Sciatica in Athletes: How Chiropractic Care Can Improve Performance

Sciatic nerve pain, or sciatica, can severely impact an athlete’s mobility and performance. This debilitating condition can occur due to inflammation or compression of your sciatic nerve, significantly reducing your strength, flexibility, and endurance. Fortunately, your chiropractor near you at Diamond State Chiropractic in Newark, DE, offers customized care to relieve sciatica and help you perform better than before.

How Sciatica Impacts Athletes

Sciatica causes sharp, shooting pain along the sciatic nerve pathway from the lower back down the leg. For athletes, this hip pain can reduce their ability to run, twist, kick, or lift properly. Sports with repetitive hip flexion, like track, hockey, soccer, football, and basketball, can frequently trigger sciatica. Herniated discs or misaligned vertebrae can also irritate the nerves and limit flexibility. These can cause you to favor one side over the other and change your gait. They can also increase the risk of new injuries.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

While rest and medications temporarily mask sciatica symptoms, they do not address the root cause of your pain and discomfort. Chiropractic adjustments can resolve the underlying issues of your sciatica to provide long-lasting pain relief. Your chiropractor near you can use gentle manual manipulation or instrument-assisted adjustments to realign your joints and take pressure off the sciatic nerve. Doing this allows athletes to experience the following benefits:

• Reduced pain from pinched nerves
• Increased mobility and range of motion
• Improved posture and movement
• Enhanced balance, stability, and coordination
• Faster sports injury recovery time
• Reduced risk of re-injury

Your chiropractor can also include several other modalities in combination with adjustments to enhance your pain relief and range of motion. Some frequent methods used include trigger point therapy, myofascial release, rehabilitation exercises, and nutritional and lifestyle counseling.

Improve Your Athletic Performance With Chiropractic Care From Diamond State Chiropractic

Chiropractic care offers a holistic and non-invasive way to treat several sports injuries while improving your athletic performance, so contact Diamond State Chiropractic in Newark, DE, to experience the benefits of chiropractic care today. Consistent chiropractic adjustments can help maximize flexibility, endurance, coordination, and strength while reducing your injury risk, so call us and schedule a consultation at (302) 892-9355 to get back on the field healthier than ever.