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Chiropractic For Athletes in Belmar, NJ

Chiropractor For Athletes Belmar NJ

At Kinney Chiropractic, here in Belmar NJ, athletes are one of the main groups of patients that we see on a daily basis.  We know how important it is for our athletes to stay as physically healthy as they can be.  Our athletes can start care young, playing sports on the youth soccer field, football field, or dance studio.  Aches, pains, and injuries can worsen in athletes that we see at the High School or Collegiate level.  More than anything, athletes just want to be able to perform and compete at their highest level, so maintaining pristine health is of utmost importance.  Whether it’s team sports, the CrossFit athlete, the triathlete, or the weekend tennis or golf warrior, chiropractic care is crucial to keeping you on your game.  Athletes know their bodies better than most, so when something is not feeling or functioning the way it should, they know it, and it affects their performance.  We get it.  

We always start with a detailed history.  When, how, and where did the problem start?  Delving into the past helps give us a better picture of how to proceed with care in the future.  Then we will perform a thorough examination, including orthopedic, neurologic, and functional testing as well as posture and range of motion testing.  Finally, we utilize digital X-rays so we can get a crystal clear picture of where the problem is.  We don’t want to guess…we want to know. 

Depending on what we find during the exam and X-rays, we can build out a care plan that will help get our athletes back on the field and back to functioning and performing at their optimum level.  Some patients may need to have additional imaging or be referred out if their injuries are severe, but most athletes respond very well to conservative, drug-less chiropractic care.  We get their bodies back in normal alignment and they appreciate that we can get them back on their game as quickly as possible. 

athletes stretching

Every professional sports team has a chiropractor on their medical staff because they see the value of what it brings to their athletes. Chiropractic adjustments restore optimal function to the nervous system, which is the master system of the body that controls all others. With that in mind, it is obvious that athletes would seek to optimize this system in order to gain an advantage in their craft. The higher you get in sports or performance, the finer the margins. One-one hundredth of a second can be the difference between gold and silver or a personal record for a timed run. Keeping your body in good alignment helps to keep it healthy and operating at its highest level. This has numerous benefits not only to performance but overall health as well.

How We Treat Athletes in Belmar, NJ

Sports Chiropractor

Chiropractic adjustments for the athlete are essential.  The spine encases the nervous system…the master system that controls every aspect of human life.  Healthy nerve supply is what makes every person, especially athletes, function at their peak optimal performance.  Almost every Collegiate and Professional sports team and Individual Professional Players (golfers and tennis pros) have chiropractors on staff. 

Once we find where the spine is out of alignment, or subluxated, Sports Chiropractors administer specific adjustments to help re-align the spine and get proper motion and movement back in the joints.  This alleviates any abnormal stress on the nerves to not only reduce pain but get the body moving at its best allowing for athletes to play sharper and exceedingly better in their sport.

Sports Massage

At Kinney Chiropractic, we have a massage therapist on staff.  It is so important to support optimal spinal alignment with proper muscle function.  Many of the athletes that Dr. Kinney treats have certain muscle memory from their sport.  The adjustments may not always hold if there is abnormal muscle tension or tightness, which is where massage therapy comes in.  Our massage therapist will break up abnormal adhesions in the musculature and bring blood flow to the muscles to help improve motion and function.

Functional Exercise

Part of the corrective process in our office is not only figuring out what’s not working well and correcting the spinal joints and extremity joints to better function but being able to have lasting results.  That’s why, at Kinney Chiropractic, stretching and strengthening exercises are an important part of all our care plans, especially for athletes. 

Adjustments help with alignment, improving healthy nervous system supply, and getting better motion and movement in the joints.  In order to support the adjustments, we build in a specific stretching and strengthening plan that patients can do on their own to prevent reinjury and allow for all our changes to be long-lasting.

Types of Athletes We Help at Kinney Chiropractic

Runners

Running is one of the best forms of exercise you can give your body.  Whether you run competitively, for a school or organization, or just for leisure and fitness, running provides whole-body benefits that improve function in both the body and mind. Running can be hard on the body, especially when done frequently and over long distances. Every heel strike is a pounding on your whole body, starting from the foot and transmitting that force up through the ankle, knee, hip, and finally up to your spine.  If the spine is out of alignment, those forces can be abnormal wear and tear that can cause injury and pain if left untreated. 

