Cocoa Beach Chiropractic Orthopedist

During its 100-year history in America, chiropractic has gained steady acceptance for easing a wide array of physical ailments. The American Chiropractic Association describes chiropractic as a form of health care that focuses on musculoskeletal and nervous systems disorders and numerous studies support their assessment.  Chiropractic is common in sports medicine and many trainers will encourage it before, during, and after any physical performance. Let’s take a look at a few examples of how chiropractic has benefited the sports world. 1. Solid Body Maintenance in Professional Football It’s no secret that professional football is a beast of a game and injuries are frequent. Even if football players avoid serious injury, it’s a sure bet that stiffness and soreness are just par for the course. In a 2002 survey, thirty-one percent of football teams in the National Football League reported having a chiropractor on staff. Athletes reported using chiropractic care...

The hip is a very unique joint. The depth of the socket, the strength of the muscles and ligaments surrounding it, and the way it functions in weight bearing activities is unlike any other joint in the body. The focus this month is on the relationship between the hip and the rest of the body. The hip joint is a synovial joint, meaning it moves freely. It is a ball-and-socket joint that is made up of the femoral head (the “ball”) and the acetabulum (the “socket”). The ball is largely contained within the cup or socket, though there are genetic and cultural differences with regards to the depth and shape of the hip joint in any one individual. The relationship between the hip and the surrounding joints is intimate in that each joint affects the next. For instance, ankle pronation—or the inward rolling of the foot and ankle—results in a knocked knee, which can then shift the hip outwards. The pelvis then drops down on that side, the tailbone or sacrum becomes unleveled or sl...

Our feet are the most abused parts of our bodies, absorbing forces generated simply by our body weight and gravity as well as more intense actions like sports and exercise.  In order to take care of your feet, you need to support them! Your feet are the foundation of your body. When your feet don’t get proper support from your footwear, simple activities like walking and running can cause stress and fatigue to your muscles and joints.  This results in pain and poor performance.  Other conditions such as low back pain, neck pain, hip pain and knee pain can all be a result of unsupported feet. To keep your feet and body balanced, custom orthotics may be recommended.  Although there are many over-the-counter options, they may not be the best option for your feet, as they are mass-produced and typically address only one of the arches in your feet.  There are actually three arches in each of our feet, and everyone’s feet are different.  This means one ortho...

When you ask people to point to their hip joint, it’s very interesting to see the vast number of places where people point—the low back , side of the pelvis, front of the pelvis, in the groin, and more! If one were to draw a line between the back and front pocket, that’s basically the hip joint. So keeping the hip joint in mind, picture the squat exercise. According to Dr. Stuart McGill, director of the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to safely perform a squat, one must FIRST consider genetics and the role it plays, especially in performing a deep squat. Genetics, according to Dr. McGill, helps us to determine whether the hip joint can handle squatting. For example, genetically shallow hip sockets predispose people to hip dysplasia (arthritis). The highest rate of hip dysplasia in the world is in Poland as individuals of Polish descent are genetically predisposed to be develop shallow hip sockets. However, because of these sh...

It’s easy to focus on the knee when it hurts, but is the pain truly arising from the knee? There are many studies that link knee pain to problems with the lower back, hips, ankles, and feet. This month, let’s focus on the role the foot and ankle play in preserving knee health! Because we are all bipeds—we walk on two legs—EVERYTHING from the ground up affects the rest of the body. The first “link” of this “kinetic chain” is our feet, and the last link is the head. If any of the links are altered lower down in the kinetic chain, it will affect the links that follow—usually in a negative way! For example, a flat foot and/or pronated ankle (where the foot and ankle rolls inward) can create a “knocked knee” effect. The next time you’re in the mall or grocery store, look at people from behind and watch how many roll their ankle(s) inwards when they walk. This is especially noticeable among those wearing shorts and flip flops. It’s estimated that 80% of us are over-...