How Runners Can Benefit From Chiropractic Care
Runners: Step. Ouch. Step. Ouch. Step. Ouch.
Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise, and offers many benefits. It can be done anywhere, it tones the lower body, and it burns a ton of calories. Pounding the pavement over time, however, can result in injuries to the knees, ankles, and hips.
Whether you run a few miles a week to keep the extra pounds off, or hoof it in several marathons a year, there is unfortunately a good chance you will get hurt at some point.
The first step to recovery if you injure yourself running is to give your body time to heal. A visit to the doctor, ice packs, and over the counter pain medication are all ways to treat an injury. However, one of the best ways runners can treat their injuries is by visiting a chiropractor.
If you are dealing with a running injury and think a chiropractor may be able to help you get back on your feet with less pain, you are most likely correct. Here are four important things to know about chiropractors and how runners can benefit from chiropractic care:
Runners: Chiropractors Work On More Than Necks And Backs
It’s a common misconception that a chiropractor’s sole purpose is to adjust their patients’ necks and backs. The entire body can benefit from a chiropractic manipulation. For example, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) states that knee pain is the most common running injury.
Chiropractors are often able to work with an injured knee and bring about a positive outcome. Strains, sprains, and other trauma to your body’s joints can be treated by a chiropractor. Soft tissue around the joints benefit from chiropractic treatment, which can greatly ease an injury to the ankle, knee, or hip.
Chiropractic Promotes Quicker Healing Of The Injured Area
From increasing blood flow to the hurt area to breaking up restrictions with manual manipulation, chiropractic treatment helps the body heal itself. Chiropractors view the body in its entirety, and may use manipulations and adjustments on other parts of the body to stimulate healing of the afflicted area.
Chiropractors Assist In Pain Management
Running injuries can often cause great pain that lasts for weeks. Visiting a chiropractor can help reduce the severity of the pain and shorten the amount of time you experience pain. This is an especially attractive benefit for those who avoid taking medicine. Chiropractic care helps manage the discomfort and soreness associated with the injury, allowing the patient to rely less on drugs.
Chiropractic Reduces The Risk Of Getting Re-Injured
A common reason runners end up hurt is their bodies had something “out of whack” in the first place. Since chiropractors take the wellness of the body as a whole into consideration, they often work with runners to minimize the chance of re-injuring themselves or suffering a different injury. By making certain an individual’s body is in alignment and functioning properly, a chiropractor can help the runner feel comfortable moving back into the routine of running.
Running is a great form of exercise and stress relief, and many people run for years without incident. However, it�s vital to take steps up front to minimize the chances of getting hurt, including choosing proper shoes, stretching beforehand, and avoiding overexertion.
Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce: Professional Marathoner
If, however, you feel a twist, pop, or crack as you are out for your morning run or finishing your half marathon, know there are chiropractic treatment options available to you that will decrease pain, healing time, and the risk of re-injury. Just pick up the phone and give us a call. We�re here to help!
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Boosting The Immune System
We usually talk of energy in general terms, as in �I don�t have a lot of energy today� or �You can feel the energy in the room.� But what really is energy? Where do we get the energy to move? How do we use it? How do we get more of it? Ultimately, what controls our movements? The three metabolic energy pathways are the�phosphagen system, glycolysis�and the�aerobic system.�How do they work, and what is their effect?
The energy for all physical activity comes from the conversion of high-energy phosphates (adenosine�triphosphate�ATP) to lower-energy phosphates (adenosine�diphosphate�ADP; adenosine�monophosphate�AMP; and inorganic phosphate, Pi). During this breakdown (hydrolysis) of ATP, which is a water-requiring process, a proton, energy and heat are produced: ATP + H2O ���ADP + Pi�+ H+�+ energy + heat. Since our muscles don�t store much ATP, we must constantly resynthesize it. The hydrolysis and resynthesis of ATP is thus a circular process�ATP is hydrolyzed into ADP and Pi, and then ADP and Pi�combine to resynthesize ATP. Alternatively, two ADP molecules can combine to produce ATP and AMP: ADP + ADP ���ATP + AMP.
