Chiropractic in the Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries

The study aims to investigate whether chiropractic manual therapy intervention protocol provided in addition to the current best practice management could prevent the occurrence of and weeks missed due to hamstring and other lower-limb injuries at the semi-elite level of Australian football. The authors used two groups of male semi elite Australian Rules football athletes, matched them in several ways and randomly placed them in one of two arms of the study. All received the usual and customary management and medical care. Half also received chiropractic care which consisted of both soft tissue and high velocity spinal manipulation. The treatment plan was: 1 treatment per week for 6 weeks, 1 treatment per 2 weeks for 3 months, 1 treatment per month for the remainder of the season (3 months). The research evaluated several outcomes. When chiropractic care was added to conventional management, there was a significant reduction in lower limb strain injuries, time missed as a result of knee injuries, lower back pain, and there was improvement in health status. “In addition, although not statistically significant, there was a trend towards prevention of hamstring and primary non-contact knee injuries and there were no reported adverse outcomes from the intervention.”

Dr. David P. Chen
Chiropractor in Laurel, MD
Laurel Regional Chiropractic

Neuromuscular Training for Sports Injury Prevention: A Systematic Review

A March 2010 systematic review conducted in Germany underscores the value of neuromuscular training in preventing sports injuries. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of proprioceptive/neuromuscular training in preventing sports injuries by using the best available evidence.

7 methodologically well-conducted studies were considered for this review. Pooled analysis revealed that multi-intervention training was effective in reducing the risk of lower limb injuries, acute knee injuries, and ankle sprain injuries. Balance training alone resulted in a significant risk reduction of ankle sprain injuries and a nonsignificant risk reduction for injuries overall. Exercise interventions were more effective in athletes with a history of sports injury than in those without.

They concluded that “On the basis of the results of seven high-quality studies, this review showed evidence for the effectiveness of proprioceptive/ neuromuscular training in reducing the incidence of certain types of sports injuries among adolescent and young adult athletes during pivoting sports.”

Source: Hubscher M, Zech A, Pfeifer K, Hansel F, Vogt L, Banzer W. Neuromuscular training for sports injury prevention: a systematic review. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2010 (Mar);42(3):413–421.

Dr. David Chen
Chiropractor in Laurel, MD
Laurel Regional Chiropractic
www.laurelregionalchiropractic.com