What is an athlete?
This may be easy for some people to answer, but harder for others depending on how you look at it. Most people when asked would answer with their favourite player from their favourite sport. With the Super Bowl coming up, I am sure you can think of a few athletes and describe what makes them one. For me, I look at it a bit differently. According to Webster's dictionary, an athlete is "a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina" (1). If we change the word "sport" or "games" to daily activity, then the definition changes completely. It lets everyone in the world who completes a daily activity repeatedly be an athlete. My personal definition of an athlete within the clinic is a person who has risen to the top of their respective field requiring specific training, physical attributes or mental capacity.
The Science of Everyday Movement
Do you think that all the professional athletes in the world just woke up one day and were great at their specific sport? Yes, some could have, but that is usually the only top 1%. The other 99% had to go through a lot of trial and error to find the one sport they liked, were proficient at and had the passion to pursue it as a career. This is very similar to what we "average Joe's" also do. We try to find our passion throughout our lives, try different careers and pursue one that fulfills us the most!
Getting to this place in life takes a bit of work. Athletes have a strict workout program and training/practice schedule to keep them at the top of their game. We all feel like we need to have a workout program or time in the gym to stay fit, but that is not the case! NEAT is the measurable non-exercise activity thermogenesis, a fancy scientific word for daily activity that isn't structured (2). This includes activities like house chores, gardening, walking your 10,000 steps per day, and even running after your kids! Little acts of movement during your day increase total energy expenditure (TEE) which works with our metabolism to keep us healthy (2). These daily repetitive movements teach our body to be more efficient in our daily lives, just like athletes train for game-type scenarios to increase the efficiency of how they react during the game.
Potential For Injury
With being specialized in one specific field, the risk of injury increases. Pro athletes only have to deal with one, usually their pro sport. Every day people not only have their careers to focus on but also their hobbies, their families and the focus on staying fit. Let's take Bob, an office worker, as an example. If we follow Bob who works at a desk all day at the computer, we find him sitting most of the day. His body gets conditioned to be in this seated position, but that's not all they do. Bob is a good Minnesotan who loves the game of hockey and finds himself on the ice for a beer league once a week. He also likes to go to the gym in the morning because that is the only time he can fit it into his busy schedule. After 2-3 months of this, Bob started to notice his hips were sore when he was trying to stand tall, and a few months later he went to lift his child off the ground and felt his back go "pop". Bob's repetitive activity conditioned him to be in a seated position through his daily activities and his hips lost mobility, adding increased stress on his lower back and ended up hurting himself. Athletes might get hurt during a play, which happens faster than what happened to Bob, but is a cause of their daily activities.
Treatment Of Injuries
At Kinach Chiropractic, whether you are an athlete or Bob who comes in with lower back pain, you bet we are treating you both the same! There is no research suggesting that certain treatment modalities are better for high-level athletes than for the everyday person. There is pressure on both individuals to get healthy as fast as they can because they both have their jobs to get back to. Also, believe it or not, the pro athlete and Bob are both human beings. This means that they both need to be treated like one, listened to and cared for as any other person walking into the office.
To summarize, an athlete is someone who has risen to the top of their respective field requiring specific training, physical attributes or mental capacity. If we move every day we are increasing our NEAT which allows us to increase our TEE without having to have structured workout sessions. The risk for potential injury is the same in athletes and everyday people as repetitive movement is the root cause of injury. The treatment of injury is also very similar between the athlete and the everyday person. Remember we are all athletes and you will be treated with the same expertise when you come in with your injury. Don't be afraid to Unleash The Athlete Within.
Chung N, Park MY, Kim J, Park HY, Hwang H, Lee CH, Han JS, So J, Park J, Lim K. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure. J Exerc Nutrition Biochem. 2018 Jun 30;22(2):23-30. doi: 10.20463/jenb.2018.0013. PMID: 30149423; PMCID: PMC6058072.
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