Rodeo Training: Rodeo has become a sport that is now open to anyone, and there are even programs for weekend warriors. Like all sports, it can offer a rewarding experience but can be dangerous. As the sport grows, individuals and spectators realize the importance of being strong, mobile, and durable. Individuals need to assess their health and ability and be in top shape due to the demands this sport places on the body. Here we look at the muscle groups needed in this sport.
Rodeo Training
Fitness has always had a place in rodeo and all equine sports, but it wasn’t paid much attention. Professional rodeo instructors recommend incorporating a strength, conditioning, and personal training regimen, to keep rodeo athletes, including bull riders, steer wrestlers, and calf ropers, in top form. Even for weekend warriors and hobbyists, increasing strength and mobility will make the hobby much more enjoyable.
Body Strength
The core strength of the abdominals and lower back is very important. The connection between the upper and lower body and groin strength has to be strong for the athletes to stay on the animal and control their bodies as the animal runs, shifts, and jumps. The focus should be on every muscle needed to move with proper form and control and learning how your body moves.
Upper Body
Scapula Stabilizers
These muscles help control the shoulder blade and maintain a healthy posture.
These muscles aid the rotator cuff and deltoid muscles to upwardly or downwardly rotate the shoulder blade/scapula while the shoulder joint/arm is moving overhead, behind the back, or reaching away from the trunk.
Strengthening these muscle groups prevents the rounding of the shoulders and provides strength when dealing with a strong animal.
Roughstock riders use these muscles to maintain pressure when lifting their rigging, reign, or rope while maintaining a square posture.
This muscle group needs strengthening, but it is equally important to ensure they’re flexible throughout the chest.
Many individuals have strong chest muscles, but there may be an imbalance of strength and flexibility, causing unhealthy posture.
The spine and stabilizer muscles cannot work to maintain proper posture or stabilize if the chest muscles are too tight.
The focus is maintaining balance in the chest’s mobility while ensuring they are strong enough to handle the force.
Core
Abdominal Muscles
Four major groups comprise the abdominal muscle group, including the rectus abdominis, internal and external oblique, and transversus abdominis.
These muscles work together with the spine and back muscles to help create core stability.
Core strength is not as important as core stability in rodeo sports.
The core fundamentals of riding require the hips, pelvis, and low back to move with the animal.
These muscles coordinate with each other to produce stability.
Focusing only on strength causes rigid or stiff riding.
Being excessively rigid through the abdominals and back muscles prevents shock absorption and can lead to lower back symptoms.
Lower Body
Hip Adductors
These inner thigh muscles include the gracilis, obturator externus, adductor brevis, longus, and magnus.
These muscles should typically be the strongest because of their natural riding use.
Problems with these muscles happen because the athletes generally don’t ride horses recreationally and don’t know how to strengthen them.
This leads to various injuries throughout the pelvic floor and hips.
Balance is required as the muscles can be too weak or too strong.
Where riders begin to depend/rely too much on them can lead to imbalances with the upper and lower body muscles.
Too much use/gripping with the adductors can lead to over-rotation of the hip, resulting in the toes-out walking gait and musculoskeletal issues.
Hip Abductors
The outer thigh/hip muscles are the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and tensor fasciae latae/TFL.
They move the leg away from the body and help rotate at the hip joint.
The abductors are necessary for staying stable when walking or standing on one leg.
They help stabilize the hip and pelvis and maintain proper leg alignment, allowing correct leg movements without excessive shifting in the saddle.
Sitting in the saddle with more pressure on one side or leaning to one side when jumping will cause an imbalance in the hip abductors.
Hip Extensors
These are the posterior/back and hip/thigh muscles and are made up of the gluteus maximus and the hamstrings.
These are the most powerful muscles in the body and are responsible for giving the horse the cues to perform what they need to.
Strong hamstrings and glutes allow the rider to exert appropriate pressure through the legs to move the horse from a walk, trot, lope, run, and direction change.
The gluteus maximus acts as a buffer between the hamstrings and the lower back muscles.
Weakened gluteus maximus muscles can cause tight hamstrings that shift the pelvis and begin pulling on the low back muscles.
Building strength and mobility throughout the hip extensors will prevent injury.
Understanding which muscles are responsible for each part of the movements needed to compete in this sport is essential. However, rodeo sports are learned by doing, and it is recommended to go to a rodeo school or rodeo clinics as there is no substitute for experience. Some schools hold numerous classes around the country. These are usually taught by championship athletes and are a great way to try rodeo in a safe and controlled learning environment.
