With the new year well and truly underway many people may have ventured down the path of being more active and exercising regularly. We are also approaching the time when many winter sports are starting up again, even if it is only pre-season training.
We’ve known for a long time now that chiropractic care is not only very helpful in allowing the body to heal and regulate itself more efficiently, but we also know that it helps the body perform better. There are many people all over the world from weekend warriors all the way up to elite athletes like Tom Brady, Blake Griffin, Lance Armstrong and New Zealand’s own UFC 5th ranked middleweight Israel Adesanya who get regular chiropractic care to get the edge in their game.
Chiropractic care is all about ensuring the connection between your brain and body is free of interference and working at its best. The brain is in control of all functions in the body including muscle activation, balance, reflexes and coordination to name a few. It is also responsible for telling your body when and where it needs to spend time on recovery.
But don’t just take my word for it. Lets dive in to some research about chiropractic and performance.
A study by the researchers at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic found that adjusting the spine reduced what is called the “Cortical Silent Period”(1) – this is the time between when your brain tells a muscle to contract, and when the contraction occurs. This tells us that our bodies are more efficient at movement and react quicker when necessary.
Another study found that chiropractic adjustments can increase muscle strength, muscle activation, and reduce muscle fatigue (5). This is because a spinal adjustment stimulates the part of the brain responsible for control of muscles (4). This study showed that a chiropractic adjustment resulted in 60% more electrical activity from the brain in the measured muscles, 16% increase in absolute force created by the muscle, and a 45% increase in drive from the brain to the muscles. The study concluded that the group who were getting adjusted got stronger than the other group and did not fatigue in the same way. The significance of these findings is remarkable and the difference in muscle strength was almost identical to 3 weeks of strength training. This finding was also reproduced but this time measuring maximal bite force (how hard you can clench your teeth/bite) (2), which increased by 11% - again showing that chiropractic adjustments can increase the brains ability to drive muscles.
Another study found that chiropractic care improved proprioception (perception or awareness of the position and movement of the body) within the body (3), which is an essential component to maintaining good balance. Whilst this study was aimed at showing a reduction in falls risk for elderly people, increased balance and spatial awareness has huge implications for athletes who want to boost their performance.
Outside of measuring muscles, research also shows that when we adjust the spine it increases activity in the pre-frontal cortex (4). The pre-frontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for not only motor control and spatial awareness, but also controls behavior, decision making, goal directed tasks, memory/attention, and autonomic function as well as many other things.
These findings are huge for the profession, but also illustrate how important chiropractic care is in creating and maintaining the best possible version of yourself. Pain is a very minute aspect of the chiropractic profession, especially when there are so many more benefits you receive from getting checked and adjusted regularly. So, whether you’re on a mission to better yourself, improve your sporting performance this season, or simply to live a happier and healthier life, choose regular chiropractic care to keep your body at peak performance and stay one step ahead of the game.
References:
1. Haavik, H., Niazi, I. K., Jochumsen, M., Uginčius, P., Sebik, O., Yılmaz, G., … Türker, K. S. (2018). Chiropractic spinal manipulation alters TMS induced I-wave excitability and shortens the cortical silent period. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 42, 24-35. doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2018.06.010
2. Haavik, H., Özyurt, M., Niazi, I., Holt, K., Nedergaard, R., Yilmaz, G., & Türker, K. (2018). Chiropractic Manipulation Increases Maximal Bite Force in Healthy Individuals. Brain Sciences, 8(5), 76. doi:10.3390/brainsci8050076
3. Holt, K. R., Haavik, H., Lee, A. C., Murphy, B., & Elley, C. R. (2016). Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care to Improve Sensorimotor Function Associated With Falls Risk in Older People: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 39(4), 267-278. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2016.02.003
4. Lelic, D., Niazi, I. K., Holt, K., Jochumsen, M., Dremstrup, K., Yielder, P., … Haavik, H. (2016). Manipulation of Dysfunctional Spinal Joints Affects Sensorimotor Integration in the Prefrontal Cortex: A Brain Source Localization Study. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 1-9. doi:10.1155/2016/3704964
5. Niazi, I. K., Türker, K. S., Flavel, S., Kinget, M., Duehr, J., & Haavik, H. (2015). Changes in H-reflex and V-waves following spinal manipulation. Experimental Brain Research, 233(4), 1165-1173. doi:10.1007/s00221-014-4193-5