Team Chiropractor for Blackthorn Rugby Team
Reduce Rugby Injuries with Regular Chiropractic Care and Massage Therapy

Chiropractic Care for Sports and Back Pain Injuries

How does chiropractic care help sports performance?

Dr. Allen Conrad is the Team Chiropractor for the Blackthorn Rugby Team. When an injury like whiplash occurs, your muscles and tendons become inflamed and swollen. If you live in North Wales PA, you would recognize our office by all of its positive google reviews.  For this reason, many athletes come to our North Wales Chiropractor for regular chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractic care and massage therapy is effective in the diagnosis and treatment of sports injuries. As a matter of fact, maintaining proper spinal alignment is essential for good health. Likewise, chiropractic treatment helps injuries from becoming a chronic condition. We accept Personal Choice PPO health insurance for sports injuries, covering up to 60 visits a year.

As the Team Chiropractor for Blackthorn Rugby in Blue Bell PA, we help athletes with injuries all the time. Collision sports like rugby can lead to whiplash, and chiropractic care is very effective in treating whiplash injuries. We also offer chiropractic and massage therapy to nearby Montgomeryville PA. If you were rear-ended in a car accident, get an exam today. We were voted the Best Independence Blue Cross Personal Choice PPO chiropractor in North Wales 10 years in a row.

Every muscle and tendon in the body attaches to a bone or vertebrae. Basically, when something becomes misaligned, it puts additional stress on the attached muscles. Consequently, proper realignment through chiropractic spinal and extremity adjustments helps maintain a proper range of motion. Correspondingly, flexibility and proper balance and strength allow the athlete to run and move at their peak performance. Dr. Allen Conrad is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Furthermore, they are considered the world leader in strength and conditioning research.

What treatments are effective for back pain?

Our combination of chiropractic care, massage therapy, stretching and therapeutic exercise is the perfect program for helping athletes. Consequently,  this helps them play at their best. When an injury or whiplash does happen, return as fast as they can to playing again. As a result, health insurances like Personal Choice PPO, Blue Cross PPO, and Aetna PPO will cover chiropractic care, which can help athletes return to the field faster. We also accept Independence Blue Cross PPO, part of IBX insurance plans. We also are now In-Network chiropractic providers for Independence Administrators PPO health insurance plans. For this purpose we accept many North Wales health insurance plans. In effect, we can help more athletes with chiropractic care though health insurance plans.

Do chiropractors perform stretching and exercises with patients?

As part of his adjunctive procedures license, Dr. Allen Conrad uses a combination of chiropractic care and therapeutic exercises. For instance, I help patients improve range of motion, whiplash, flexibility, core strength and balance. These improvements assist the athletes in returning to the field faster. Likewise, this  helps them prevent future injuries and keep playing sports. Coupled with regular exercise and proper diet, chiropractic care is a great addition for athletes. A combination of pre-game stretches and regular chiropractic care has been effective for players. In summary, healthy rugby players stay longer on the field. For that reason, my patients miss less time due to injuries with regular chiropractic treatment.

Nevertheless, if you are injured, you can’t help the team. Chiropractic treatment is also successful for concussions, whiplash and migraine headaches. For this reason, most players appreciate the treatment we provide for them. Rugby is a team effort, we believe it is important to do everything you can to return to the pitch as fast as possible to help the team succeed.

A rugby scrum involves strength, balance and coordination

What Types of Chiropractic Adjustments Do Sports Chiropractors Perform?

Dr. Allen Conrad is a former rugby player, and he can relate to common rugby injuries due to his experience and a second row for Millersville University, Palmer College of Chiropractic, and for the Blackthorn Rugby Team. Our office has performed chiropractic adjustments on the sidelines of Blackthorn matches, as well as in our North Wales, PA office. We use a few chiropractic adjustment techniques, including Diversified, Thompson Drop, Gonstead, Activator, Palmer Package, and Cox Flexion Distraction Technique for spinal decompression therapy. Each type of adjustment is carefully chosen by the doctor to identify which is most appropriate for your condition, and all of these techniques were learned by Dr. Conrad during his time at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

Dr. Allen Conrad helped serve as an assistant for the Palmer Rugby Team, and also in the Palmer Rehabilitation Clinic during his stay in Iowa. He was also awarded at graduation with the Rehabilitation and Sports Injury Intern of the Year Award for his experience in sports rehabilitation. Dr. Conrad also worked at Karmich Chiropractic Centers for 6 years, which was the largest sports chiropractic facility on the east coast with over 40 locations. His experience with sports injuries and adjusting techniques has helped many athletes improve their sports performance, as well as other patients with similar injuries.

How Does Massage Therapy Help an Athlete improve from an Injury?

