As a wrestler, once you reach a certain level of skill, the gains you can get from more practice and competition become incremental.

At the elite level, 10 more hours of practice aren’t going to have as big of an impact, as they would for someone who is only practicing one to two hours.

At this level, you need to look outside of wrestling for ways to improve your wrestling performance and get a competitive edge.

One of the ways you can do that is with regular chiropractic care.

Throughout this article, you will learn six significant ways that chiropractic care can help you with your wrestling performance.

Helps With Pain In Multiple Areas

A common misconception about chiropractors is that they only work on the back and spine.

Though it is true that the spine is a major focus for a lot of chiropractic work, chiropractors are well trained, equipped, and experienced to consult and consider pain and issues in other parts of the body.

So, regardless of the type of pain you are experiencing for the type of injury you are trying to manage, a chiropractor is worth considering, even if it is not strictly a spine-related issue.

Having said that, you would be surprised by the extent to which a lot of other issues which seem to be unrelated to the spine and/or back, actually do have a causal relationship stemming from an issue with the spine.

Pain Reduction

Living with pain is just part of life when you are a wrestler. From the grueling training that you put yourself through to the pounding competitions, your body is constantly feeling the impact of being pushed to the limit.

An unknown benefit of chiropractic care is that it can massively reduce the amount of pain you are experiencing both acutely and chronically.

A lot of the pain people experience is caused by poorly aligned vertebrae and other biomechanical issues throughout the body.

Though pain relief medication can assist with managing the symptoms of this poor alignment (the pain you experience), it does nothing to address the underlying cause.

The spinal manipulation and treatments offered by chiropractors are very effective at addressing the cause of the issue, not just the symptom, contributing to effective and enduring pain reduction and relief.

Improves Joint Mobility

The improvements to joint mobility that can be experienced with regular chiropractic care have multiple benefits and provide multiple advantages for a competitive wrestler.

The improved mobility opens up a new suite of moves that you can implement, as well as enhancing your ability to execute your existing moves.

It only takes a small improvement in mobility to see a big impact.

Mobility is improved as a direct result of the spinal manipulation and treatment you receive as well as the exercises you are prescribed.

This treatment and the exercises target those parts of your body that have lost mobility as a result of poor alignment and neglect and restore them to the previous level of functioning.

Reflex Enhancement

Reflex enhancements are another surprising benefit of regular chiropractic care as provided by Ideal Healh & Wellness Center.

Chiropractic care resets the somatosensory system and unlocks presynaptic inhibition to enhance the responsiveness of your reflexes.

Executing your wrestling moves a fraction of a second quicker than your opponent can be the difference between winning and losing.

So the fact that this is an indirect benefit from a treatment you will most likely be pursuing for pain management is a bonus.

Decrease Inflammation

The battle against inflammation can be quite stressful when you are working around the clock to try and help your body recover from previous training and tournaments, while also preparing for the upcoming training and competitions.

Chiropractic care is well known to reduce inflammation which has compounding positive effects on all aspects of your wrestling recovery and subsequent preparation.

When the spine is correctly aligned, it assists with your overall nerve function and biomechanics.

When these systems are working well, it stops the production of neuropeptides, which contributes to a reduction in inflammation.

Improves Cognitive Ability

As well as the multiple benefits we have already discussed for your body, chiropractic care also has a reputation for improving cognitive ability.

As a competitive wrestler, this improved ability will set you up to better perceive and process the moves and tactics of your wrestling opponents, as well as be sharper in your own calculations and tactic execution.

Research has shown spinal adjustment can improve cognitive function in the prefrontal cortex by up to 20%. The impact this could have on your wrestling performance cannot be understated.

Conclusion

In this article, we highlighted six different ways that chiropractic care positively contributes to wrestler performance.

Though most people think about going to a chiropractor when they have a bad back, the truth is they can help with so many more things and have a positive impact on so many other aspects of your wellbeing that will give you a competitive edge as a wrestler.

If you are not seeing a chiropractor yet, you definitely should be.