Get Your Body Ready for Football Season
Football is a demanding sport. Sprinting, cutting, blocking, tackling, jumping, and repeated contact place tremendous demands on the feet, ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, spine, and muscles.
Before you put on the helmet, make sure your body is ready to get in the game.
At Back to Life Chiropractic, we work with athletes to evaluate posture, spinal and joint function, flexibility, muscle balance, and other factors that can affect how your body moves and performs.
Football Players Need More Than a Sports Physical
A sports physical is an important part of preparing for the season. It evaluates an athlete’s medical history, general health, fitness level, and physical well-being. We recommend having your sports physical approximately six weeks before the start of the sports season whenever possible.
But preparing for football doesn’t stop there.
Football players need to be able to:
- Run and accelerate
- Change direction quickly
- Maintain balance and stability
- Generate strength and power
- Absorb contact
- Move through a full range of motion
- Recover between practices and games
Proper joint function, muscle balance, flexibility, and posture can all be important parts of an athlete’s overall preparation.
Chiropractic Care for Football Players
Football can place significant stress on the spine and extremity joints. Our chiropractic examination may include motion palpation, range-of-motion testing, posture evaluation, and other assessments to identify areas that may need attention.
Chiropractic adjustments may be used to help restore normal joint function in the spine and extremities.
We may also use:
- Soft-tissue therapy for tight muscles, trigger points, and muscle spasms
- Flexibility techniques to improve range of motion and balance
- KT Taping for additional external support during activity
- Intersegmental traction to help mobilize joints
- Cold laser/Quantum therapy as a noninvasive, drug-free therapy
- Massage therapy to address muscle tension and stress
- Strength and conditioning to improve athletic performance
Don’t Ignore Your Feet
Football starts from the ground up.
Our 3D Foot Analysis looks at the three arches of the feet. Abnormal arch heights can contribute to abnormal stresses through the feet and affect the rotation of the knees and hips.
We also offer Foot Leveler custom orthotics, made from a laser scan of the feet. Heel lifts may also be used when appropriate to address a leg-length difference.
For a football player, proper foundation and movement can be an important part of overall athletic preparation.
Strength, Flexibility & Conditioning
Football requires both strength and flexibility.
Our exercise and conditioning programs can focus on strengthening specific areas of the body while improving balance and conditioning. Flexibility techniques are also used to work toward normal range of motion and reduce stress on muscles and joints.
Recovery Is Part of Training
Practicing harder isn’t always the answer.
Your body needs recovery, too. Massage, soft-tissue work, flexibility training, traction, and other therapies may help address muscle tension and areas of stress following training and competition.
The goal is to help the athlete keep moving, training, and preparing for the next practice or game.
Football Is Mental, Too
Football isn’t just a physical game.
Confidence, focus, visualization, and the ability to maintain a positive mindset are important parts of athletic performance. Our mental training techniques are designed to help athletes develop confidence and optimal intensity without unnecessary mental or physiological burnout.
Are You Ready to Get in the Game?
Sometimes a football player only needs a few services. Other athletes may need a more comprehensive approach.
The best place to start is with an examination.
Whether you’re preparing for football season, working your way back after an injury, or looking for ways to improve your overall athletic performance, Back to Life Chiropractic can help you get your body ready for the game.
GET IN THE GAME!
Dr. Mark R. Schuler
Back to Life Chiropractic
4201 W Hwy 146
LaGrange, KY 40031
(502) 241-1122
Sports physicals and chiropractic care are provided as appropriate for the individual athlete and do not replace emergency or medical care when needed.