Another area that affects the practice of chiropractic is in the treatment of athletes. Sports chiropractic is an important field in which many doctors have excelled. It has been firmly established that athletes who train heavily or who overtrain are more susceptible to infection. The results of many studies on athletic training and immune suppression seem to be conclusive. Recently, a group of 92 marathon runners were placed on either a vitamin C supplement or a placebo for three weeks prior to a race.
Chloroform is a by-product of chlorination and is a potent oxidant and respiratory irritant.
The presence of such an oxidant increases the need for antioxidant nutrients. In such a case, we potentially have a combination of heavy training with immune suppression, environmental exposure, and increased nutritional needs. I noted above that elite swimmers are more susceptible to infection as the season progresses. Asthmatic swimmers are similarly more susceptible to respiratory infection. Should we follow the allopathic approach of managing the asthma with bronchial inhalants and treat each infection separately with antibiotics.