New Year's Resolutions and Chiropractic Care

This is the time of the year that people are in full swing with conquering their New Year's Resolutions (NYR). The most popular NYR made from year to year, is to lose weight. Although chiropractic can't help you with that, it can help give you the tools to acheive your goals. A healthy weight loss process consists of eating properly and increasing physical fitness. But taking care of your body in other ways can help you on a road of success in achieving your long term goals.

To perform optimally, athletes have special needs. Intense training schedules, mental preparation and nutritional requirements are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to making sure the body is fit to perform…at any level. Often overlooked is preparing the body STRUCTURALLY to achieve athletic and fitness goals. Chiropractic can help an athlete do just that…and it’s becoming the competitive advantage many athletes are seeking! Find a chiropractor with experience in sports medicine, and you will be on the road to addressing current health problems, preventing injury and re-injury, and deriving maximum enjoyment out of your sport. Chiropractic views your body as an integrated unit. The spinal cord, every nerve, muscle, tendon, and joint and each vertebrae must be in complete sync. If one vertebrae is out of alignment, it can affect the surrounding musculature and impinge nerves; therefore decreasing the efficiency of the body’s performance. Chiropractic is a natural healthcare method with a focus on keeping all aspects of the body functioning optimally and efficiently. Chiropractors know how the nervous system affects everything that you do, as well how muscle balance, biomechanics, connective tissue health and a full and pain free range of motion can help anyone from a weekend warrior to a professional athlete perform at their highest level.

Many athletes, including world-class athletes, receive regular chiropractic treatments before, during and after their competitive seasons. I bet you didn’t know:

• Aaron Rodgers, MVP quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, has been getting adjusted since the day he was born. His dad is a chiropractor in California.
• Dan O'Brien, Olympic Decathalon Gold Medalist says: “You obviously can’t compete at your fullest if you’re not in alignment. And your body can’t heal if your back is not in alignment. Every track and field athlete that I have ever met has seen a chiropractor at one time or another. In track and field, it is absolutely essential. Chiropractic care is one of the things I think that no one has denied or refuted”
• Tom Brady, 3 time Superbowl Champion and 2 time Superbowl MVP for the New England Patriots has this to say about chiropractic: "As long as I see a chiropractor, I feel like I am one step ahead of the game..."
• And Tiger Woods stated: "...lifting weights and seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis has made me a better golfer. I've been going to chiropractors for as long as I can remember. It's as important to my training as practicing my swing.”
• Other athletes enjoying the benefit of chiropractic to maintain their "edge" include: Jerry Rice, Johnny Damon, Evander Holyfield, Joe Montana, Arnold Schwarzenneger, and more!

A research study conducted by Drs. Anthony Lauro and Brian Mouch, published in the journal of Chiropractic research and Clinical Investigation, 1991, indicated chiropractic care might improve athletic performance by as much as 16.7% over a two week period. The report also concluded that subluxation-free athletes react faster, coordinate better, execute fine movements with improved accuracy and precision, amounting to an overall better athlete.

Everyone needs chiropractic care to work their body to its full potential, whether someone is in yoga, pilates, weight training, running, elliptical machines, walking in the mall, training for a triathalon or preparing for a cage match...he or she is an "athlete".  So see a chiropractor today, and let's make sure you are moving and functioning at your best!

Before becoming a chiropractor, Dr. Karrie Vander Sluis had previously worked as a certified athletic trainer for three different high schools in Iowa, along with time spent working in a hospital physical therapy clinic.  She has extensive knowledge of athletic injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and management.  Please contact Vander Sluis Chiropractic at 278-1218 if you have any questions on how Chiropractic can help you on your road to being more fit.