The Road to Olympic Gold is Paved with Chiropractic Care

By Dr. Dave Edenfield

If you watched any of the 2014 Winter Olympics you no doubt marveled at the athletic prowess of the US Olympic Team.  Whether your favorite winter sport is skiing, skating, hockey or any of the other events, you can’t help but be impressed at the level of physical fitness exhibited by this country’s athletes.  While we may have come in second place to Russia this year when it came to the sheer number of medals won by American athletes in the winter games, one place that we come in first is in the medical care given to our athletes.  This includes chiropractic care.

While the public knows about all the hard work it takes to win a gold medal, what most people do not realize is how hard the members of the medical staff work to make sure that all our athletes are maximizing their potential.  The US Olympic Team travels with a number of sports medicine specialists, including chiropractors who aren’t only there to assist athletes when they sustain injuries, but they are also there to help them prepare for competition.

Michael Reed, medical director for the US Olympic Committee summed it up best by stating that, “Chiropractors have really come a long way in terms of the Olympic Games. And the demands of athletes are one of the main reasons why.”

You read that right, Olympic athletes demand chiropractic care.  This is nothing new.  During the 2008 Summer Games, the US beach volleyball team requested that their chiropractor, Dr. Ernest Ferrel, accompany them to all their matches.  When you consider the demands that athletes place on their bodies, it should come as no surprise that they require a medical professional that is trained in everything from physical therapy, to nutrition and stretching.  Chiropractic is like one-stop shopping for nearly every sports medicine need.

Another chiropractor chosen to assist athletes during the 2010 Winter Olympics, Dr. Blasé Toto, stated,

“These athletes are used to receiving chiropractic care at their home training centers because they know that it helps them to perform at their top level. Since we’ll all be there for about a month, the athletes will need someone to continue their regular chiropractic routine.” In addition to maintenance and performance care, Dr. Toto was also available for acute-injury treatment for the duration of the Winter Games.

The reason that top athletes require so much maintenance has to do with the fact that they are required to push their body to extremes in order to compete.  Everything from circulation, to respiration, to nervous system response needs to be functioning at levels well above that of mere mortals.  The best way to think about Olympic athletes is to liken them to Formula 1 racecars, whose need for exotic fuel and constant fine tuning is absolutely critical to winning a race.  If one component on a Formula 1 car fails during a race, the results can be catastrophic.  So it is with the world’s most demanding physical competitors.

Just as athletes take years to prepare for competition, the selection process for the Olympic Team medical staff is equally challenging.  To make the cut for inclusion on the USOC medical staff, chiropractors are required to volunteer for a two week rotation at an Olympic Training Center.  While there they will treat any athletes in either a rehabilitation and/or long-term care capacity.  Their performance as care givers will be evaluated just as is those of the athletes in their care. Completing this voluntary program does not assure a chiropractor of making the team.  Some, like Dr. Toto, worked as a volunteer for years before being invited to the games.

“It had been a goal of mine for a long time, but I didn’t think it would ever happen because it had been 14 years since I’d first worked with the USOC,” Dr. Toto said. “I’m humbled and grateful and excited. I’ve never served in the military, so this is my opportunity to serve my country by caring for the best athletes it has to offer.”

Not Just for Star Athletes

Fortunately, even weekend warriors can take advantage of sports-related chiropractic care.  Whether you are a runner, skier, golfer, tennis player, cyclist, or just like to play the occasional pickup softball or basketball game, your neighborhood chiropractor can help you get the most out of the effort while creating the least strain to your body.  Remember, not only top athletes run the risk of injury while pursuing their avocation.  In fact, the average Joe and Jane is much more susceptible to sports injuries than top athletes, mainly due to the fact that their bodies are not accustomed to supporting the high strain that competition demands.  Most amateur athletes also do not know how to prepare for event like Olympians.  In fact, there are as many different stretching routines as there are sporting events, since various sports stress different parts of the human frame. (Your chiropractor can help you tailor a stretching routine to suit your sport.)

While you may not be preparing for a shot at a medal, remember that the way you maintain your body will have a direct bearing on how it performs day in and day out.  Particularly if you tend to lead a more active lifestyle, having a chiropractor on your team is as important to your well-being as that of every Olympic athlete who knows that the road to the gold is paved with chiropractic care.

Dr. Dave Edenfield  and Dr. Steven Warfield are part of the team of doctors and therapists at http://chiropractic-jacksonville-fl.com and http://endyourpain.org who are dedicated to helping you and your family lead  healthier, happier and pain-free lives.  

The Next Shiny thing

By Dr. Steven Warfield

When it comes to maintaining our health we are all guilty of looking for the next shiny thing that promises to provide a quick fix.  Anything that will reduce or better yet eliminate the tedium of actually doing work in order to receive the desired benefit is all we crave.  Let’s face it, instant gratification is so ingrained in the American psyche that it’s practically incorporated into our DNA.  So for today’s blog I thought I would take a few minutes to review several popular “quick remedies” that seem to be all the rage to see if they have any medical efficacy.