During short-term, intense activities, a large amount of power needs to be produced by the muscles, creating a high demand for ATP. The phosphagen system (also called the ATP-CP system) is the quickest way to resynthesize ATP (Robergs & Roberts 1997). Creatine phosphate (CP), which is stored in skeletal muscles, donates a phosphate to ADP to produce ATP: ADP + CP ���ATP + C. No carbohydrate or fat is used in this process; the regeneration of ATP comes solely from stored CP. Since this process does not need oxygen to resynthesize ATP, it is anaerobic, or oxygen-independent. As the fastest way to resynthesize ATP, the phosphagen system is the predominant energy system used for all-out exercise lasting up to about 10 seconds. However, since there is a limited amount of stored CP and ATP in skeletal muscles, fatigue occurs rapidly.
Glycolysis is the predominant energy system used for all-out 
Since humans evolved for aerobic activities (Hochachka, Gunga & Kirsch 1998; Hochachka & Monge 2000), it�s not surprising that the aerobic system, which is dependent on oxygen, is the most complex of the three energy systems. The metabolic reactions that take place in the presence of oxygen are responsible for most of the cellular energy produced by the body. However, aerobic metabolism is the slowest way to resynthesize ATP. Oxygen, as the patriarch of metabolism, knows that it is worth the wait, as it controls the fate of endurance and is the sustenance of life. �I�m oxygen,� it says to the muscle, with more than a hint of superiority. �I can give you a lot of ATP, but you will have to wait for it.�
Fat, which is stored as triglyceride in adipose tissue underneath the skin and within skeletal muscles (called�intramuscular triglyceride), is the other major fuel for the aerobic system, and is the largest store of energy in the body. When using fat, triglycerides are first broken down into free fatty acids and glycerol (a process called�lipolysis). The free fatty acids, which are composed of a long chain of carbon atoms, are transported to the muscle mitochondria, where the carbon atoms are used to produce acetyl-CoA (a process called�beta-oxidation).
Nutrition is increasingly recognized as a key component of optimal sporting performance, with both the science and practice of sports nutrition developing rapidly.1 Recent studies have found that a planned scientific nutritional strategy (consisting of fluid, carbohydrate, sodium, and caffeine) compared with a self-chosen nutritional strategy helped non-elite runners complete a marathon run faster2 and trained cyclists complete a time trial faster.3 Whereas training has the greatest potential to increase performance, it has been estimated that consumption of a carbohydrate�electrolyte drink or relatively low doses of caffeine may improve a 40 km cycling time trial performance by 32�42 and 55�84 seconds, respectively.4
Carbohydrate ingestion has been shown to improve performance in events lasting approximately 1 hour.6 A growing body of evidence also demonstrates beneficial effects of a carbohydrate mouth rinse on performance.22 It is thought that receptors in the oral cavity signal to the central nervous system to positively modify motor output.23
The �train-low, compete-high� concept is training with low carbohydrate availability to promote adaptations such as�enhanced activation of cell-signaling pathways, increased mitochondrial enzyme content and activity, enhanced lipid oxidation rates, and hence improved exercise capacity.26 However, there is no clear evidence that performance is improved with this approach.27 For example, when highly trained cyclists were separated into once-daily (train-high) or twice-daily (train-low) training sessions, increases in resting muscle glycogen content were seen in the low-carbohydrate- availability group, along with other selected training adaptations.28 However, performance in a 1-hour time trial after 3 weeks of training was no different between groups. Other research has produced similar results.29 Different strategies have been suggested (eg, training after an overnight fast, training twice per day, restricting carbohydrate during recovery),26 but further research is needed to establish optimal dietary periodization plans.27
There has been a recent resurgence of interest in fat as a fuel, particularly for ultra endurance exercise. A high-carbohydrate strategy inhibits fat utilization during exercise,30 which may not be beneficial due to the abundance of energy stored in the body as fat. Creating an environment that optimizes fat oxidation potentially occurs when dietary carbohydrate is reduced to a level that promotes ketosis.31 However, this strategy may impair performance of high-intensity activity, by contributing to a reduction in pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and glycogenolysis. 32 The lack of performance benefits seen in studies investigating �high-fat� diets may be attributed to inadequate carbohydrate restriction and time for adaptation.31 Research into the performance effects of high fat diets continues.
