Not a Second to Lose
Why top athletes rely on chiropractic care
Article contributed by Dr. Eric Plasker, Marietta, GA
Winning often comes down to reacting faster than your oppo-nent by only a few seconds. In the quest to beat the competi-tion, there is hardly a sport which hasn’t been tarnished by alle-gations of participants enhancing their performance with ste-roidal drugs. Yet, there is a chemical-free way you can im-prove your game that does not have the serious side effects of steroids. Whether you are a top athlete or are working on inte-grating some healthy activity in your life, chiropractic care can help keep your spine balanced and your nerve system functioning at 100%, improving your performance dramatically.
Famous athletes who are chiropractic advocates can be found in nearly every sport, such as Emmitt Smith and Terrell Owens (football), Lance Armstrong (cycling), Arnold Schwarzenegger (bodybuilding), John Stockton (basketball) and Evander Holy-field (boxing).
Emmitt Smith recently retired from playing professional foot-ball and is the running back who holds the record for the most yards in the history of the NFL. He began receiving chiroprac-tic adjustments in the mid-1990’s and attributes much of his longevity and performance in professional sports to regular chiropractic care. Terrell Owens even flew his personal chiro-practor to his training site to help him recover from his injury and prepare for the Super Bowl.
Lance Armstrong has won the premier Tour de France bike race six years in a row. Dr. Jeff Spencer, the chiropractor who traveled with Lance for years said, “My job with Lance and the team is to optimize the neuro-musculo-skeletal component of their training and, in the event of a crash, minimize down time and get them back in the race as quickly as possible.”
When speaking at the International Chiropractors Association’s 10th Annual Symposium on Natural Fitness in 2002, Arnold Schwarzenegger credited chiropractic care for helping him achieve success as a bodybuilder and maintain a rigorous filmmaking schedule, saying, “Chiropractic is about health and fitness. Chiropractic is about natural, preventive health care.”
Dr. Robin Hunter, the official chiropractor for the 2002 U.S. Winter Olympic Team said, “The fundamental principles of our profession apply so well to athletics. Correcting biomechanical faults and misalignments, and treating injuries with hands-on work, so that the athletes can return to play faster and better, is what sports chiropractic care is all about.”
A study conducted by the New Zealand School of Chiropractic at the University of Auckland confirmed the performance im-proving aspect of chiropractic care. Volunteers who received cervical (neck) adjustments improved their reaction time by nearly 15% while those who rested instead improved their reac-tion time by only 8%. This substantial difference occurred be-cause chiropractic adjustments remove interference to the nervous system, optimizing communication between the brain and body to reduce reaction time.
Just think about how improved reaction times can benefit you. A few milli-seconds can make the difference for you achieving your personal and athletic goals, as well as everyday situations such as slamming on the brakes in traffic to avoid an accident. So be sure to optimize your performance with chiropractic and keep your spine and nerve system healthy for a lifetime.