Just like doctors, chiropractors have been around for hundreds of years but unlike doctors, they had not focused into different types of chiropractic care. This was mainly because all chiropractic services use the same basic principles of a combination of manipulation of the spine and relieving pressure on the discs in the back. However, what to use and when was where expertise came in and so as with anything else, the more experience you have in a certain area, the more proficient you will become.
Although chiropractic services have continued to grow in popularity in general, as they were most often called upon to deal with sporting injuries, some chiropractors started to focus their practices solely in sports chiropractic ensuring they became more proficient in providing athletes with the help they needed. This focusing probably started around the same time as a chiropractor was first added to the support staff of the United States Olympics Team in 1980.
Due to an athlete’s often extreme training and intense physical activity during a game or an event, athletes are more prone to injuries involving joints and muscles and so therefore more likely to need the services of a chiropractor. This of course ensured that those chiropractors that did opt to focus their practice would have the potential for a large number of patients.
As these focused chiropractors learned more about the injuries they were dealing with, they were able to formulate plans for athletes which could offer them less chance of receiving injuries. This in turn has led to many athletes requesting the services of a sports chiropractor even if they have not been injured. These chiropractors focusing on sports injuries have also been able to recommend plans to athletes, who have suffered injuries, which if followed could lead them to a swifter recovery, allowing them to get physically involved in their sport again in the shortest possible time.
It has more recently been shown that any athlete that receives a expert massage from a sports chiropractor prior to them participating in their chosen sport, they are less likely to receive an injury. Due to athletes being ‘benched’ while recovering from injury, it is essential to them that they get back in the sport at the earliest opportunity and so an ever-increasing number are relying on sports chiropractors to ensure their swift recovery. This has in turn led to a demand for more chiropractors to focus their chiropractic practice in sports injuries.