Ironman fever

It's the time of the year again... Ironman is here! We have all noticed the influx of men and women from all over the world dawning their bikes, wetsuits and running shoes to compete in the 2009 Ironman Triathlon. Many of these courageous athletes have spent years training for events such as this, so it's no surprise to see them out in the community, honing their craft in preparation for the big race.

While many people would be wholly content in just finishing an Ironman event, many are competing at a very high level in hopes of besting their past times or setting a time to beat in hopes of beating it in the future. There is one thing that is certain, all of them are athletes and all of them are participating in something that is unimaginable to the majority of our world's residents.

Just imagine this scenario if you will. You see that it is a beautiful day, the local lake is warm, the sun is shining, and you embark on a 2.4-mile swim in open water. When you pull yourself from the water you are amazed at how great you feel, so you grab your bike and ride out of your driveway for a spin. The weather is so nice that you decide you might just pedal yourself 112 miles. That is roughly the distance to Mullan and back if you start in Coeur d'Alene. When you finally return, you are still feeling pretty fantastic, so you throw on your running shoes and go out for a jog. Instead of a jog, however, you run 26 miles and return home. Congratulations, you have just completed an Ironman Triathlon.

Now, if you are really ambitious, you may start doing this type of thing all the time and carrying a stop watch with you until you can finish the entire thing in under nine hours. If you do this successfully, a career as a triathlete might just be in your future.

You might ask yourself, how does someone develop the skills to exert that type of physical activity on the body? My guess is years of training and an unshakeable will to be the best. I would also imagine that these athletes take meticulous care of their bodies.

For those that want to truly maximize their proficiency in this craft, a wellness plan with your local chiropractor might be the next best thing to training. As stated by Sean Atkins (a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology), "I would estimate that in excess of 90 percent of all world-class athletes use Chiropractic care to prevent injuries and to increase their performance potential."

It's true, chiropractic care can restore optimal nervous system function within the body and have you competing at your greatest capacity in no time. The philosophy behind chiropractic is to remove hindrances in nerve function by analyzing and adjusting subluxations within your spine. A subluxation is when one of the bones in your spine has moved out of place and is putting pressure on the nerves that are exiting the spine. These nerves carry vital information to and from your brain to every cell, tissue and organ in your body. Your heartbeat, breathing, digestion and temperature regulation are just a few of the activities your brain is taking care of each and every second of the day, even when you aren't telling your body to do these things.

A subluxation can cause a host of problems because it is restricting the messages essential for function. Think about it... if your body is not receiving all the correct information from the brain and vice versa, how is it that your body will function at its peak potential? Simply stated, it won't!

So for those of you looking for the most out of your body, whether at home, work or pounding pavement for nine hours during an Ironman Triathlon, consider chiropractic care and find out what many professional athletes already know!

For more information, give us a call at (208) 762-1414, visit us on the Web at www.CDAHealth.com or www.spoelstrachiro.com, or find us on facebook.com or twitter.com by searching "Spoelstra Family Chiropractic."