PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL & CHIROPRACTIC

When you witness a crushing tackle during a game of Monday night Football, you probably wonder how these guys can continue to go out and play again the following week. Besides simply being big and tough, one way players in the national Football League (NFL) get back on their feet is through chiropractic adjustments.

To determine the use of chiropractic in the NFL, a questionnaire was sent to the head athletic trainers of every team in the league. Of the two-thirds of all trainers who responded, the results indicate a strong use of chiropractic:

• 45% of the NFL trainers had personally seen a chiropractor;
• 77% of trainers had referred players to a chiropractor; and
• 31% of NFL teams had an official chiropractor on their staff

The trainers surveyed in this study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics predominantly referred players to chiropractors for low back, neck injury, headaches, and better overall performance. With professional sports organizations beginning to embrace chiropractic, perhaps more of the general public will seek out this natural, safe alternative to drugs and surgery.

Reference:

Stump JL, Redwood D, the use and role of sport chiropractors in the national Football league: a short report. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2002:25(3), p. e2

Dr. Tooka Shahriari
604.984.2511
www.rejuvenationcentre.ca