I was in London yesterday for the first General Meeting of the Royal College of Chiropractors (have I mentioned that we have a Royal College now?). This was a chance to catch up with chiropractic friends and to hear about developments in the Profession.
There were speakers from the USA, Sweden, Canada and Australia, reporting on some of the great research being done by chiropractors around the world.
There was the brilliantly named “OUCH” study from Australia comparing the effects of real and sham chiropractic treatment.
A Swedish study uses mobile phones and texting to stay in touch with chiropractic patients and monitor their progress over time. Response rates using this contact method are remarkably high.
Another study showed that neck movement in the typical male rugby player is seriously restricted (and is usually worse after a game than before). By comparison, the neck movement of American football players is relatively normal – apparently that body armour they wear really does work.
Active Chiropractic - Back Pain in Peterborough 
3 responses to “Rugby Players and Texting”
Does the study suggest that the American players are less tense during the match – in the knowledge that they are less liable to injury?
The study didn’t look at that. There was anecdotal evidence that the rugby players were proud of their reduced neck function (“if I can’t move it then nobody else can!”). Surprisingly, Rugby league players had better neck movement than Union players. This was attributed to the different style of scrum in league games. (Jones, BZietsman, Heuschand, McCarthy, Comparison of active cervical range of motion of elite male players within two helmeted sports utilising differing helmet systems)
That’s fascinating. My question about tension arose from my own experience of riding. I found it relaxing until I was thrown. Thereafter I found myself tensing my muscles and tightening my grip on the reins at every ‘unusual’ movement by the horse. I never played ‘serious’ rugby!