Rodeo Training: What It Takes
References
Meyers, Michael C, and C Matthew Laurent Jr. “The rodeo athlete: injuries – Part II.” Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) vol. 40,10 (2010): 817-39. doi:10.2165/11535330-000000000-00000
Sinclair Elder, Amanda J, and Rachel Tincknell. “Epidemiology of Hip Injuries in Professional Rodeo: A 4-Year Analysis.” Orthopedic journal of sports medicine vol. 8,10 2325967120959321. 27 Oct. 2020, doi:10.1177/2325967120959321
Sinclair, Amanda J, and Jack W Ransone. “Physical activity and its relationship to rodeo injury and success.” Journal of strength and conditioning research vol. 18,4 (2004): 873-7. doi:10.1519/14623.1
Watts, Melinda, et al. “Characteristics of Injury in Collegiate Rodeo.” Clinical journal of sports medicine: official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine vol. 32,2 (2022): e145-e150. doi:10.1097/JSM.0000000000000904
Stretching Objective: The body needs to be flexible to maintain a full range of motion. Stretching keeps the muscles supple, strong, and healthy; without it, the muscles shorten and become stiff and tight. Then, when the muscles are needed, they are weak and unable to extend fully. This increases the risk of joint pain, strains, injuries, and muscle damage. For example, sitting in a chair for a long time results in tight glute muscles and hamstrings, which leads to back discomfort symptoms and inhibits walking. Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic can help individuals develop a personalized stretching program to maintain smooth mobility, flexibility, and function.
Stretching Objective
Benefits
The body needs to be flexible to maintain mobility, balance, and independence. The benefits of regularly stretching include:
When the muscles are stretched, so are the muscle spindles. The spindle records the change in length and speed and transmits the signals through the spinal cord, which conveys the information. This triggers the stretch reflex, which tries to resist the change by causing the stretched muscle to contract. Muscle spindle function helps maintain muscle tone and protects the body from injury. One of the reasons for holding a stretch for a specific amount of time is because, as the muscle stays in a stretched position, the spindle acclimates to the new condition and reduces its resistance signaling, gradually training the stretch receptors to allow greater lengthening of the muscles.
Chiropractic Stretch Training
However, stretching once won’t generate maximum flexibility. Tight muscles may have taken months or years to develop; therefore, it will take time to achieve flexibility and must be continually worked on to maintain it. Chiropractors and physical therapists are body movement experts and can assess individual muscle strength and develop a customized stretching program.
Muscle Spindle Activation
References
Bhattacharyya, Kalyan B. “The stretch reflex and the contributions of C David Marsden.” Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology vol. 20,1 (2017): 1-4. doi:10.4103/0972-2327.199906
Behm, David G et al. “Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review.” Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie applique, nutrition et metabolism vol. 41,1 (2016): 1-11. doi:10.1139/apnm-2015-0235
Berg, K. Stretching fundamentals. In: Prescriptive Stretching. 2nd ed. Kindle edition. Human Kinetics; 2020.
da Costa, Bruno R, and Edgar Ramos Vieira. “Stretching to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders: a systematic review.” Journal of rehabilitation medicine vol. 40,5 (2008): 321-8. doi:10.2340/16501977-0204
Page, Phil. “Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation.” International journal of sports physical therapy vol. 7,1 (2012): 109-19.
Witvrouw, Erik, et al. “Stretching and injury prevention: an obscure relationship.” Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) vol. 34,7 (2004): 443-9. doi:10.2165/00007256-200434070-00003
The legs are important for standing and motion. Various problems can affect any part, including the bones, tendons, joints, blood vessels, and connective tissues of the entire leg, foot, ankle, knee, or hip. Common problems include unbalanced/unevenness, muscle sprains and strains, joint dislocations, nerve compression, and fractures. These issues can benefit from chiropractic leg adjustments to relieve the symptoms, realign the body, restore mobility, strengthen the muscles, and prevent further complications.
Leg Adjustments
The legs are composed of two major sections: upper and lower. The ball-and-socket hip joint connects the upper portion, with only one bone comprising the upper leg, the femur, the largest bone in the body. The lower leg goes from the knee to the ankle and is composed of two bones, the fibula, and the tibia.
The tibia makes up the knee together with the base of the femur.
The fibula starts from the knee joint and is connected to the tibia.
Muscles
The leg muscles support standing and sitting, carry the body’s weight, and provide movement. Several muscles in the upper and lower legs work together to enable walking, running, jumping, flexing, and pointing the toes.