Massage therapy and chiropractic offer a combination of alternative medicine treatments for athletes like rugby players. Dr. Allen Conrad will examine and diagnose the injury, and instruct the massage therapist which region to perform the massage on. Different injuries require various types of pressure and style of massage, so during the examination Dr. Conrad can identify which type of massage treatment is best for the injury. There are different styles of massage treatments we utilize at Montgomery County Chiropractic Center, including petrissage, effleurage, tapotement, cross friction, Swedish, and deep tissue trigger point therapy. Each type has a specific purpose, and the combination of chiropractic care and massage therapy is effective in helping reduce spasm, pain, inflammation and scar tissue from many muscle and tendon injuries.

What is Rugby?

Rugby is a team sport similar to football which involves running, tackling, kicking, and team work. Rugby is the second most popular sport in the world, second only to soccer, and it involves players playing offense and defense for two 40 minute half periods. Traditional rugby involves 15 vs 15 players on the field at the same time, but a faster version of rugby called 7’s involves less players and more of a finesse game. Rugby involves the violence of football with the speed, kicking and endurance of soccer. It is due to this combination that rugby players get injured, and why chiropractic care and massage therapy for rugby injuries can help get them playing again faster.

Blackthorn Rugby Team is located in Montgomery County Pennsylvania

History of Blackthorn Rugby

Blackthorn Rugby has been around since 1973, and have played their games in Horsham PA College Settlement in Montgomery County PA, Players come from various areas, including Lansdale, North Wales, Blue Bell, Horsham, Ambler, and also the Bucks and Philadelphia County regions. Rugby is a physical contact sport involving tackling, and chiropractic care has been effective in helping get the athletes back on the playing field faster with treatments.

What kind of injuries happen in Rugby?

There are many spine, tendon, ligament and muscle injuries can occur with sports, and it is always essential to get any injured area evaluated by a Doctor of Chiropractic. Injuries that may occur may include:

• Rotator cuff syndrome
• Concussions
• Tendonitis
• Hamstring Pulls
• Twisted ankles/ sprained ankle
• Spinal injuries
• Swelling, bruising and inflammation
• Knee and leg injuries
• Neck and shoulder injuries
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Runners knee, golfers elbow, tennis elbow
• Pinched nerves
• Scoliosis
• Sciatica
• Herniated discs, slipped discs, bulging discs
• Whiplash
• Shin splints
• Hand and foot injuries
• Headaches and migraines
• Sprains and strains
• Piriformis syndrome
• Stiff neck from headaches
• Aches and pains
• Back spasms
• slipped disc in back or neck

Therapy treatments we use in a Chiropractic Office

To get patients and athletes back to their pre-injury status, we use a combination of treatments at Montgomery County Chiropractic Center. These treatments include chiropractic adjustments of the spine and its extremities, massage therapy, therapeutic exercise, balance and gait training, electrical muscle stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound, mechanical traction, trigger point therapy, as well as stretching and proprioception programs. Our goal is to use a whole body approach to spinal misalignments, and our patients appreciate our dedication to helping them recover.

Insurances we accept at Montgomery County Chiropractic Center

• Personal Choice PPO
• Amerihealth PPO
• Blue Cross PPO
• Blue Shield PPO
• Aetna HMO and Aetna PPO
• Highmark Blue Cross PPO
• Merck Blue Cross PPO
• Independence Blue Cross PPO
• Independence Administrators PPO
• Auto Accidents/whipash insurance
• Workers Compensation Injuries
• United Healthcare PPO

Goals of chiropractic treatment

Whether its an injury related to a sports event, or if you twisted the wrong way lifting something, early detection and examination of an injury is essential for a fast recovery. Dr. Conrad will develop a rehabilitation program for your injury that is specific to your goals and needs. Athletes need to get back to playing as quick as possible, but if the condition is not healed correctly, then future long term damage may occur. We help develop achievable goals with our patients, and help identify which type of activities they do in everyday life. By doing this, we can help prevent any setbacks which may occur and minimize an exacerbation. If you have tendonitis, then repetitive type activities like typing can cause shoulder and wrist flare ups.

Howe can Chiropractic help?

If you pulled a muscle in your leg, then getting back too soon to running or lifting heavy weights can result in a muscle tear, which can take months to recover from. All of our care plan treatments are designed to help your recovery, and minimize the need for drugs or risky surgery options when appropriate. Helping improve spasm, pain and inflammation is important, but also working on balance and flexibility training with our staff will help improve the body’s core strength, and reduce the chances of the injury returning again in the future. Our patients recognize the importance of alternative methods for pain relief like chiropractic care and massage therapy, and are pleased with our wellness approach to health care. A healthy combination of exercise, chiropractic care, and proper nutrition can help you operate at your full potential, and we are here to help you.