Can Titanium Necklaces Enhance Sports Prowess

For the past few years a number of prominent sports stars have touted the game enhancing attributes bestowed upon them by wearing titanium necklaces.  Created in the 1980’s by Yoshiro Hirata, his Phiten Company is one of the world leaders in manufacturing titanium infused products.  According to the company’s literature, titanium necklaces and bracelets supposedly work by stabilizing the flow of electricity used by nerves to communicate signals to various parts of the body.  While a number of sports stars swear by them, to date there is no scientific evidence that can support Phiten’s claims.  In a quick review of review sites, there were those who gave credence to the effectiveness of this technology along with just as many who reported no noticeable benefits.  Without scrupulous scientific study, any reported benefits of wearing titanium could be just as likely the result of the placebo effect as it is of any real medical benefit.

Good or Bad Vibes?

Vibration-based exercise equipment has also shown a surge in popularity as of late, touted as a revolutionary way to add muscle tone.  The developers of the devices also claim that the use of these devices can also cut down on workout time.  Unlike titanium necklaces, this technology has been the subject of several medical studies, including one sponsored by NASA.

“A 2009 study by the University of Antwerp in Belgium and Artesis University College seems to show that vibration plates do work. In the study, obese women who followed a healthy diet and exercised using vibration plates lost more weight long-term, including more hard-to-lose belly fat, than women who followed a healthy diet and conventional exercise.

The group who used vibration plates performed basic moves such as squats, push-ups, calf rises, lunges and ab crunches on the machines. They performed each type of 10 exercises for 30 seconds each, and gradually built up to 60 seconds each.

They followed this program for 6 months. The group using vibration plates lost an average of 11% of their body weight, compared with a 7% body weight loss for the group using conventional exercise methods. The group using vibration plates also lost the most belly fat. Additionally, the group using vibration plates maintained their weight loss 6 months after the initial 6-month study ended.”

As for the NASA study, their goal is not to buff up their astronaut corps.  Their main goal is to stop prevent 

bone loss that occurs in the weightless environment of space.  Currently, astronauts in orbit spend an average of two hours per day working out with some fairly complicated devices that are resistance based.  The problem is that this still has not stopped the muscle atrophy and bone loss inherent to everyone who ventures into space.  A NASA funded study suggests that having astronauts stand on a vibrating plate for 10-20 minutes each day could slow bone loss.

"The vibrations are very slight," notes Stefan Judex, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, who worked on the research. The plate vibrates at 90 Hz (1 Hz = 1 cycle per second), with each brief oscillation imparting an acceleration equivalent to one-third of Earth's gravity. "If you touch the plate with your finger, you can feel a very slight vibration," he added. "If you watch the plate, you cannot see any vibration at all. Although the vibrations are subtle they have had a profound effect on bone loss in laboratory animals such as turkeys, sheep, and rats.” http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast02nov_

Despite these studies, the verdict is still out, since some researchers remain unconvinced, feeling that vibration equipment can lead to back pain and cartilage damage.  Either way, vibration equipment is by no means a panacea, since it is used in conjunction with exercise.  It doesn’t replace it.  Even using the equipment properly should be done under the supervision of a professional.  As one trainer in the FitDay article noted, “If it’s easy, you aren’t doing it correctly.”

Can Kinesio Tape Fix That?

Most people first took note of this product during the 2008 Olympic Games, when athletes started showing up for competition replete with multiple strips of colorful tape affixed to their torso, abdomen, arms or legs.  Called Kinesio Tape, it was developed in the 1970’s by Japanese chiropractor Dr. Kenzo Kase.  At the time he was dissatisfied with sports taping methods then in use to combat joint pain.  He theorized that in order to stabilize the joint, it was necessary to tape around the muscle to achieve joint correction.  Unfortunately the sports tapes available at the time were too stiff and had a tendency to immobilize the joint.  Therefore he started to experiment with tapes, trying to develop a product that had the same elasticity as muscle.  Two years later he came up with a tape that was flexible enough to do the job.  Thus was born Kinesio Tex Tape.

While less restrictive than traditional sports tapes, the real question is whether it can live up to the claims of its inventor.  Several studies have been published:

“Kinesio taping improves pain, range of motion, and proprioception in older patients with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25706053

“A little elastic for a better performance: kinesiotaping of the motor effector modulates neural mechanisms for rhythmic movements.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25309355

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sportsdoc/Kinesiotape-vibration-machines-and-more-do-they-REALLY-work.html#j5j8A86a64W3HZ2w.99

Despite all the evidence, many athletes still swear by the product.  

Far from being simple to apply, devotees must be trained in how to properly apply the tape. 

Kevin Anderson, managing director of Kinesio UK, admits that, "There's nothing magical in the tape, it certainly can't improve your performance or make you into Superman, but the way people use the tape is to lift the skin, reduce the pressure and that helps relieve pain and swelling."

Other recent sports fads include such things as Strength Shoes (which make wearers look as though their tennies have blown a flat), Compression Sleeves (which make it look as though you are nursing a broken arm), and Breathe Right Nose Strips (which were originally developed to curb snoring).  The bottom line is that when it comes to keeping the body in top physical shape, while sports fads come and sports fads go, nothing enhances physical prowess more than practice, practice, practice.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://www.lakewoodchiropracticjax.com/