Upper Leg
The upper leg muscles support the body’s weight and movement. Their jobs include:
Anterior muscles: These muscles stabilize the body and help with balance. They also allow:
Bending and extension of the knees.
Flexion of the thigh at the hip joints.
Rotation of the legs at the hips.
Medial muscles assist in hip adduction – moving the leg toward the body’s center. They also allow flexion, extension, and rotation of the thigh.
Posterior muscles help move the leg from front to back and rotate at the hip socket.
Lower Leg
Anterior muscles are in the front/anterior part of the lower leg and help lift and lower the foot and toe extension.
Lateral muscles run outside the lower leg and stabilize the foot when walking or running. They also allow side-to-side movement.
Posterior muscles: These muscles are in the back of the lower leg. Some are superficial (close to the skin surface), and some sit deeper inside the leg. They help:
Flex and point the toes.
Jump, run and push off.
Lock and unlock the knee.
Maintain a healthy posture by stabilizing the legs.
Stand up straight by supporting the arch of the feet.
Causes
There are different causes of leg discomfort symptoms. Age, work, physical activity, sports, and misalignments can all cause leg issues to develop.
Musculoskeletal
Musculoskeletal system injuries, conditions, and disorders are related to the bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This includes bruising, tendonitis, muscle strain, overuse, and fractures can all lead to musculoskeletal issues.
Neurological
Neurological symptoms are related to a problem with the nerves and the nervous system. Damaged and pinched nerves can contribute to leg issues.
Vascular
If there are blood vessel issues, it can also lead to leg symptoms. Depending on the cause, leg symptoms can vary from moderate to severe and may be non-stop or come and go.
Chiropractic care is a proven way of reducing swelling and discomfort throughout the body. Chiropractic leg adjustments help release restrictions and misalignments. This results in increased mobility of the joints, decreased inflammation, and improved function. A chiropractic adjustment on the leg is known as a long-axis distraction adjustment. This adjustment is designed to open the affected joint in the direction the chiropractor pulls. They can adjust their contact to open the femur from the acetabulum of the pelvis, the knee joint, the ankle joints, and the low back. This encourages proper joint space and motion in the affected areas, promoting healthy movement and space and allowing more nutrient flow and pressure removal from the surrounding nerves to help with symptom relief.
Hip Long Axis Distraction
References
Binstead JT, Munjal A, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb, Calf. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459362/) [Updated 2020 Aug 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Accessed 12/29/2021.
Eid K, Tafas E, Mylonas K, Angelopoulos P, Tsepis E, Fousekis K. Treatment of the trunk and lower extremities with Ergon® IASTM technique can increase hamstrings flexibility in amateur athletes: A randomized control study. Phys Ther Sport. 2017;28:e12. doi:10.1016/J.PTSP.2017.08.038
Jeno SH, Schindler GS. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb, Thigh Adductor Magnus Muscles. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534842/) [Updated 2020 Aug 10]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Accessed 12/29/2021.
McGee S. Stance and gait. In: McGee S. Evidence-Based Physical Diagnosis. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012:chap 6.
Ransom AL, Sinkler MA, Nallamothu SV. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis, and Lower Limb, Femoral Muscles. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500008/) [Updated 2020 Oct 30]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Accessed 12/29/2021.
In cold weather, it’s normal to experience cold hands and fingers. But if there is a coldness in only one finger while the rest of the hand is normal, changes to skin color, numbness, tingling, or pain symptoms could be a sign of poor circulation or an underlying medical condition. Cold fingers could indicate various problems, including overuse injuries, vitamin deficiencies, Raynaud’s syndrome, hypothyroidism, anemia, arterial disease, or an autoimmune condition. Chiropractic care and massage therapy can increase circulation, release compressed nerves, relax the muscles, and restore mobility and function.
Cold Fingers
Blood circulates throughout, nourishing and maintaining body warmth. When compression, obstructions, or narrowing paths inhibit blood flow, the body cannot achieve proper circulation. Unhealthy circulation can cause several symptoms, including:
Pins and needles sensations along the shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers.
Weakened arm and hand muscles.
Numbness.
Cold finger/s.
Muscles aches, soreness, and tightness.
Swelling.
Pale or bluish skin color.
Overuse Injury
Repeating one movement or motion constantly over time can lead to overuse syndrome/repetitive motion disorder in the hands and arms. Certain jobs and activities can cause overuse syndrome, including:
Cashiers.
Food service work.
Graphic sign work.
Computer work.