At Kinney Chiropractic, we treat runners in our office every day.  Our doctors will ensure that your spine is in good alignment and that your nervous system is operating at the highest level to keep you healthy and keep you healing.  Our care plans offer soft tissue therapies to help break up adhesions and bring blood flow to muscles, spinal adjustments to help maximize nerve system function and improve spinal motion, stretching to help elongate tight shortened muscles reducing tension and allowing for better mobility, and exercise plans for patients continue their care at home.

Triathletes

Triathlons are one of the most physically demanding athletic endeavors one can pursue. The distances can vary from short triathlons to the hardest of all, the Iron Man competition. Regardless of distance, participating in swimming, cycling, and running consecutively is a difficult challenge and requires a lot of physical preparation and mental fortitude.  The diversity of activities makes triathlons, arguably, the pinnacle of human performance.  

Such diversity, however, means more opportunities for potential injury – shoulder problems from swimming, lower back stiffness from cycling, lower extremity injuries from running.  Kinney Chiropractic is equipped to meet these challenges and help you navigate a speedy recovery. Whether through sports chiropractic, sports massage, or functional exercises, our wide range of services uniquely positions us to provide athletes with the care they need to excel.

Golfers

Whether you are young or old, male or female, an avid golfer or someone who just goes to golf outings a few times per year, there is no doubt that golf is a sport that requires physical and mental acuity to be successful.  There are different golf swings, some that may require more torque than others and can place additional stress on the spine and the surrounding muscles.  Weakness, injury, or pain can disrupt the game of even the sharpest golfer.  Chiropractic offers support to golfers of all levels.

Chiropractic adjustments keep your spine in proper alignment and allow normal healthy nervous system communication so your entire body can function at its best.  This improved optimal function allows for healthy muscle function and movement patterns that are necessary for the various kinds of golf swings you may need to call upon. If you sustain an injury in your back, hips, or elbows, our team can help you recover quickly and get back on the course playing the game you love.

CrossFit Athletes

CrossFit workouts have become very popular in the past decade with many CrossFit dedicated gyms opening all over.  This type of workout is intense and is often the ‘whole body’ workout that people crave.  The problem is sometimes people go too hard and too fast with little training on form, and then they hurt themselves.  

Chiropractic adjustments should be part of every CrossFit enthusiast’s arsenal of health.  The workouts are hard and demanding.  If the spine is even the slightest bit out of alignment, or there is a loss of normal range of motion during the workout, injury can occur.  Crossfitters are usually very in tune with their bodies and know if something doesn’t feel right.  This is not the time to go harder!  This is time to see a chiropractor.  Crossfitters want to perform at their peak, shaving time off their run or adding a few pounds or reps to their workouts.  Adjustments can give your body that additional edge.  In addition to supplements, protein powder, and hydration, chiropractic should be part of any successful workout plan.

Dancers and Cheerleaders

Competitive dance and cheer are very popular athletic activities among females from young girls to college-age women.  Cheer and dance are not what they once were.  Since the 80s and 90s, making the dance or cheer team requires a high level of dancing skills, tumbling, and stunting ability in addition to an extreme amount of endurance.  Routines can be up to four minutes long and include all of the above skills put to music in constant succession.  The repetitive forces on a girl’s body can often cause injury.  Dancing repetition can cause muscle strains and sprains and issues with the spine, hips, knees, or ankles.  Cheer stunts and pyramids can fall and tumbling passes can go wrong, causing harm.  If you base, or hold others up, this requires perfect form and strength as well as precision to not let the flyer fall.  If you fly, and your base and spot don’t catch you, you hit the ground.  Not fun. 

 Having been a competitive cheerleader and coach for years, Dr. Kinney totally gets it.  Thank God she was adjusted throughout her cheer and dance career.  Adjustments help improve the alignment of the spine, which takes a toll even during the best routines.  Stretching and strengthening support the adjustments and prevent future injuries.  All cheerleaders and dancers should be under regular chiropractic care, especially at the height of their season.

