I found this excellent article on athletic performance and chiropractic care and wanted to share it with you. My philosophy regarding athletic performance and chiropractic care is similar to the author's who wrote this piece. Read and enjoy!

Chiropractic Can Improve Athletic Performance
By Dr. Melanie Beingessner

What do Donovon Bailey, Joe Montana, Dan O'Brien, Mark McGwire, Michael Jordan, Steve Smith and Mel Gibson have in common? They all have regular chiropractic adjustments to improve their health. Mel Gibson aside, today's athletes are looking for an edge over their competitors and Chiropractic is just the profession to help.

People who have never seen a chiropractor before might wonder why an athlete would want an adjustment to help them win. Most people know that chiropractors are great at helping people recover from injuries, but there is an aspect to chiropractic care that is much more than mechanical neck and low back pain. Chiropractic adjustments help to improve the overall function of the nervous system, which, in turn, improves the efficiency of the communication between the brain and the body. With a fraction of a second meaning the difference between gold and silver, many of today's top athletes are adjusted regularly during training and before each event.

After the “controversy” of the 1996 Olympics over who was really the fastest man in the world, a race was held at the Sky Dome in Toronto between Donovon Bailey and Michael Smith to settle the score. Just before lining up at the starting blocks, Donovan Bailey was adjusted on television by his chiropractor. While Donovan Bailey won as Michael Smith “experienced a hamstring problem”, the point is that chiropractic was an important part of Donovan Bailey's preparation for competition.
During the NBA playoffs last year [1998], John Stockton from the Utah Jazz was filmed in the dressing room having chiropractic adjustments to help him improve his performance and to contribute to his team's success

Calgary Flame's Steve Smith is adjusted regularly before home games and on the road if a chiropractor is available. Steve has been under regular chiropractic care for over 20 years and he says that he notices that his performance on the ice is not as sharp if he cannot be adjusted before a game.

How do chiropractic adjustments help to improve athletic performance?
The answer lies in the nervous system. In our bodies, the brain is the master control and everything that we do is regulated by nerve impulses that are sent from the brain out to the body through our nerves. The vertebrae protect the spine and allow our bodies to move, but they can become fixed (the chiropractic term is subluxated) and these subluxated vertebrae can put pressure on the nerves as they exit the spine. This added pressure on the nerves can restrict the impulses that are sent from the brain to the body, which in turn can reduce the body's ability to function as it should. Chiropractic adjustments improve the movement of the vertebrae and help to take the pressure off the nerves as they exit from the spine. With the release in pressure on the nervous system, the brain is able to communicate with the body more efficiently and the body functions with more precision.

For the athlete who is looking for an edge to his or her physical performance, the improved communication between the brain and every part of the body, especially the heart, lungs and muscles can make the difference between winning and losing.

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