Sewing work.
Landscaping.
All of these jobs and activities can put a lot of repeated stress on the hands and arms.
Vitamin B-12 Deficiency
Vitamin B-12 is required for proper red blood cell formation and neurological function. It is found in many foods, including eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and dairy products. A vitamin B-12 deficiency can cause neurological symptoms like numbness, tingling, and coldness in the hands and feet. Other symptoms include:
Anemia
Fatigue
Weakness
Difficulty maintaining balance
Depression
Soreness of the mouth
A doctor requires a blood sample to test for the deficiency. A common treatment is a high dose of an oral supplement or injections for individuals that have difficulties absorbing B-12 through the digestive tract.
Raynaud’s Syndrome
Raynaud’s syndrome is a condition that causes some areas of the body, usually the fingers, to feel cold and numb when exposed to cold temperatures or high-stress levels. This happens because the small arteries that supply blood to the skin are experiencing spasms. During an episode, the arteries narrow, which prevents blood from circulating correctly. The fingers can change color, going from white to blue to red. When the flare-up ends, and the blood flow returns to normal, there may be tingling, throbbing, or swelling. The condition isn’t usually debilitating, and treatment options often include medications that expand the blood vessels to improve circulation. These include calcium channel blockers,alpha-blockers, and vasodilators.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormones. Hypothyroidism comes on gradually and rarely generates symptoms in the early stages. Hypothyroidism doesn’t cause cold fingers but increases the body’s sensitivity to cold. Other symptoms include:
Fatigue
Muscle weakness, tenderness, and achiness.
Joint swelling, stiffness, and pain.
Puffiness.
Dry skin.
Hoarseness.
Weight gain.
High or elevated cholesterol levels.
Thinning hair and hair loss.
Depression.
Over time, the condition can cause complications such as obesity, joint pain, heart disease, and infertility. A doctor can detect hypothyroidism with a simple blood test. Treatment involves taking a daily dose of synthetic thyroid hormone.
Anemia
Anemia is when the blood has a lower-than-normal amount of red blood cells. It also occurs when the red blood cells lack a crucial iron-rich protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin assists red blood cells in delivering oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. A low supply of hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the hands can result in cold fingers. There may also be fatigue and weakness. Iron deficiency is what typically causes most cases. A doctor may suggest nutritional adjustments if blood work indicates low iron levels. An iron-rich nutritional plan and taking iron supplements can help relieve symptoms.
Arterial Diseases
Diseases that affect the arteries can reduce blood flow to the hands, causing cold fingers. This can be from plaque buildup or inflammation in the blood vessels. Any blockage in the blood vessels can prevent blood from circulating normally. Another arterial problem is primary pulmonary hypertension, which affects the lungs’ arteries and can lead to Raynaud’s syndrome.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic adjustments can remove misalignments, restore proper nerve communication, increase blood flow, and correct an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Massaging the shoulders, arms, and hands relaxes the nerves, and muscles, breaks up compressed tissues, and increase blood flow. The circulation of lymphatic fluid around the body is also promoted, which carries toxins away from the muscles and tissues. To improve circulation, the following may be utilized:
Deep tissue pressure is effective at relieving congestion and tension.
Percussive massage to break up scar tissue.
Non-surgical Decompression to stretch the spine and body out.
Lymphatic drainage is designed to improve the circulation of the fluid.
Bilić, R et al. “Sindromi prenaprezanja u saci, podlaktici i laktu” [Overuse injury syndromes of the hand, forearm and elbow]. Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju vol. 52,4 (2001): 403-14.
Ernst, E. “Manual therapies for pain control: chiropractic and massage.” The Clinical journal of pain vol. 20,1 (2004): 8-12. doi:10.1097/00002508-200401000-00003
InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. How does the blood circulatory system work? 2010 Mar 12 [Updated 2019 Jan 31]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279250/
Pal, B et al. “Raynaud’s phenomenon in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome.” Scandinavian journal of rheumatology vol. 25,3 (1996): 143-5. doi:10.3109/03009749609080004
Waller, D G, and J R Dathan. “Raynaud’s syndrome and carpal tunnel syndrome.” Postgraduate medical journal vol. 61,712 (1985): 161-2. doi:10.1136/pgmj.61.712.161
Bruxism is an abnormal jaw clenching or grinding of the teeth, either while awake or during sleep. This can cause neck and shoulder tension caused by excess pressure on the neck and jaw muscles. Individuals may not realize they have bruxism until a dentist notices excess wear and tear or a chiropractor examines their symptoms. Bruxism can play a role in temporomandibular disorders. Doctors and dentists agree that factors like stress increase the likelihood of jaw clenching. Dentists usually recommend a mouth guard to prevent grinding. Chiropractic care, massage, and decompression therapy can relieve symptoms, release and relax the muscles, realign the spine, and restore function.
