Pro athletes get chiropractic care — why you should, too

Every major pro basketball, baseball, football, and soccer organization in America has a chiropractor on staff. There's a reason for that — and the same reason applies to you if you lift, run, or play hard on the weekends. This post explains why pro athletes rely on chiropractic care, how it improves performance and recovery, and what a smart proactive plan looks like for everyday athletes.

Why pro athletes don't skip chiropractic

Elite athletes use chiropractors to squeeze the last two or three percent out of their bodies. At that level, small gains in alignment, range of motion, and recovery translate into contracts and championships, so they leave no stone unturned.

Russell Wilson reportedly keeps multiple chiropractors on his personal staff. Former Steelers linebacker James Harrison did the same — paying six figures a year just to keep his body performing. For these guys, their body is their job.

I have a good friend who runs the medical department at FC Copenhagen, a professional soccer club in Denmark. He practices applied kinesiology: before training or a match, he tests each player's arms, legs, and spine to find where a limb is weak or deficient. He then adjusts the joint that houses the nerve innervating that body part and retests.

I've watched it happen. A player gets on the table, tests weak in the left leg, gets a low back adjustment, and the leg switches back on. It's a clear demonstration that joint alignment and neurological function are tied together.

Weekend warriors get the biggest benefit

Most of the athletes we see at our South Loop clinic aren't pros — they're weekend warriors. They work demanding corporate jobs and then push hard at CrossFit, lifting, or marathon training.

When our runners and CrossFitters ask whether they really need a chiropractor, my answer is simple: why wouldn't you use what the pros use? If alignment and joint function help an NFL linebacker perform, they'll help you run a faster Chicago Marathon or hit a cleaner squat.

Proactive care: keep the load from breaking you down

A proactive approach makes sure your spine is aligned and moving well before you load it up. If you're squatting heavy, your low back has to accept that load without compensation. If you're running a marathon, your hips need to track properly so you're not feeding stress into your knees, ankles, or lumbar spine.

When you start adding 50, 60, or 70 miles a week to your running routine, that's a massive amount of repetitive stress on tissue and joints. A visit to the chiropractor takes less time, energy, and effort than getting injured mid-training cycle and trying to rehab while still chasing a race goal.

Reactive care: recovering from an injury

Chiropractic also helps you recover when something does go wrong. Say you ran a marathon with poor hip alignment and weak glutes. That can shift the low back and produce knee pain or lumbar pain weeks later. At that point you need a reactive plan.

If a joint in your low back has shifted and isn't moving — and it's compressing a nerve — you need to get adjusted. If you're getting hip, low back, knee, or ankle pain when you run, we need to evaluate what's firing in the posterior chain: hamstrings, glutes, low back, and pelvic floor.

For repetitive motion injuries, we work in phases:

1. Calm the inflammation and restore range of motion through adjustments, physical therapy, and modalities.
2. Break down scar tissue in the affected joint with targeted soft tissue work.
3. Stabilize and strengthen with more adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and progressive loading.

Training for a race or hitting the gym hard? Find out where your body is actually breaking down. New patients at Advanced Health get a $49 exam plus X-rays so we can see your alignment, identify the source of pain or weakness, and build a plan. Book online at /schedule or call (312) 987-4878.

Range of motion is the whole game

If we just focus on range of motion in a joint — spine or extremity — that alone is paramount for performance. Imagine going up to catch a ball with a restricted shoulder. Either you can't get your arm up, or you can but it's weak because there's nerve impingement in your neck. Adjustments and soft tissue therapy restore that motion so the joint can actually do its job.

This is the chain pro athletes are protecting every week:

• Good alignment allows good range of motion.
• Good range of motion allows good load into the joint and tissue.
• Good load plus balanced strength allows optimal biomechanical function.

How we approach athletes at Advanced Health

At Advanced Health Chiropractic, we lean proactive. The care a pro athlete gets and the care a desk worker putting in 50-60 hours a week gets isn't all that different — both bodies need alignment, motion, and balanced strength to handle their load.

Dr. Luke Stringer, DC uses Chiropractic BioPhysics methods to assess and correct spinal alignment so your body can handle the repetitive stress of training without breaking down. Whether you're chasing a marathon PR, training for a CrossFit competition, or just want to keep lifting pain-free, we can help.

Ready to train smarter? Schedule an evaluation or learn more about becoming a new patient.