Arm or Leg Pain in Mobile AL?

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Chiropractic Adjustments for Arm and Leg Pain

Due to the complexity of the joints and the vast number of possible causes of your leg or arm pain, it is important to have a professional evaluation to determine the source. Using a combination of a thorough review of your medical history, a physical examination, and advanced imaging techniques, a chiropractor can get a comprehensive picture that will lead to the root cause of your pain.

Using non-invasive and carefully applied adjustments, chiropractors assist the body in gently re-positioning the vertebrae which can provide both instant and long-term relief.

3 Adjustments to Your Back Leg That Can Extend Your Softball Career into and Pass Your 70s

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An Introduction to How Integrating Chiropractic Care Can Keep You Playing Past your 70's

1. WIDEN YOUR STANCE
A wider stance does quite a few things that helps you in your approach to the ball, but the basis of this article is to limit lower extremity injuries which, when we are talking about septuagenarians (70-year-olds), can be the difference between hitting line drives and home runs, and having to have a knee or two replaced.

Many softball players, and those especially who have played for decades, have some sort of closed stance where their legs are closer together. They do this to help them stay back on the ball, but most do it to give them an appropriate stride to get to their front side. Keeping your feet relatively close puts a lot of pressure especially on the back leg, and especially on the knee and hip. Plus, if you have a long stride you’ll have to eventually come down and land on your front side. Most injuries occur on the back side though, mostly from the incredible torque on the back side hip. The back side is important because it is most important in firing the back hip to get the body and the necessary energy and power in your approach to the ball.

Widening the stance also creates little head movement, which to any hitter of any age, is important when hitting a moving ball.

The problem with older players and their old closed stance is that the swing and the closed approach can lead to other areas on the back side to inevitably fail because of so much overuse. The tall stance, coupled with coiling tall to the back leg puts tremendous force on the back knee and hip. Another big problem, believe it or not, is keeping a stiff back foot on contact, instead of turning the foot toward the pitcher and toward the course of the pitch. The stiff back foot looks like the right-handed batter’s foot is pointing toward first base, or parallel with the line in the back of the batter’s box.

2. INTRODUCE SOME COMPONENT OF THE "SQUICH THE BUG" APPROACH TO YOUR SWING
Either stance, tall or even widened can cause serious knee issues if you keep the back foot planted with little to no movement. Over time you will eventually have some serious knee issues because of planting your back leg. Certainly, a lot of professional baseball players keep their back foot almost braced to the ground, but over time it is not advisable. The main concept of hitting is to work on hitting the ball out front by firing the back hip with rotation, across the core, and into the front hip. If you’re like me at 67 years old, hitting 40 to 50 balls a few times a week is eventually going to catch up with you and your back knee and hip. The problem with old school “squish the bug” technique is that it improperly forces the back foot’s heel to rotate back toward the catcher. In slow pitch softball you can get away with it, but a better approach is freeing up the back side to hit the ball out front. Doing this allows the foot to rotate, true, but the front of the foot is going towards the front toward the pitcher and not rotating the heel back. This is why we need to first implement back hip rotation with the back hip moving forward, which will create the toes of the back leg pointing toward the front.

3. WEAR TURF SHOES INSTEAD OF RUBBER CLEATS
It sounds like a little thing, but 70-year-old knees hate cleats that dig in the ground, or hitting off rubber turfs, because the cleats dig more into the surface rather than spin on it. Hundreds and even thousands of swings with cleats are going to increase wear and tear on your back knee.

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Talkin’ Chiropractic Treatment as It Relates to the Softball Swing and the Lower Extremities

Well, we have introduced the potential areas of involvement specifically to the back plant leg during the swing. Chiropractic at any age is important to the wellbeing of everybody, and the older baller is no exception. Treatment can include extremity adjusting of the foot, ankle, knee, hip, sacroiliac joint and the lumbar spine. As we age, the discs between the bones of the spinal column become stiffer and more fibrous, causing lack of mobility. There is a fine line between working out, playing a few games a week, and the opposite approach, doing absolutely nothing. Chiropractic can help clearly with the physical, but even more with the mental and spiritual approach often neglected.

If you are experiencing arm or leg pain, don't wait for it to become unbearable, schedule a consultation with our team at Discover Chiropractic Center today.