Bruxism
There is awake bruxism and sleep bruxism. A tight jaw generates tension extending to the neck, shoulder, and upper back muscles. Over time, that excess strain irritates the joints, causing inflammation. Jaw clenching and teeth grinding can lead to health issues like damaged teeth, neck, shoulder, and upper back pain symptoms, and tension headaches.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms can include:
Face, jaw, neck, and upper back aches, tightness, and soreness.
Tired or tight jaw muscles.
Headaches that start in the temples.
What feels like earache pain symptoms.
Damage from clenching on the inside of the cheek.
Increased tooth sensitivity.
Teeth that are loose, flattened, chipped, or fractured.
Sleep problems.
Risk Factors
Emotional tension – Stress, anxiety, frustration, and anger.
An unhealthy lifestyle – smoking, excess drinking, caffeine, etc., disrupts brain and cardiovascular functions.
Medications
Chiropractic Care for Jaw Clenching
If there is a jaw clenching or grinding issue, it is recommended to see a dentist for a professional diagnosis. Then a chiropractor can develop a personalized treatment plan that utilizes massage and decompression therapy to re-position the jaw, stretch, release and relax the muscles. They will recommend exercises to strengthen and maintain the relaxed jaw muscles and awareness exercises to help identify triggers and prevent clenching.
Jaw Exercises
References
Capellini, Verena Kise, et al. “Massage therapy in managing myogenic TMD: a pilot study.” Journal of applied oral science: Revista FOB vol. 14,1 (2006): 21-6. doi:10.1590/s1678-77572006000100005
Kuhn, Monika, and Jens Christoph Türp. “Risk factors for bruxism.” Swiss dental journal vol. 128,2 (2018): 118-124.
Nishida, Norihiro et al. “Stress analysis of the cervical spinal cord: Impact of the morphology of spinal cord segments on stress.” The journal of spinal cord medicine vol. 39,3 (2016): 327-34. doi:10.1179/2045772315Y.0000000012
Ohayon, M M et al. “Risk factors for sleep bruxism in the general population.” Chest vol. 119,1 (2001): 53-61. doi:10.1378/chest.119.1.53
Santos Miotto Amorim, Cinthia, et al. “Effectiveness of two physical therapy interventions, relative to dental treatment in individuals with bruxism: study protocol of a randomized clinical trial.” Trials vol. 15 8. 7 Jan. 2014, doi:10.1186/1745-6215-15-8
Hamstring syndrome is a condition where the sciatic nerve gets pinched between the hamstring muscles and the pelvic bone or by the tissue bands that connect the hamstring muscles causing compression on and around the nerve. It is seen in individuals that play sports that involve running, kicking, or jumping, in middle-aged individuals engaged in daily activities that have suffered falls, and in individuals that sit for many hours. Chiropractic care, massage, and decompression therapy can relieve the symptoms, release the trapped nerve, relax and stretch the muscles, and restore function.
Hamstring Muscles Trapped Sciatic Nerve
Three muscles make up the hamstrings in the back of the thigh. The sciatic nerve runs from the low back down the leg into the foot. A trapped sciatic nerve can cause various symptoms and sensations in the back of the leg, hip, buttock, and foot. It may hurt to sit down or stretch the legs out, and there is usually tightness in and/or around the buttock and back of the leg. The symptoms typically recede when lying on your back.
Cause
Regular wear and tear on the back muscles and hamstrings can contribute to the condition.
Often the sciatic nerve and/or the sheath surrounding the sciatic nerve gets trapped and irritated as it travels around the ischial tuberosity. The ischial tuberosities are known as the sit bones.
The area where the sciatic nerve runs down the back of the leg can become narrowed, leading to nerve irritation and stinging, numbing, and tingling sensations.
The injury often happens during sudden, quick, forceful movements that overstretch the tendons and/or muscles but can also happen during slow movements.
Movement agitates the pulling and rubbing of the nerve on the muscles.
A non-painful pull or pop of the hamstrings can cause the muscles to spasm and wrap around the nerve.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually include the following:
Leg pain that worsens when sitting.
Intense electrical shooting pain that makes it hard to stand or move.
Difficulties moving the leg or foot.
