Chiropractic Heals Chronic Figure Skating Injuries
By Chris Brown
Hidden behind the elegance of a figure skater's aerial spin lies hundreds of falls, ugly crashes, and hard landings. Pushing the limits of physics while skating at high speeds, all on cement-like ice, inevitably can lead to serious injuries. However, it isn't the horrific falls or traumatic injuries that tend to plague an ice skater's career long-term. It's the chronic problems that arise from the accumulation of hundreds of successful death-defying leaps and spins. Two of the most common chronic ice-skating injuries, patellofemoral syndrome (jumper's or runner's knee) and ankle bursitis, can be relieved, and healing facilitated, by chiropractic manipulation.
Patellofemoral Syndrome and the Chiropractic Cure
For ice skaters, patellofemoral syndrome often results from the chronic knee wear of repeated jumps and landings on the ice. Many skaters do not even realize that this overuse injury has developed until the pain around their kneecap is so extreme it interferes with their ability to skate. Once it starts, patellofemoral syndrome must be constantly monitored with rest and braces, even if the skater opts for surgery. Chiropractic manipulation, however, may be able to speed recovery and decrease the likelihood of reoccurrence. Chiropractic's ability to correct joint dysfunctions throughout the entire body's kinetic chain can resolve a core contributor to patellofemoral syndrome: problems with knee alignment. Additionally, proper healing is best facilitated when the knee joint is in its correct placement with the kneecap tracking in alignment with the leg. This way the supportive muscles around the knee properly strengthen to lock-in optimal and injury-free functionality when it is next exposed to the impact of a landed leap.
Chiropractic Loosens Ankle Bursitis
Ankle bursitis is yet another overuse condition commonly brought on by years of heavy skating and jumps on the ice. Bursitis occurs when the bursa (which cushions the ankle joint) inflames, causing pain and stiffness. Similar to patellofemoral syndrome, rest and load management are the top recommended treatments of mainstream medicine. Chiropractic, however, can speed recovery time by optimizing the healing process and setting the proper joint positioning. As with patellofemoral syndrome recovery, joint positioning allows a stronger, better aligned healing which fights against future occurrences. Additionally, chiropractic manipulation relieves the physical pressure upon the bursa, which reduces its irritation and speeds recovery. All of this, plus chiropractic's ability to optimize the brain-body communication required for any healing, makes it the no-brainer first stop for the chronically injured skater.
If you are experiencing the pain of patellofemoral syndrome or ankle bursitis from years of ice skating or simply repetitive impacts, a session at The Joint Chiropractic may be all that is needed for pain relief. Sessions are affordable without insurance and conveniently available to walk-in patients. So stop by The Joint today to start your optimized recovery.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Madison, Ala.