I often explain to people who have never had any experience with chiropractors that we are essentially electricians for the human body. We focus on the communication pathway in the body – which is your nervous system. This is how your brain communicates with the rest of your body: The millions of messages are transported from your brain down your spine – where they exit and supply your muscles, organs, tissues and cells with essential information.
Think for a second about a luxury automobile. These vehicles utilize a central processor (a computer) that communicates with all areas of the vehicle. It knows if there is low tire pressure, when an oil change is needed and if there is a problem with the engine. Now what would happen if there was an interruption with that message? The result would be a less efficient automobile, or one that is not operating at an optimal level.
The same can be said for the body. This is the reason that Olympic athletes receive chiropractic care. It’s not for low back or neck pain, it is to ensure that they are operating at an optimal level – as efficient as humanly possible. After all, a fraction of a second can be the difference between a Gold or Silver medal. Luckily, There are now 28 chiropractors in the Olympic polyclinic – a multidisciplinary medical services team provided by the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games.
After watching the women’s gymnastics balance beam finals – it was clear for me to see the chiropractic difference. The U.S Women’s team were flawless, they didn’t botch a single routine. The Russians, on the other hand, had difficulty balancing and landing.
[A quick side note on the US women’s gymnastics team: Shortly before the Olympic trials in gymnastics, McKayla Maroney suffered a hard fall during practice in which she sustained a concussion and a broken nasal bone. After receiving chiropractic care, McKayla made a full recovery and is now a Gold medalist. Pretty cool, right?]
Chiropractic is still in its infancy in Russia and most Russians have no access to chiropractors, so it would be interesting to find out if the women’s team was under chiropractic care. In gymnastics, a healthy and balanced spine is key – and was clearly shown in the performance of the US team. By removing interference from the nervous system, chiropractors help these athletes to adapt and react quickly, and execute flawlessly.
Just another example of chiropractors helping world class athletes, and why not? After all, chiropractors are experts in human function.
