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How Chiropractic Care Has Helped Me: Introducing Mark Teixeira

How Chiropractic Care Has Helped Me: Introducing Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira has been the New York Yankees’ first baseman since 2009. At 32 years old, Teixeira’s physical condition is very important to him, which is why he uses the regular services of his chiropractor, Gil Chimes, who is one of the Yankees’ team chiropractors and who is the clinical director of a thriving practice, Greenwich Sports Medicine, in Greenwich, CT. Teixeira visits Chimes once a week for a two-hour session.

Teixeira says, “Some people would call it anal, but I like things done a certain way.” Like any high-performance instrument, such as a Lamborghini or a Stradivarius, Teixeira believes the body of an athlete needs top care. He says, “You need to continue to tune it to make sure it’s perfect for every show or game or however you want to put it.”

And Teixeira is adamant about treating his body holistically by eating right (he prefers fish, vegetables, raw juices and smoothies to steak and potatoes) and taking advantage of drug-free therapies. This includes therapies such as chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, Active Release Technique (ART) and the Graston Technique. “When you think about all the anti-inflammatory drugs that are pumped into athletes’ bodies, it’s really sad,” Teixeira says.

Muscular imbalances and repetitive stress can create scar tissue in the muscles and fascia that support them, which can entrap nerves and reduce range of motion. Top athletes such as baseball players are particularly prone to this type of problem, and it can impact their performance. Chimes uses ART regularly on Teixeira. He locates the area of contracted muscle and presses down firmly at precise spots with his thumbs. This makes the knotted muscle or scar tissue relax and release any trapped nerves, relieving pain and restoring range of motion.

Similar to ART, Chimes uses the Graston technique on Teixeira to further release tension and repair damage to the soft tissue. For this, a small metal bar is used to break down the scar tissue that has built up over time.

Teixeira says of Chimes, “If I had my way Gil would be with me every single day of the year. He didn’t travel with the team last year, but if he had, I wouldn’t have had that calf injury, or at least it wouldn’t have been as bad.”

Teixeira has spent the early part of the 2013 season recovering from a tendon injury in his wrist that he acquired during spring training, but his rehabilitation has been going well and he expects to be back in the game any day now.

Why Having a Catch is Good for You at Any Age

Why Having a Catch is Good for You at Any Age

boy-with-football
boy-with-football

Having a catch is a classic familial activity—the image of a father having a catch with his son or daughter often comes to mind—but there’s more to having a catch than parental bonding. In fact, the ability to throw and catch is good for physical and brain development, as it fosters the brain and body connection. Throwing and catching involves anticipation, advanced planning, and physical movement, and it has been shown to boost cognitive development for young people. For adults, maintaining hand-eye coordination has been found to even slow down aging. Read on to learn more about why having a catch is good for you at any age.

For young children, playing a throwing and catching game is great for brain development and hand-eye coordination, which, according to Psychology Today, leads to overall better cognitive and social skills. Having a catch regularly will help a child improve hand-eye coordination. Developing hand-eye coordination in toddlers is a practical way that parents can give children every advantage for learning and creating social connections while laying the neural groundwork for increasing their overall potential. Planning a throw and then coordinating the muscles to execute that throw is a fun way for kids to train their brains to use their hands and mental skills simultaneously.

Having a catch also gives a child the improved ability to focus on more than one thing at once. Throwing a ball is not just physical—a child has to plan (often subconsciously through practice) how much force to put in each toss, where to aim to keep the ball from going too high or low, and when to release the ball. All these tasks are eventually intuitive and are taken for granted as people age, but it does take skill to throw a ball correctly, and developing this skill trains the brain to perform in other areas as well.

Having a catch isn’t just good for kids, though. In addition to the fresh air and exercise that having a catch gives adults, the act of throwing and catching can help avert the decrease in hand function that is associated with aging. According to a 1992 study published in the Journal of American Physical Therapy Association, as people age, they experience changes in coordination, visual, touch, and auditory processes, as well as changes in the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems. The decline in speed and coordination of movement are related to a decline in neuromuscular function, which happens as people get older. Sensory processes that are impaired are a factor in decreased motor coordination, resulting in decreased hand-eye coordination as age increases. However, performing hand-eye coordination-building exercises such as catching and throwing can slow these downward trends and help a person stay agile longer.

A regular game of catch can also improve an adult’s eyesight, and a variety of ball activities and exercises can be used to improve hand-eye coordination. Catching, rolling, and throwing are all useful in improving a person’s eyesight, due to the fact that one’s eyes are required to track the ball’s movement and then coordinate with the hands on what they should do next.

Having a catch isn’t just beneficial for one’s health—it’s actually fun. Research has repeatedly shown that fun exercise is the best kind, because it keeps people coming back for more. Consider a game of catch the next time you’re looking for a fun way to get some good exercise, and remember to keep your eye on the ball.