Numbness and weakness in and around the leg.
Tingling or burning sensations running down the leg.
Persistent pain on one side of the lower back.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic treatment can relieve the symptoms and release the trapped nerve. Treatment includes:
Accurate Diagnosis – A chiropractor will examine and review physical activity, work, and medical history.
Ice and Heat therapies will stop the swelling and increase blood flow.
Massage therapy relaxes the muscles and increases circulation.
Decompression therapy incrementally and gently stretches the body.
Chiropractic adjustments realign and reset the body.
Targeted stretches and exercises will keep the muscles loose and increase strength.
Nutritional recommendations will help reduce inflammation and prevent flare-ups.
Hamstrings and Sciatic Nerve Relationship
References
Lohrer, Heinz, et al. “Nerve entrapment after a hamstring injury.” Clinical journal of sports medicine: official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine vol. 22,5 (2012): 443-5. doi:10.1097/JSM.0b013e318257d76c
Mattiussi, Gabriele, and Carlos Moreno. “Treatment of proximal hamstring tendinopathy-related sciatic nerve entrapment: presentation of an ultrasound-guided “Intratissue Percutaneous Electrolysis” application.” Muscles, ligaments and tendons journal vol. 6,2 248-252. 17 Sep. 2016, doi:10.11138/mltj/2016.6.2.248
McGregor, Catriona, et al. “Traumatic and overuse injuries of the ischial origin of the hamstrings.” Disability and rehabilitation vol. 30,20-22 (2008): 1597-601. doi:10.1080/09638280701786138
Saikku, Kari, et al. “Entrapment of the proximal sciatic nerve by the hamstring tendons.” Acta orthopaedica Belgica vol. 76,3 (2010): 321-4.
There are various reasons for getting sick, but stress is one of the most common. Stress from family, work, school, traveling, etc., wreaks havoc on the body and mind. Working odd or different hours and staying up late disrupts routines and schedules and can generate significant stress. Trying to keep on top of everything and still trying to manage the usual responsibilities and duties can result in a weakened immune system that contributes to persistent illnesses. Chiropractic care combined with functional medicine can strengthen the immune system and restore optimal function.
Weakened Immune System
The immune system is a network of organs, white blood cells, proteins/antibodies, and chemicals. It protects the body from bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that cause infection, illness, and disease. It’s normal for healthy adults to get sick a few times a year, but constantly being sick signals a weakened immune system. Individuals with weak immune systems also experience digestion issues. This could be constipation or frequent diarrhea. Approximately 70% of the immune system is in the gastrointestinal tract, where the healthy/beneficial bacteria and microorganisms live. If the amount of healthy bacteria is low, it is harder to protect the body from viruses, chronic inflammation, or autoimmune disorders.
Properly Working
When the immune system works properly, it can tell which cells are the body’s and which substances are foreign and don’t belong there.
It activates, mobilizes, and destroys the outside germs.
After exposure, the immune system stores the germs’ identities to develop antibodies to protect the body.
Depleted Immunity
Chronic stress wears down and prematurely ages the immune system. When the body must constantly adapt to changes from stress, it makes the immune system less responsive.
Depleted immunity is when the cells that should be ready to activate and fight viruses and bacteria are low in numbers.
Ongoing stress, over time, can make the body more vulnerable to illnesses, from colds and flu to chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
High-stress levels can cause depression and anxiety, leading to higher levels of inflammation.
Chiropractic Restoration
Chiropractic care can help strengthen the body’s natural ability to heal and recover from illness by realigning the spine, improving circulation, and releasing toxins. Chiropractic works on the central nervous system, which comprises the spine and brain. As proper function and communication are restored, the central and peripheral nervous systems work together to help control the body’s ability to perceive and handle internal and external stress. Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic treatment include:
Massage therapy
Spinal realignment
Decompression therapy
Health Coaching
Nutritional assistance
Stress Impact
References
Childs, Caroline E et al. “Diet, and Immune Function.” Nutrients vol. 11,8 1933. Aug 16, 2019, doi:10.3390/nu11081933
InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. How does the immune system work? [Updated 2020 Apr 23]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279364/
Nicholson, Lindsay B. “The immune system.” Essays in biochemistry vol. 60,3 (2016): 275-301. doi:10.1042/EBC20160017
Segerstrom, Suzanne C, and Gregory E Miller. “Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry.” Psychological bulletin vol. 130,4 (2004): 601-30. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601
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Stretching Objective
Leg Adjustments
Weakened Immune System
