Are you an athlete who is concerned about sports injuries? Chiropractors, coaches, trainers, and athletes agree that weight training can go a long way toward preventing sports injuries. In his stretchcoach.com article, renowned author Brad Walker asserts that strength training has been a part of sports conditioning for many years and is touted for its effects on speed, strength, agility and muscle mass. He notes, however, that weight training’s benefits for injury prevention are often overlooked.
Strength training moves the joints through a range of motion against resistance, requiring the muscles to expend energy and contract forcefully to move the bones. Strength training is used to strengthen the muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments, and to increase muscle mass. Strength training isn’t just for football players. Chiropractors agree that strength training should be implemented in the conditioning program of all sports, not just strength sports. The increase in speed, strength, agility, and muscular endurance will benefit athletes of every sport.
It is widely acknowledged by chiropractors that strength training helps prevent sports injuries by improving the strength of the muscles, tendons, and even ligaments and bones. The stronger muscles and tendons help hold the body in proper alignment, protecting the bones and joints when moving or under impact. The bones become stronger due to the overload placed on them during training, and the ligaments become more flexible and better at absorbing the shock applied to them during dynamic movements.
But chiropractors also emphasize that regardless of how much weight training is performed, both active sports enthusiasts and occasional participants may occasionally sustain sports injuries at virtually any time. As a result, injuries that are musculoskeletal in nature may benefit by a regimen that includes physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and deep tissue massage, among other treatments. A diagnosis by a qualified chiropractor can help determine a customized treatment plan best-suited to reducing pain, restoring normal function, and returning athletes to their normal lifestyle and favorite sport.
