
Back in 2002, while at Chiropractic College/University (September 2000 National College of Chiropractic became National University of Health Sciences) in Lombard, Illinois, as one of our final projects, we needed to complete an individual independent study and present it to our professors and classmates.
At the time, I was the current Student Council Athletic Director with a strong interest in Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation. I also volunteered at a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary clinic learning an incredible amount, and working with leaders in primary care, orthopedics, neurology, and physical medicine (Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture, and Personal Training).
With my athletic history of elementary and high school basketball, volleyball, track & field, and martial arts, then continuing with martial arts competitively throughout North America from the ages 11 to 23, then finishing with competitive court and beach volleyball throughout postgrad school – I have pushed my body to extreme levels with hours of training and practicing for almost half of my life. This led me to want to stay active, obviously for health reasons but I loved a competitive environment. The athletic ability and psychology of those around me were infectious. Pushing limits and doing things no one else was doing or that would catch eyes, was always a thing my friends and I were interested in.
So, when doing my independent study, I gleaned all the information that was out there and case studies of athlete after athlete who developed issues or injuries that were in areas that they didn’t have problems with in the past but all of a sudden were now having them. Problems that would have been an issue during their sport of interest but weren’t. Lower back pain, knee pain, ankle and foot pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, mid back pain with basketball players, volleyball players, tennis players, and runners. As I dove deeper into these patients’ histories, I came to realize that most of them stopped abruptly after a season or length of time when they pushed themselves.
My focus for the independent study presentation was taken from elite collegiate-level volleyball players. The number of injuries with rotator cuffs or achillies were astounding. These athletes were having tendonitis, tendinosis, partial tears, and even full-thickness tears from their repetitive swinging and jumping after not playing volleyball for an extended period. There is a belief in most competitive athletes that when they played at a high level previously, they attempt to play similarly to that level when playing again later in life. Therein lies the problem.
There is always a risk of injury when pushing one’s self beyond limits especially if not training for the activity. We all know weekend warriors or individuals who love to do things that they wouldn’t normally do. Mondays in the office are notorious for a few of those types of patients coming in to take care of tweaks or pain they developed when going on a long hike or a spartan race or snowboarding/skiing at one of the local mountains.
I am guilty of the lack of stretching or preparation for activity. I have experienced multiple injuries stemming from not preparing for the task or activity I was pushing myself to do – even knowing what I knew. There is a term I use often in practice called “deconditioning”. Deconditioning is the decline in physical function of the body as a result of physical inactivity and/or bedrest or an extremely sedentary lifestyle. Deconditioning could be avoided by having regular physical activity that allows for joint and muscle flexibility and strength that is moderate. The word moderate can mean different things to everyone. I would consider moderate workouts to push heart rate and muscle fatigue but within a comfortable, pain-free range.
When dealing with an elite athlete, there will be a moderate to significantly intense level of training. I strive to optimize their performance by coordinating care between Chiropractic, Massage Therapy, and Corrective Exercises either at home, a gym, with a trainer or a Physical Therapist. When treating an active patient who was a former elite athlete who has an injury or wants to prevent an injury, I employee the same treatment philosophy.
Optimally conditioning an athlete’s performance is key to injury prevention – no matter the athletic level. From ballroom dancing to pickleball to mountain biking to gymnastics – some level of conditioning is needed. Conditioning along with proper musculoskeletal movement will help anyone looking to enjoy an active lifestyle after experiencing time as an elite athlete, preventing the Elite Athlete Syndrome.
I hope you learned something today. Thanks for reading – and stay well. Dr. SJ