Chiropractic Care for Kid Athletes
I grew up running, and I’ve continued this sport now for 31 years. I did youth track and then transitioned to middle and high school track and cross country. I’ll tell you now, my biggest regret is that I didn’t even attempt to run track during my undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia, but we live and learn! 😊 And now, both of my boys play soccer, and have for several years. I love organized sports for several reasons. Ultimately, the physical activity is so crucial for overall health and wellness, but team sports can help develop leadership skills, conflict management skills, and aid in learning to work in a team environment. Organized sports and being physically active can also play a huge role in school performance. Being part of the running world during school helped me to learn to set goals, how to train, what time management means, what a healthy lifestyle looks like, and I think was a big part of my academic success.
One thing I did not do during my early running years was get adjusted. I tell patients all the time, I haven’t been under care my whole life. I have experienced growing up and being active and not getting adjusted, and I note a huge difference by being under regular chiropractic care. Again, we live and learn! My postpartum running career improved greatly with chiropractic care and is a big reason as to why I became a chiropractor. But knowing what I know now as a chiropractor and one who focuses on working with pregnant patients and kids, taking care of kid athletes can be extremely beneficial to their overall health and wellness.
"Chiropractic adjustments for children of all ages are of tremendous benefit for the treatment and prevention of injuries and to maximize performance potential."
Not only do professional athletes and weekend warriors use chiropractic care for injury prevention and recovery, maximized performance, and increased health and wellness, but our kids can benefit too from chiropractic adjustments!
"Chiropractic’s focus on the spine and nervous system is also important for children, since it is their nervous system which controls their entire growth and development."
These quotes from a Pathways to Family Wellness article about chiropractic and athletes sum up why I love taking care of kid athletes.
Now having your kids involved in sports doesn't mean they have to specialize in a specific sport at an early age. Letting them explore options, find what they love to do, and have fun while doing it is important to their performance as well. In the article, It's Only a Game: Expert Advice on Parents Navigating Youth Sports, author Dr. Reshma Sha makes some great points. She mentions how exercise influences brain development and learning, and that early specialization isn't the end all be all. She covers 3 key points about early specialization:
science says to not specialize early due to overuse injuries
science says early specialization can lead to burnout and maladaptive behaviors
science says that playing multiple sports at young ages develops all-around better athleticism
She also mentions how early on it's important to introduce children to the ABC's of sports:
AGILITY
BALANCE
COORDINATION
If you think about it, our nervous system plays an important role in our agility, balance, and coordination. Chiropractic adjustments can optimize nervous system function and in turn, help children with the ABC's! With my kid athletes and kid patients in general, I’m not just working on spinal adjustments, but we also work on primitive reflexes. In fact, I devoted an entire blog post to primitive reflexes and how it relates to brain function and motor development. Chiropractic care coupled with primitive reflex work can really help kids with agility, balance, and coordination.
From better balance during soccer, to pain-free running during cross country, to less injuries during gymnastics, chiropractic adjustments for kid athletes of all ages can help decrease nervous system irritation and allow for optimal brain/body connection and assist in athletic performance.
Even if your child doesn’t play organized sports yet or ever, chances are they are out and about and being active. And agility, balance, and coordination are important whether they’re trying out for a team, or just playing with neighborhood friends. Making sure the nervous system is functioning properly is beneficial for all kids!
Next time you’re in the office, let’s chat about how chiropractic care can help your children. For more research and articles about kids and chiropractic, check out the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
~Dr. Shannon