As an athlete, you should add a chiropractor to your team of health professionals to help you stay in top condition and care for you when you're injured. Chiropractic care is focused on the joints, muscles, and nerves. It can help promote healing and improve athletic performance in several ways, including the following.

Why Visit a Chiropractor for a Sports Injury?

1. Drug-Free Pain Relief

After a sports injury, you'll likely have to cope with some soreness and sensitivity during recovery. Common injuries include torn ligaments, pulled muscles, and tenderness due to overuse. Chiropractic adjustments relieve pressure on joints and tissues that are out of alignment, which relieves pain caused by constricted nerves and other tissues. Because of this, chiropractic care has been shown to reduce or eliminate the pain of sports injuries, in addition to spine and shoulder complaints.

2. Advice for Recovery

In addition to making physical adjustments in the office, your chiropractor will also teach you how to care for your injury once you're at home. They may recommend gentle exercises and stretches to help with mobility, maintain strength, and promote healing. They'll also make recommendations about how to avoid aggravating the injury during your daily routine. For instance, they might suggest a brace until your injury has healed, or might ask you to avoid some activities.

3. Prevention of Future Injuries

Part of a chiropractor's job is to discuss your lifestyle and identify any factors in your routine, your posture, and your movement that may cause injury. They'll go over your form with you, depending on your sport, and help you determine how your injury happened. Then they'll help you learn how to move differently in the future to avoid a repeat injury or give you exercises to strengthen the area so that it's harder to damage.

If you need skilled chiropractic care in Augusta County, choose Mountain Spring Chiropractic. Serving Fishersville, VA, Dr. Elizabeth Kautz Koch uses advanced chiropractic techniques paired with diet, exercise, and lifestyle advice to promote full-body wellness. The office also offers massage therapy. Call (540) 943-0022 or visit the website to learn more about their services.