Sports Medicine Specialist

MLC Health Group, located in Reseda, CA, provides treatment for sports injuries with the latest in drug-free therapies. Our goal is to offer every person - professional athlete or “weekend warrior” - the very best in expert care.

Sports Medicine Q & A

What Are Some Common Sports Injuries?

Shin splints - are the most common type of injury for people engaging in moderate to heavy physical activity. They can be quite painful and prevent someone from running and sometimes even walking. Shin splints are generally treated with chiropractic therapy and respond with positive effect.

Herniated discs - do not usually require surgery with the resulting pain being often being corrected with spinal decompression. This therapy typically corrects chronic pain. Spinal decompression works by gradually expanding the distance between a patient’s vertebrae, which creates negative pressure and allows disc material to be drawn back, increasing blood flow to the disc at the same time.

Achilles tendonitis - is a common recreational sports injury though often the least treated. A small percentage of Achille's tendons may be ruptured and require surgery but most can be rehabilitated via sports medicine treatment.

Why Is Chiropractic Sports Medicine Important?

Participants in highly competitive sports, such as soccer, football, and gymnastics, are more prone to injury, but no sport is a really a “safe” sport. What may be surprising to some is that non-contact sports, such as tennis and golf, are the cause of more injuries that require a sports medicine doctor than most contact sports.

Over 20 percent of all sports injuries involve the lower back or neck. Activities that involve repetitive impact, such as tennis and running, expose participants to a high risk for lower back injuries. Contact sports, such as soccer and football, are a major cause of neck or cervical spine injury.

More than one-third of participants in high school football sustain some type of injury every year. People that participate in soccer are susceptible to both mild and serious head trauma, dizziness, headaches, neck pain, and cervical spine damage. Gymnastics also carries an increased risk for spinal cord injury as the result of falls or contact with hard surfaces.

What About Neck Pain?

One of the most common complaints of those involved in sports is neck pain. Sports medicine offers a number of therapies for the relief of neck pain.