Preseason Is Where Small Problems Get Discovered
Football preseason across Lubbock, from high school two-a-days to Texas Tech’s fall camp, is where a lot of minor tightness that got ignored over the offseason suddenly becomes a real problem. Full-contact drills, sprint work, and lifting volume all ramp up at once, and muscles that were tolerating a lower training load in June and July start showing trigger points and restriction once the intensity jumps. Dr. Brett Chavez, D.C. sees a predictable wave of these cases at Back 2 Health Chiropractic every August.
Why Dry Needling Fits This Window
Dry needling targets a trigger point directly, using a thin filament needle to trigger a local twitch response that helps release a taut band of muscle quickly. For an athlete in the middle of a demanding preseason schedule, that speed matters. A hamstring or glute trigger point that might take several sessions of massage alone to fully release can often respond faster to direct needling, which is valuable when an athlete doesn’t have the luxury of missing multiple practices to let tightness resolve on its own.
Why It’s Paired With Rehab, Not Used Alone
Dry needling releases the trigger point, but it doesn’t correct why that trigger point developed or build the strength and movement pattern needed to prevent it from returning under the same training load. That’s the job of sports rehabilitation: targeted strengthening, movement pattern correction, and a progression plan built around the specific demands of the athlete’s position and sport.
Used together, dry needling clears the acute restriction fast enough to keep an athlete training through preseason, while the rehab component addresses the underlying weakness or movement pattern so the same trigger point doesn’t reform in week three of two-a-days.
Common Areas This Combination Addresses
- Hamstring and hip flexor tightness in athletes ramping up sprint volume
- Calf and Achilles tightness from a sudden jump in running load
- Upper trapezius and neck tension in linemen and athletes carrying more upper body tension during contact drills
- Low back tightness tied to increased lifting volume during camp
Fitting Into a Busy Practice Schedule
Dr. Chavez works with athletes to schedule sessions around practice times, since timing matters for how the body responds. Sessions close to a heavy practice day are approached differently than sessions on a lighter recovery day, and the plan adjusts as the preseason schedule evolves.
Keeping an Athlete Available, Not Just Comfortable
The real goal during preseason isn’t just reducing soreness. It’s keeping an athlete available for every practice and every rep, since missed practice time during camp is difficult to make up later in the season. Addressing a trigger point or movement restriction early, before it turns into a strain significant enough to sideline someone, is a far better position to be in once the regular season starts.
If preseason training has left an athlete dealing with a tight spot that isn’t resolving on its own, schedule a visit with Dr. Chavez at Back 2 Health Chiropractic in Lubbock.
