Whether in school, rec leagues, or on travel teams, many children participate in sports on a daily or weekly basis. Over 50% of children play at least one sport. In many ways, this is a positive statistic: sports provide children a healthy way to stay active and learn outside of the classroom. However, sports can increase the risk of injury, from broken bones and torn ligaments to brain trauma.

Many of us who played sports as children are dealing with injuries we sustained decades ago. Osteoarthritis can cause joint pain in people in their 20s and 30s who are otherwise healthy and fit. The condition affects 30 million people in the United States. Athletes who suffered from a joint injury in the past are likely to suffer from osteoarthritis, a surprise to many people who believe that osteoarthritis affects only older people.

A Path Forward

One way to treat arthritis is to take ibuprofen or acetaminophen. However, taking NSAIDs like these every day for months can be harmful to your stomach and kidneys and even increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.

In an age in which people are beginning to wonder if a pill can solve everything, medical doctors are opening up their minds to chiropractic care. And short of undergoing a surgical procedure like cortisone shots and or even joint replacement, chiropractic care is a non-invasive option that has led to real results in thousands of patients.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, there are a few things to think about if you’re considering treating arthritis with chiropractic care:

1. Chiropractic care is only recommended to treat osteoarthritis. If you have been diagnosed with an inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis, you should talk to your doctor before visiting a chiropractor.
2. Make sure to give your chiropractor your full medical history to rule out any possible issues in treatment.
3. Doctors do not recommend getting a chiropractic adjustment on joints that are currently inflamed.
4. If an adjustment isn’t possible, chiropractors can use other therapies to help your joints, such as ultrasound therapy and electrotherapy, which increase the circulation in your joints and have been shown to relieve pain and stiffness in joints.
5. Though chiropractic care has helped many reduce their symptoms, there is no evidence that chiropractic affects X-ray results for osteoarthritis. So if you’re going to a chiropractor who promises to cure it, switch chiropractors!

The chiropractors at Tuck Clinic are passionate about helping our patients with joint pain. If you’re struggling with old sports injuries, consider chiropractic care as a holistic and natural way to treat your aches and pains.