I have spent over half my life in the running community and know that every competitive or even non-competitive runner will do whatever they can just to run a little faster. Whether that be train multiple times a day, sleep in a tent at night that limits the amount of oxygen available to breath, or even give up the opportunity to get a "real job" and make more money. Due to the fact we distance runners make so many sacrifices to do what we love, we should get the most out of our training and time. The key to this is to stay clear of preventable injuries. If we are injured, we cannot reach our goals. My college coach used to always say "do the little things." There is a lot more to "the little things" than just stretching, hydrating, and getting sleep, etc. The little things are the simple things that can make a big difference in your fitness. Over the past 4 years I have realized one of the most important little thing we can do is make UPPER CERVICAL CHIROPRACTIC part of our regimen. Here is my reasoning....
1) First off, in order to reach our maximum potential we need to be running on all cylinders. We need our immune system to be working 100% so that we don't get sick and miss training days. We need our digestive system to be in 100% communication with our brain in order to properly utilize our food for energy and recovery. We need every gland and organ in our body to be working correctly so that we are producing the right hormones at the right time. If any one of these aspects or any other autonomic function in our body is less than 100%, it is impossible to perform at 100%.
How does this work? Well the top two bones in our neck surround one of the most important organs in our body, the brainstem. We have over 450 million nerve fibers crossing over through the brainstem in order for our brain and the rest of the body to communicate and work in unison. Due to physical, emotional, and chemical stressors we put on our body daily, these bones can move out of alignment and actually put pressure on our brainstem. We call this a SUBLUXATION. When this happens it is impossible for all 450 million nerve fibers to work properly. When communication from our brain to the rest of our body is interfered with, our body deviates from homeostasis and we are not able to reach our maximal, God given potential. This is also a time when dis-ease can set in.
As upper cervical chiropractors we specialize in locating these subluxations using instrumentation and xray analysis. Then very specifically removing this subluxation in order for your body to start functioning back at 100%. We then continue to utilize instrumentation to make sure that adjustment holds and allows those 450 million nerve fibers to function properly. This is when your body works at its best!
2) Secondly, our body has a natural tendency to make sure our pelvis is properly underneath us in order to maintain balance. When either of the top two bones in our neck move out of alignment, our head moves out of positional balance and therefore the body begins to react. This is when one shoulder rises to counter the tilted head, and the pelvis rotates and tilts creating a short leg. With all this the muscles and ligaments in our entire body begin to tighten or lengthen in order to support the new position of our body. Long term this is not a good thing for the body, and as an endurance athlete it is usually the reason for many injuries. If you think about running, you will take around 2,000 steps when running a mile. That is 1,000 steps on each leg. If your body is not in balance, one leg will take more of a pounding than the other. So if you weigh 150 pounds you may put 195,000 pounds of stress on one side of the body and 105,000 pounds of stress on the other side. As you could probably figure, this would make a big difference on how your body can function and recover. And this is only 1 mile! Over time most will start to develop overuse injuries. When your top two bones in your body are aligned, your body is aligned, and when your body is aligned your body can properly distribute your weight and be less susceptible to overuse injuries.
As upper cervical chiropractors we specialize in locating these subluxations using instrumentation and xray analysis. Then very specifically removing this subluxation in order for your body to start functioning back at 100%.
The reason Upper Cervical Chiropractic is so important for runners is that no matter how much we train or prepare, it is IMPOSSIBLE to reach our GOD GIVEN POTENTIAL when our nervous system is unable to work at 100% and our body is out of balance .
So go out and train hard, train smart, and get your nervous system checked!
