30 teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) utilize chiropractors. There is also a growing awareness of the effectiveness of the sports chiropractic approach to treating and diagnosing common baseball related injuries. The stops and starts of base running, the mechanics behind hitting or catching a ball while running and the repetitiveness of pitching result in many of the most common injuries that include Lower back pain Upper back pain Shoulder Pain Knee Pain Elbow pain Wrist pain Sprains to the elbow, knees, ankles, and back According to Livestrong, there are over 600,000 injuries from playing baseball per year, and 5-14-year-olds suffer from 117,000 of them. The aspects of the game — running, sliding, twisting, and jumping — cause the body to maneuver into awkward positions. If you or a loved one has slid into first and felt a pop, or twisted to catch a fly ball and felt a snap, chiropractic care offers several ways to help put you on the road to a complete recovery. Why see a chiropractic sports physician first. Chiropractors have a unique perspective in the evaluation and treatment of sports injuries. Chiropractors are taught to look at the body as a whole, not just the parts. This is important as history, combined with a thorough evaluation and understanding of how the body works, can make the difference between success and failure with a patient. Throwing is a good example since throwing a baseball requires the arm, the midsection, and the legs to produce power and accuracy in the throw. This is especially important while pitching. Poor mechanics in the lower body are commonly the reason for most overuse injuries. Unless there is direct impact trauma, understanding how the body moves for that particular patient is essential to resolving a problem. The typical model most people experience is the one where they have a symptom, such as elbow pain, they go to a doctor who sends them to a specialist, such as an orthopedist, who evaluates the part, maybe takes an X-ray, and decides if anything looks abnormal. In the absence of trauma, the question you need to ask yourself is Why is the area in pain? Looking at the part without holistically asking more questions about your musculoskeletal history often leads to treatments of the symptom by injection or by suggesting a therapy. In baseball, it is quite common, in this doctor’s experience, to find elbow or shoulder problems beginning in the lower back, legs, and feet. You cannot fully understand that unless you ask and evaluate, which will give you a much more appropriate diagnosis when the doctor fully understands the mechanism of why you hurt. How would a chiropractic sports physician evaluate and treat a baseball injury? During the initial visit, the doctor will do a thorough history and exam, and if trauma is involved, may take an X-ray too. If a referral to a medical specialist is necessary, they will make a referral to the necessary specialist. The good news is that most baseball injuries can be evaluated and treated at the chiropractic office, and treatment begins during the first visit in most cases. Chiropractic sports physicians are a one-stop shop for most things musculoskeletal, and by keeping things simple, it improves results, lowers costs, and helps you get back into your sport faster. Chiropractic sports physicians will use treatments such as myofascial release, manipulation of the spine and extremities, and exercises to help you get better fast without the use of drugs, unnecessary tests, or injections. Visiting a chiropractic sports physician is simple. Just call or book online. Do it today.