performances while under chiropractic care.

A landmark research effort from the New Zealand School of Chiropractic and the University of Auckland has evaluated the effects chiropractic adjustments may have on reaction times. Two groups were tested to study variations in reaction times; one group received spinal adjustments, while the other group, only receiving a short period of rest, acted as a control group for comparison.

There was a marked improvement for the group that received an adjustment over the group that got nothing but rest. The group that got only a rest period did show an average decrease in reaction time: 58 milliseconds, an 8 percent faster reaction time. The group that received the chiropractic adjustment showed a decrease in reaction time of 97 milliseconds, representing a 14.8 percent faster reaction time.

Dr. Wayne Fichter, D.C., is the lead doctor at Natural Spine Solutions, with more than 15 years of experience treating families. He also has been the lead doctor in handling serious neck and back problems through non-surgical spinal decompression. Call (208) 966-4425 for all of your spinal and wellness needs.