Contact Sports: Football/Hockey/Wrestling

Contact sports obviously put a tremendous strain on an athlete’s body.  Hits to the body can cause sprains, strains, stingers, spinal misalignments as well as concussions or something worse.  These forces repetitively put onto a growing body can cause serious problems if they aren’t immediately addressed. 

If you or your child athlete starts to complain of pain on an ongoing basis, that’s an indication something more serious could be happening and it needs to be addressed.  With a thorough examination and X-rays, we can determine where the problems are and put together a plan to address the pain and dysfunction and get your athlete back to their game as soon as possible.

Common Conditions We Help Athletes With in Belmar, NJ

Golfer’s Elbow

Medial epicondylitis is also known as golfer’s elbow, baseball elbow, or suitcase elbow. It’s characterized by pain from the elbow to the wrist on the inside (medial side) of the elbow. The pain is caused by repetitive stress to the tendons that bend the wrist toward the palm. A tendon is a tough cord of tissue that connects muscles to bones. 

Medial epicondylitis is caused by the excessive force used to bend the wrist toward the palm. This can happen when swinging a golf club, pitching a baseball, or serving a tennis ball over and over. Treatment for medial epicondylitis includes stopping the activity that produces the symptoms. It is important to avoid the movement that caused the condition in the first place. Other recommended treatments include ice, strengthening exercises, and possibly elbow adjustments. 

Concussions

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.  Concussion symptoms include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance, and coordination.  Many people don’t realize that concussions often cause problems with the neck.  Post-concussion patients can suffer from neck stiffness, shoulder pain, spinal misalignments or subluxations, and often do not have a normal curvature to the neck as they should. 

If you have suffered a concussion, it’s important to have your cervical spine checked by a chiropractor and have X-rays taken to see if you have subluxations or lost normal alignment or curvature.  Long-standing problems in the neck can lead to permanent changes that can give rise to disc problems or arthritis.

Muscle Strains

Muscle strains are very common in athletes.  Overused muscles and tendons can be repetitively stretched and torqued.  Over time this can cause small muscle or tendon fibers to overstretch and tear.  Strains often occur in the lower back and the muscle in the back of the thigh, but can occur in any muscle or tendon.  Symptoms include pain, swelling, muscle spasms, and limited ability to move the muscle.  Treatment may include ice, rest, and splinting.  In our office, we utilize adjustments, trigger point therapy, and massage to alleviate the pain as well as stretching to offer improved mobility. 

Low Back Pain

Lower back pain is one of the main conditions that athletes suffer.  From golfers to football players, cheerleaders to soccer players, and everyone in between.  Repetitive forces in the spine from your sport can give rise to lower back pain.  That’s why it’s so important for athletes to be adjusted by a chiropractor.  Maintaining proper lower back alignment is paramount to optimizing healthy motion and nerve supply and keeping you on your game.  

If your lower back pain gets worse from playing your sport, it’s time to get examined by a Chiropractor and start a treatment plan to improve your function and get you back to playing at the top of your game without pain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is chiropractic care in Belmar, NJ good for an athlete?

Absolutely.  Almost all professional athletes see a chiropractor regularly to maintain optional spinal alignment, healthy nerve supply, and improved function so they can compete at the highest level.

When should an athlete see a chiropractor?

As soon as possible.  Chiropractors will help get you out of pain and get your body functioning as optimal as possible to get you playing your very best. 

Can kids in sports see a chiropractor?

Yes.  At Kinney Chiropractic, we treat kids of all ages in many different sports.  Do not let your child play their sport in pain.  Get them in to us as soon as possible. 

How often do athletes see a chiropractor?

In order to determine the frequency of care, we must do a thorough exam and often take X-rays to see the extent of the problem. 

Can chiropractic optimize performance for an athlete?

Chiropractors’ main focus is on spinal alignment to alleviate any abnormal motion in the spine and enhance the nervous system supply exiting out of the spine.  When athletes are adjusted they get the most optimal function from the nervous system to all parts of the body so you can advance in your game naturally without drugs or surgery.

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