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Category: Athletic Wellness

Chiropractor for Athletes | St Petersburg | Get Results Chiropractic
Why You Should Choose a Chiropractor for Athletes

Why You Should Choose a Chiropractor for Athletes

Anybody that plays sports knows the feeling of waking up the next day aching from head to toe. Whether you toss the pigskin or pump iron, too many tackles, too much sprinting, or too many serves can very quickly take a toll on the body. Especially as the years begin to catch up to the body, it can almost be enough to make a person want to stop playing altogether. But quitting is not an option for people that truly love the game. Using traditional and non-traditional chiropractic techniques, including top-of-the-line technology, a chiropractor for athletes can pinpoint the underlying cause of your pain, not just relieve the pain, and help get you back onto the field faster.

Chiropractic Services Vs. Traditional Sports Medicine

In the past, pain and injury from sports have been treated with expensive drugs. These drugs, however, can leave the body feeling tired and weak, or with months of physical therapy. These kinds of treatments may help relieve the pain temporarily, but they rarely address the underlying problems that cause the chronic or recurring sports-related pain. However, potentially worse than that is the possibility of having to have surgery. A chiropractor for athletes uses a different style of treatment that focuses on determining the root cause of the pain, instead of simply masking the pain. Through an advanced approach, chiropractic treatment can correct NeuroStructural shifts that cause the body pain while exercising or playing sports, and relieve the pain, as well as the underlying causes.

 

What is a NeuroStructural Shift?

The skeleton is the framework that provides structure for your muscles. The spine is the most important part of your skeleton. You take care of your muscles every time you work out or play sports. Question is, do you take care of your spine? A chiropractor for athletes can help. NeuroStructural shifts occur when the spine moves, due to time or trauma. The shift prevents the spine from operating at its full potential. When the bones in the spine are misaligned, even a small amount, pain or weakness can occur throughout the body. This pain can severely affect the way you play.

Many athletes that experience pain from playing sports are tempted to look for traditional methods of dealing with their pain. These methods usually involve costly medical bills and prescription drugs. However, a chiropractor for athletes can use non-traditional chiropractic techniques that are often able to fix problems related to NeuroStructural shifts without medication or surgery.

How Can a Chiropractor for Athletes Relieve Sports-Related Pain?

Using high-tech instruments and the latest chiropractic techniques, a chiropractor for athletes can help patients get back to their peak performance. Some chiropractic techniques include live motion radiography, similar to an X-ray, which allows the doctor to pinpoint exactly where your pain is coming from, cold laser technology, which can reduce pain and inflammation, and massage therapy, which helps alleviate pain. The chiropractic adjustment technique is designed to help eliminate your pain using light pressure and applied to specific areas of your body and spine.

Chiropractor Largo Coastal Chiropractic
A Chiropractor’s Guide to the Gym

A Chiropractor’s Guide to the Gym

As one of the leading chiropractors in Largo, Dr. Marc Rogers has a lot to say about forming healthy habits if you work out at the gym. Whether you’re a member at Gold’s or utilize the local rec center, our chiropractor has some suggestions to improve your overall experience.

2 Things You Absolutely Need

While there are many types of workout gear available, we urge you to focus first on acquiring a water bottle and supportive footwear. You can upgrade from cotton t-shirts to sweat-wicking tanks later, but you can’t undo the damage done by failing to hydrate or wearing flimsy shoes. Lack of follow through on these two fronts will color your experience, and if it’s a negative one, your efforts may fade in the face of discomfort. Don’t let dehydration headaches or shin splints interfere with your personal wellness goals in Largo.

Get Examined By Medical Professionals

A doctor can conduct a basic physical to assess general wellness, and a chiropractor can assess your spinal health before you dive into a new exercise regimen. By checking in, you can correct any misalignments beforehand, reducing the possibility of injuries overall. In addition to adjustments and postural examinations, a chiropractic care professional can provide nutritional counseling or input on how to shed weight with the Ideal Protein Weight Loss Program.

Start Small

Veteran gym-goers know this, but newbies tend to tackle more than they should at the beginning. Part of this could be due to excitement about reaching your objectives or, perhaps, you feel like you need to get the most out of your membership in Largo. Whatever the case, take a step back and move forward bit by bit. By starting small, you avoid major injuries and accompanying setbacks. Instead of seeing a chiropractor, your relationship with the gym can remain an amicable one, making it more likely that you keep making progress.

Set Realistic Goals

Similar to starting small, goal-setting can affect your gym experience. If you scale too high when you begin, you’ll experience disappointment and discouragement if you don’t achieve your unrealistic aims. Break a large objective into small steps, so you have multiple goals to reach.

Bring a Towel Along

More important than a Fitbit or pair of Swiftwick socks is a towel to help you dry off mid-workout. Excess sweat will soak your clothing, promoting bacterial growth and potential skin irritation. Keep your salty sweat off your body and out of your eyes when you’re working out with a towel.