While protein consumption prior to and during endurance and resistance exercise has been shown to enhance rates of muscle protein synthesis (MPS), a recent review found protein ingestion alongside carbohydrate during exercise does not improve time�trial performance when compared with the ingestion of adequate amounts of carbohydrate alone.33
The purpose of fluid consumption during exercise is primarily to maintain hydration and thermoregulation, thereby benefiting performance. Evidence is emerging on increased risk of oxidative stress with dehydration.34 Fluid consumption prior to exercise is recommended to ensure that the athlete is well-hydrated prior to commencing exercise.35 In addition,�carefully planned hyperhydration ( fluid overloading) prior to an event may reset fluid balance and increase fluid retention, and consequently improve heat tolerance.36 However, fluid overloading may increase the risk of hyponatremia 37 and impact negatively on performance due to feelings of fullness and the need to urinate.
Performance supplements shown to enhance performance include caffeine, beetroot juice, beta-alanine (BA), creatine, and bicarbonate.40 Comprehensive reviews on other supplements including caffeine, creatine, and bicarbonate can be found elsewhere.41 In recent years, research has focused on the role of nitrate, BA, and vitamin D and performance. Nitrate is most commonly provided as sodium nitrate or beetroot juice.42 Dietary nitrates are reduced (in mouth and stomach) to nitrites, and then to nitric oxide. During exercise, nitric oxide potentially influences skeletal muscle function through regulation of blood ow and glucose homeostasis, as well as mitochondrial respiration.43 During endurance exercise, nitrate supplementation has been shown to increase exercise efficiency (4%�5% reduction in VO at a steady attenuate oxidative stress.42 Similarly, a 4.2% improvement in performance was shown in a test designed to simulate a football game.44
Consuming carbohydrates immediately 
An acute bout of intense endurance or resistance exercise can induce a transient increase in protein turnover, and, until feeding, protein balance remains negative. Protein consumption after exercise enhances MPS and net protein balance,58 predominantly by increasing mitochondrial protein fraction with endurance training, and myofibrillar protein fraction with resistance training.59
Fluid and electrolyte replacement after exercise can be achieved through resuming normal hydration practices. However, when euhydration is needed within 24 hours or substantial body weight has been lost (.5% of BM), a more structured response may be warranted to replace fluids and electrolytes.77
The availability of nutrition information for athletes varies. Younger or recreational athletes are more likely to receive generalized nutritional information of poorer quality from individuals such as coaches.78 Elite athletes are more likely to have access to specialized sports-nutrition input from qualified professionals. A range of sports science and medicine support systems are in place in different countries to assist elite athletes,1 and nutrition is a key component of these services. Some countries have nutrition programs embedded within sports institutes (eg, Australia) or alternatively have National Olympic Committees that support nutrition programs (eg, United States of America).1 However, not all athletes at the elite level have access to sports-nutrition services. This may be due to financial constraints of the sport, geographical issues, and a lack of recognition of the value of a sports-nutrition service.78
Supplement use is widespread in athletes.86,87 For example, 87.5% of elite athletes in Australia used dietary supplements88 and 87% of Canadian high-performance athletes took dietary supplements within the past 6 months85 (Table 2). It is difficult to compare studies due to differences in the criteria used to define dietary supplements, variations in assessing supplement intake, and disparities in the populations studied.85
A positive drug test in an athlete can occur with even a minute quantity of a banned substance.41,87 WADA maintains a �strict liability� policy, whereby every athlete is responsible for any substance found in their body regardless of how it got there.41,86,87,89 The World Anti-Doping Code (January 1, 2015) does recognize the issue of contaminated supplements.91 Whereas the code upholds the principle of strict liability, athletes may receive a lesser ban if they can��show �no significant fault� to demonstrate they did not intend to cheat. The updated code imposes longer bans on those who cheat intentionally, includes athlete support personnel (eg, coaches, medical staff), and has an increased focus on anti-doping education.91,99
