Olympic weightlifting can be a brutal endeavor. Anyone who has trained as a weightlifter has no doubt had some serious soreness, random joint aches and pains, and at times even more serious injuries. As is the case in most sports, competitive weightlifters are constantly searching for things that allow for greater recovery and a competitive edge. All things being equal, the weightlifter that is able to train the hardest and the longest without interruptions in training will be the best. Competitive weightlifters should utilize everything (within legal guidelines of the sport, of course) they can to speed up recovery and prevent injury. This article will go over chiropractic, how to use chiropractic to your advantage in competitive weightlifting, and what a weightlifter should look for when choosing a chiropractor.
 
Go See a Chiropractor
 
The word “chiropractic” comes from the Greek words cheir (meaning ‘hand’) and praktos (meaning ‘done’): done by hand. The name was chosen by the developer of chiropractic, Daniel David Palmer, in the late 1890s.
 
Chiropractic has two main underlying principles. The first is that the human body is a self-healing organism. For example, if you cut your arm and then cut a cadaver arm, you will heal in a few days, but the cadaver won’t. We all have an innate intelligence within us which is responsible for the healing process. The second principle is that the nervous system is the master system of the human body and that any interference with this system can result in suboptimal health. We can go about three weeks without food, three or four days without water, but not even a second without the nervous system.
 
On Your Nerves
 
The nervous system consists of the brain, the spinal cord, nerve roots, and peripheral nerves. A simple way to look at the nervous system is that it is the wiring of your body and each wire has a different destination that can all be traced back to a particular level of the spine. If you’re having pain in your hand, for example, those nerves can be traced back to the lower part of the neck. If your calf or foot is hurting, the nerves are coming from the very bottom of your lower back.
 
Nothing in the human body functions on its own without a nerve supply. Forgive the dramatic oversimplification, but we could look at the spine as a fuse box. Each part of the body could be traced back to a specific level of the spine. If there’s a health problem somewhere in the body, the chiropractor can trace the problem back to the spine and assess if it’s being caused by a misalignment at that particular level.
 
Much in the same way your fuse box at home is set up; each fuse is tied into a particular part of the house. If the power goes out in the washing machine, for example, you know to check back at the particular fuse associated with the washing machine. The spine is the same way. Find out what the problem is, check the level of the spine associated with that part of the body and determine if there’s dysfunction contributing to the problem.
 
Chiropractic and Weightlifting Performance
 
Chiropractic can help weightlifting performance in two major ways. The first way is relatively straightforward: chiropractic can improve spinal alignment. It’s relatively common to find a leg length discrepancy (one leg being shorter than the other) in a patient. The most common reason for one leg to be shorter than the other is pelvic dysfunction; one side of the pelvis is rotated, causing the leg to become uneven. In reality the leg isn’t ACTUALLY shorter, it’s merely the pelvic rotation resulting in an uneven appearance.
 
How does correcting this discrepancy translate to weightlifting performance? Imagine one of your legs is functionally half an inch shorter than the other. This would be like taking one shoe off and walking around. Now imagine the massive loads and force transfer taking place during weightlifting training. Leveling out your lower extremities with a chiropractic adjustment is of great importance for optimal weight bearing. Another example is misalignments in the mid back. These misalignments can mechanically restrict the chest from opening up fully in the snatch, which can shift the load forward resulting in a miss out front. A nice unrestricted middle back is paramount in the bottom position in Olympic weightlifting.
 
The second way chiropractic can help weightlifting performance is through freeing up nerve pressure. The so called “pinching” of a nerve is not only painful, but detrimental to maximum neural drive and motor unit recruitment. If a nerve is pinched either as a result of a misalignment in the spine or a disc bulge or herniation, you’re not going to get the proper nerve supply to whatever part of the body that particular nerve is supplying. In the case of severe nerve entrapment, you can actually get a loss of function and strength. In the case of a nerve getting irritated, the nerve can fire too rapidly resulting in a muscle spasm. A chiropractor is an expert at identifying and removing nerve pressure through a chiropractic adjustment.
 
Choosing a Chiropractor
 
As in any profession, there is the good, the bad, and the ugly and chiropractic is no different. Weightlifters looking to utilize chiropractic as a part of their recovery and regular maintenance should consider a couple of things before choosing their chiropractor. The first is what technique the chiropractor uses. Because there’s a few hundred different chiropractic techniques and many of them have some overlap, we’ll keep it simple: manual or instrumentation. A manual chiropractor uses more of a hands-on approach and will push down or twist the spine in a precise direction and often there will be an audible “popping” noise. A chiropractor who chooses to use instrumentation will have an instrument that looks like a power drill or screwdriver that will deliver a gentle percussive tapping sensation to a specific joint. I personally prefer a manual approach with weightlifters as they typically respond well to a more aggressive hands-on adjustment involving actually moving the joints of the spine.
 
Another thing to consider when choosing a chiropractor is their background. So many exercise myths still exist out there, such as that deadlifts and squats are dangerous, that you shouldn’t squat below parallel, that your knees shouldn’t go in front of your toes, etc. Try searching for a chiropractor who is active in a sport or was an ex-athlete, because they most likely will have a better understanding of the movements in weightlifting. Many CrossFit gyms now have at least casual relationships with chiropractors. It also helps if the chiropractor has an athletic background because he/she will better be able to relate to the mind of the athlete. Most athletes are highly motivated to get back to training as soon as possible and the chiropractor needs to respect that motivation, not just tell them to take a couple months off of training.

Bottom Line
 
Chiropractic care is a safe, drug-free, and effective tool for the competitive weightlifter. I always tell my patients that if their pain or symptoms are being caused by nerve pressure or a misalignment, then chiropractic is likely to help. Try adding some regular chiropractic care to your recovery program and gain an edge over your competition.