RUNNING & ART

Have you ever felt like you had more to leave out on the course but just could not tap in to any more then you had? Or have you have ever been looking for the last 1% of performance during a race? What about that pesky overuse injury that is holding you back from your best race yet?

The good news is that we have the tools to get you not only back out training toward your optimal level, but we are able to customize plans that will help you to maintain the performance level that you’ve worked so hard to maintain. If you’re ready to take that next step towards your best race yet, come check out what we can do for you!

Did you know that Chiropractic helps runners (and athletes of all kinds) with:

• Facilitation of Optimal Health and function
• Decreased recovery time
• Decreased occurrence of injuries
• Smoother, more efficient strides
• Relief from over-use injuries

(planter fascitis, sciatica, IT Band syndrome, etc…)

• Increased immune function (less sick days holding you back!)
• Improved range of motion, flexibility, and biomechanics
• Micro and Macro nutritional choices
• Active Release Techniques

Here are some specific areas of concentration with which we can help to make your training more efficient:

Recovery

The main goal of Horst Chiropractic is to give you the knowledge and ability to keep your body as healthy as it can be. When you are training for any type of race, recovery is a crucial component. The faster your body is able to recover, the sooner you will be able to get back out there and push your body to the limit. If you are able to train at a higher level, the more often you will be able to set PR’s and have an advantage on your competition.

Chiropractic is a key component in the recovery process of your body between workouts. If your body is structurally out of alignment, it can be very detrimental, not only slowing down the recovery process, but also creating excessive damage during a typical training session. We can help you with structural enhancements on recovery time and nutritional advice that will have you eating the right foods. For example, we can teach you how to decrease the natural pro-inflammatory processes that you consume on a day to day basis. If your body is comprised of nutrients that promote inflammation, your body will have all of the ingredients to repair your body; however, it will not have the ingredients to decrease the inflammation in your body, and we can teach you how to overcome this.

SI Joint Dysfunction and Relief from Overuse Injuries

The Sacro Illiac joint is the main joint between your spine and your pelvis. If this joint is not functioning properly, it will decrease the length of your stride, which means that the hip, knee, ankle and foot will have to change the way in which they function just to compensate for the SI joint. This will cause other muscles and ligaments in the leg surrounding the knee, ankle and foot to change the way in which they operate for this imbalance as well. This will lead to not only low back pain directly, however this dysfunction in your SI joint can also lead to hip, knee and ankle and foot problems especially while running. These are typically ailments of a runner. Typically, after a short period of time off, they will feel much better, and runners will not understand why the pain comes back as soon as they start training again. Adjustments of the SI joint can restore proper motion to your stride, decreasing aches and pains that are developed from the compensatory effects of a dysfunctional SI joint. This will allow for a smoother more efficient stride as you are running.

Decreased Occurrence of Injuries

Proper alignment of the body alone will give proper balance through the body. Proper balance allows all of the muscles and joints to function the way they were designed to, which directly decreases the stress that is placed on these structures. This will decrease injuries directly. When a body is in its intended alignment, there is much less occurrence of injury because everything is functioning the way that it is intended.

Chiropractic care is exceptional at activating proprioceptive nerves, the nerves that give the brain feedback on where and what the body is doing in its surrounding environment. If there is a dysfunction in this system, you are much more likely to step on something wrong, trip or simply lose your balance. We don’t want you to lose the benefits of all of that hard training you’ve been putting in because your proprioceptive nerves aren’t functioning at their best level, so let us help you get your nerves back in order.

Increased Range of Motion

When two bones are no longer moving in the proper fashion, they are said to be restricted. If these two bones are compressing a nerve, they create a situation known as a subluxation. When a subluxation occurs, the bones and corresponding nerves are no longer doing their job, and this creates a negative domino affect within the alignment of the muscles. For example, if one of your bones is rotated to the right, the muscles on the right have to be contracted (shorter) and the muscles on the left have to be elongated (lengthened) in order to compensate for the subluxation. If there is a group of muscles that is already lengthened, the muscles are not going to magically stretch even further to allow full range of motion in this area of the body. Additionally, if two or more bones are subluxated and restricted, they will not glide the way that they were intended which will decrease range of motion as well.

What does this have to do with runners? Simply, you cannot run at your best level if your body’s mechanics are compromised. What chiropractors do best is treat and prevent these subluxations with in your body so that you can have full range of motion and nerve function while you are running.

Increased Immune Function

This is a big portion of chiropractic. In 1975, there was a study done at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute that found that people who had received routine chiropractic care had a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care. Your immune system is an integral part to your everyday function—probably even more than you realize. Right after an injury, your immune system goes to work in order to help repair any tissue that may have been damaged. This is often why certain parts of your body might get red, warm, appear swollen, and feel achy after training or a race. A boost in your immune system means that you will not only begin the recovery process with a foot up on the competition, but you will also be able to prevent things like the common cold and the flu from ruining your training schedule.

There are many different reasons for training. You may be a seasoned runner training for your next marathon, a weekend warrior who just loves getting out there and pushing as hard as you can, or maybe you are just training for your first 5k. No matter which category you fall into, we have the tools to get that last 1% of performance out of your body for you! So give us a call today to schedule your consultation and see what a customized care plan can do for you!