Fight Game: How Chiropractic Care Can Help

By Martha Michael

If contact sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts are among your favorite forms of exercise, you may be enduring body blows that affect your health. A ground and pound may please viewing fans, but it can inhibit your physical function and cause injuries that make you throw in the towel.

Multiple Purposes for Martial Arts

From weight loss to self-defense, there are many advantages to participating in a martial arts program.

According to EliteDaily.com, there are good reasons why practicing martial arts is beneficial to young adults. The website has an article with a list of benefits:

• You learn how to resolve conflict without violence
• You adopt values including honor and respect for others
• You establish goals and accomplish them
• You gain confidence and improve self-esteem
• You become mentally and physically stronger

For women, especially residents of urban areas, personal safety is a powerful motive for taking a self-defense class.

An article by SportsRec.com suggests that certain forms of martial arts are superior for females who want to develop both physical and mental skills to protect themselves. Specifically, there are advantages to learning Brazilian jiujitsu, Jeet Kune Do, aikido, taekwondo, or Krav Maga.

Brazilian jiujitsu is a popular element in the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise. Women may benefit from the grappling techniques, which help them defend from the ground.

Bruce Lee is the famous founder of Jeet Kune Do, a form of martial arts combining the techniques he thought were the most effective. The emphasis on using the closest object available to hit the closest target in an attack makes this art form a good choice for self-defense.

A Korean form of martial arts, taekwondo means “the way of kicking and punching” in the country’s native language. The emphasis on lower body strength makes it a good application for women, as men have a greater advantage in upper body combat.

Krav Maga, which is used by the Israeli Defense Force, teaches practitioners to function under duress. Women can become empowered to fend off sexual assaults or domestic violence situations using Krav Maga skills.

Effects of Sports Fighting

Mixed martial arts, or MMA, is a combat system that combines several forms of fighting disciplines, an article on Greatist.com explains. Contact sports such as jiujitsu, wrestling and boxing are blended by contenders who train for competitions that involve three five-minute rounds.

Though it’s certainly used for fitness, you can’t ignore the intensity of MMA moves. Aggressive tactics, from kicks to the head to multiple hits in the trunk region, greatly exceed the likelihood of injuries incurred by a distance runner or yoga practitioner.

Risks begin even in the training phase of fighting sports such as boxing or wrestling. Sure, throwing jabs into your trainer’s mitts gets you ready to fight, but sparring with opponents can bring on moves that cause serious injuries.

The website BookMartialArts.com discusses typical aggressive martial arts tactics that can cause bodily harm. In certain forms of fighting there is a large threat of injury to your finger joints. People who practice karate, wrestling and MMA are at risk for fractures of the fingers, mostly the knuckles, and bone fractures of the thumb.

Boxers are more likely to have damage to the wrist joint hinges or obtain “boxer’s thumb,” which is a repeated sprain of the palatial joint. Various moves when practicing judo or falling during a wrestling match sometimes places stress on your arms and causes injury. People who take part in judo, jiujitsu and MMA tend to experience a high number of fractures to their ribs and clavicles.

Treating Injuries Caused by Contact Sports

You’re more likely to survive martial arts competitions if you’ve put in the time for training and conditioning. But you can also take steps to minimize injuries through preventative chiropractic care.

The first thing your chiropractor can do is identify preexisting conditions, which may affect the forms of martial arts you choose to practice. Not only should you get started on treatment, you and your chiropractor can devise a healthy strategy to prevent further injuries and to meet your needs as an athlete.

You may need to choose a different level of intensity or choose from a host of other martial arts techniques. But tapping out completely probably won’t be necessary. As professional fighters have found, regular chiropractic care promotes joint health and full range of motion, which reduces the possibility of injuries when you’re up against the ropes.

The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this page are for informational purposes only. The purpose of this post is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics, including but not limited to the benefits of chiropractic care, exercise and nutrition. It is not intended to provide or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your chiropractor, physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this page.