The game is getting bigger, stronger and faster. Even a novice hockey player can tell you what a big part a good training routine plays in the outcome.
But seasoned hockey players like Mike Cammalleri and PK Subban acknowledge 3 other factors that have contributed equally to their success: Preventative Treatment, Continuous Education and a Balanced Lifestyle.
The Chiropractic Team at Athlete’s Care, that treat many pro athletes including Cammallerri and Subban, are guided by these three principles in each of their treatment sessions.
Preventative Treatment:
Mike Cammalleri was asked how treatment by the Chiropractic team at Athlete’s Care has helped his career. He replied, “The significance of treatment has become equal to training. If I have not had a treatment session before a game, I need to warm up. But with treatment, I can go a 100%.”
He also stressed the crucial importance of starting treatment early. “If I had started treatment early in my career, I would have avoided 2-3 years of chronic adaptations that I had to overcome with treatment. By treating early, you can be ahead of the game, “ says Cammalleri.
Areas of the body that are not adapting to the stress we put on it, whether that comes from sitting in a chair to playing specific sports or doing the same movement over and over again can become predisposed to injury.
The Chiropractic Team at Athlete’s Care use a Functional Integrated Treatment (FIT) model unique to them to identify these areas and address them in order to improve soft tissue dysfunction, nervous system function with needling techniques and soft tissue mechanics and joint mechanics with a variety of manual techniques. By using different tools such as tissue release techniques, fascial abrasion technique, performance taping and acupuncture, the team helps clients experience many benefits such as decreased pain, improvement in function, performance optimization and accelerated recovery, sometimes just in one treatment session.
PK Subban verifies the benefits of the FIT treatment method this way, “This treatment model has helped my muscle tissues develop at a faster rate so I can go out there and do what I do best. “
Continuous Education:
“My body is my investment and learning how to take care of it well gets me the best results, “ says Subban.
The Chiropractic Team at Athlete’s Care makes the education of their clients a top focus. ‘Our body is our number one asset and we help ourselves by understanding how it functions’ is advice they offer in all their treatment sessions. By teaching clients corrective exercises or stretches, they help them to keep moving optimally and prevent injuries.
Cammalleri agrees wholeheartedly with this approach and expresses the same gratitude as Subban for the guidance he has received, “Education plus Treatment has become equal to Training for me. The ability to understand how my body functions and treating it well allows me to improve training and technique and recover faster.”
One of the team members placed emphasis on education by saying, “When athletes are explained the nature of what is happening with them in a language that they understand, they follow through with treatment, do the prescribed exercises and recover faster.”
Balanced Lifestyle:
At 24 years of age, PK Subban is younger than most players in the NHL. But he is thankful to have realized the importance of living a balanced lifestyle early in his career, an understanding that may take other players years to develop at high costs.
“Learning to maintain a continuous balance of treatment, training and nutrition has helped me not only in hockey but also in regular life, “ says Subban.
We don’t need to be professional athletes to learn from Subban. By practicing the many healthy lifestyle practices of eating balanced meals, proper pre and post workout meals, adequate hydration and hours of sleep we too can learn how to achieve and maintain a healthy life.
Subban went on to add, “You only get what you put in and by avoiding the highs and lows of eating very well but then eating very poorly, I am learning how to maintain consistent good shape on and off the ice.”
It is no secret that following the new fad or trend diet is not only unhealthy but also ineffective. Educating ourselves on healthy nutritional choices and how to make them consistently is a far more sustainable and healthier choice and one that also makes us self-reliant.
Whether you want to maintain longevity in hockey or your daily life or are looking to treat and manage chronic pain issues, applying the three principles of Preventative Treatment, Continuous Education and a Balanced Lifestyle in your own life as well can go a long way in helping you achieve your goals.
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