Your favorite sport can be hard on your body, causing aches, pains, and injuries that keep you off the court, field, or track. Dr. Steven Wachs of Wachs Chiropractic Health Center in Chula Vista, Oceanside, and Escondido, CA, provides a variety of treatments that can help you return to the game.

What types of injuries are caused by sports participation?

Injuries often occur due to poor technique, failure to warm up, overuse injuries, discrepancies in leg length, and muscle or tendon weakness, in addition to other causes. Common types of injuries reported by athletes include:

• Head and Neck Trauma: Football is probably the sport that comes to mind when you think about sports-related head trauma, but the head and neck injuries can occur in other sports too. Gymnasts, soccer players, boxers, and hockey and lacrosse players may experience blows or falls that cause concussions, cervical spine or neck injuries, headaches, dizziness, and neck and back pain.
• Back Injuries: Swimmers, weightlifters (even those who only use resistance bands), tennis players, runners, golfers, and others may be prone to developing back injuries. Back pain is particularly common in sports that involve twisting, flexing, lifting, or sudden jarring movements. Your Chula Vista, Oceanside, or Escondido chiropractor can offer treatments that will help relieve your symptoms, including manual manipulations that realign your spinal column, massage, ice/heat therapy, ultrasound, and other therapies.
• Sprains and Strains: Sprains and strains can happen in nearly any sport, even low-impact sports like swimming. You may be more likely to experience a sprain if you participate in sports that involve jumping or forceful landings, such as basketball or gymnastics.
• Tennis Elbow: Tennis elbow occurs due to a tear or rupture in the tendon that connects the muscles of the forearm to the outer part of the elbow. It's particularly common in tennis players, but can occur in any sport that involves repetitive arm movements, such as weightlifting.

Chiropractic care can help relieve pain and improve range of motion and other issues that often accompany sports injuries. Call Dr. Wachs of Wachs Chiropractic Health Center in Chula Vista, Oceanside, and Escondido, CA, at (619) 427-4747 to schedule an appointment.