See a Chiropractor for Pain or Injuries

No matter how careful Largo gym-goers might be, it’s always possible to get hurt. When unwanted injuries occur, make an appointment with a chiropractor to address misalignments or spinal complications. At Coastal Chiropractic, we offer services like:

  • Physical therapy
  • Corrective exercises
  • Nutritional counseling
  • Spinal screenings
  • Walk-in clinic

All these and more can be used to get you back in motion, so you don’t delay your fitness goals. Call 727-581-2774 or come to our walk-in clinic near Largo for individualized attention today!

Neck Pain Treatment | Bond Thomas Chiropractor
3 Signs Neck Pain Treatment is Necessary

3 Signs Neck Pain Treatment is Necessary

Many St. Petersburg residents need neck pain treatment, but they may not understand that relief is possible. Whether the aches or stiffness showed up immediately after riding the Furious Falcon at Busch Gardens or it has been bothering you for a long time, you need to stop ignoring the discomfort. Here are three sure signs that you need to see a chiropractor.

1.  You’ve Been in a Car Accident

If you’ve been in an auto accident in St. Petersburg, it is essential that you seek out a chiropractic professional who specializes in neck pain treatment. Just because the fender bender caused minor damage to your vehicle, that doesn’t mean the same can be said for your spine. No matter how mild you think the crash was, you need to see a medical practitioner who can assess your condition. The most common auto accident injuries include:

  • Brain or head damage
  • Soft tissue injuries like whiplash
  • Neck problems or cervical radiculopathy
  • Back sprains, fractures, or disc injury

Damage to the spine can be difficult to detect because it is internal, but a chiropractor can locate the source of your problems and identify a strategy for correction.

2. Chronic Discomfort

Long-term discomfort will affect your overall health, and over-the-counter medications are not a cure. Yes, they may seem to alleviate some of the tension, but you should be careful. They cannot correct your condition, and you will need a stronger dose as time goes by. Reliance on such medications is not helpful and it is unhealthy. Misalignments along the spinal column can be corrected with manual adjustments, which are natural and drug-free. A chiropractor can create a plan for healing which will focus on neck pain treatment. Get ready to wave goodbye to the aches and strains and say hello to all that St. Petersburg has to offer!

3. Sleepless Nights

When your discomfort is chronic, it can become all-consuming. Not only are you limited in mobility, but sleep is also hard to come by because the tension is agonizing. Misalignments of the spine can lead to all kinds of unpleasant symptoms, like migraines, tingling sensations in the arms, and achy muscles and joints. Without sleep, your quality of life will suffer. Change this by locating a chiropractic care facility that offers neck pain treatment services in St. Petersburg.

Need Neck Pain Treatment? Come to Bond Thomas

The professionals at Bond Thomas Chiropractic are here to help you, whether you need:

Call 727-522-1900 to schedule an appointment at our St. Petersburg office!

Deer Antler Velvet for Athletes | Clearwater Nutrition Lab
Deer Antler Velvet for Athletes

Deer Antler Velvet for Athletes

Deer antler velvet is now being used by athletes around the world to improve their exercise and recovery experience.  This unique substance is the tissue that covers growing antlers on all Cervidae, which include species such as deer, elk, and moose.  The velvet has been used for centuries in traditional far-eastern medicine. Today western health practitioners are including this as a whole food nutritional supplement to help their patients in a wide variety of ways. Athletes are also looking to this supplement to improve performance and recovery from exercise and injury. Cervidae velvet gained national attention with athletes after Ray Lewis’s (Baltimore Ravens) alleged use and then rapid recovery from an injury prior to his Super Bowl win.

Deer Antler Velvet and Its Effect on Athletic Performance

So does this stuff actually live up to the hype?  What effect does it have on the body?  Research suggests that it has a positive effect on athletic performance in the following ways:

  • increased blood flow
  • increased energy
  • increased endurance
  • improved flexibility
  • quicker muscle recovery
  • anti-aging effects
  • improvement in general health

How Does It Work?

Deer antler velvet’s main active component is a growth hormone called “insulin-like growth factor 1”, or IGF-1.  IGF-1 directly affects how the body heals and repairs itself.  Initially, the hormone assists in building up a matrix (crucial building block of protein) that’s needed for cell growth.  Then the substance increases the number of new cells that accumulate on the base which, in turn, get busy healing the injury.  Thus, you see overall improvement from the ground up due to the cells more efficient operation at its core levels of functioning.  Simply put, because the cell operates better, the body operates better.

Evidence

In a random, placebo controlled test in 2004, researchers at the University of Alberta placed 18 males from the Edmonton Police Force into a 9 week strength training program. The researchers found that use of deer antler velvet significantly increased blood plasma testosterone levels. Overall, the results showed that regular use increased the strength and endurance of the subjects relative to the control group.

Bottom Line

In Russia and China, deer antler velvet is widely used by athletes to enhance overall performance. Here in the west, more and more athletes are looking to this supplement as a promoter of recovery and possibly as an injury preventative. IGF-1 (the main active compound found in antler velvet) could also improve athletic performance by assisting strength and endurance, by supporting the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, by facilitating minor tissue damage repair, and by boosting the immune system.