While Covid 19 leaves many uncertainties about upcoming youth, high school and professional baseball seasons, players of all ages continue to train hard to hone their craft and practice play however possible. And, since there’s no quarantine on getting hurt, it’s as important as ever to prevent and treat baseball-related injuries to ensure players are ready to go when they finally hear the call to “play ball!”
Baseball may be (mostly) no-contact, but the sport’s players experience more than their fair share of game-related injuries. Coaches, trainers, and players alike have come to realize that total recovery involves more than assessing and rehabbing the area of injury, and regularly rely on sports chiropractic care to assist in total body healing.
Why Chiropractic for Baseball Injuries?
Chiropractic is proven effective at reducing pain and speeding up healing for both overuse and traumatic sports injuries.
The repetitive motions required for pitching and throwing, and awkward positions necessary for catching and batting, lead to a number of common issues such as torn rotator cuffs, strained shoulders and backs, and excess wear on the joints.
On the flip side, the short bursts of intense muscle action needed for sprinting, sliding, and reaching for balls frequently result in pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, jammed joints and overextended knees, among others. When you consider the twists and torque placed on the body to complete replay-worthy maneuvers, it’s no wonder baseball (and softball) results in so many injuries each year.
With spinal adjustments and other specialized treatments, such as joint manipulation, myofascial release, trigger point therapy, and electrical stimulation, chiropractic care encourages faster recovery times for common sports-related injuries, because instead of focusing on just the injured area, chiropractic care works on assessing the mechanics of the whole body through proper alignment and release of constricted tissues.
Adjustments of the spine and extremities not only allow the body to realign itself for better overall functionality, they can reduce pressure, improve blood flow, and reduce inflammation in the area of injury to encourage more rapid, and more complete, healing by reducing pain and increasing range of motion.
Chiropractic for Prevention
Chiropractic care can also be helpful in reducing the likelihood of injury and managing injury-associated pain. Along with mastering good technique and wearing proper safety equipment, chiropractic care is a great tool for preventing many common baseball-related injuries in the first place. Ensuring the body is properly aligned before and throughout training and play improves range of motion, body mechanics and overall functionality that can drastically reduce a player’s chances of getting injured or re-injured.
And, whether alone or in conjunction with conventional therapies, chiropractic can often reduce or prevent the need for prescription medication while the injury heals, which is a bonus for those who can’t (or don’t want to) deal with prescriptions meds and their side affects.
Whether you currently have baseball-related pain, or you want to reduce your chance of injury or re-injury, discover the many ways chiropractic care can help.