Photo Credit: Keith Johnston
At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, Dr. George Goodheart, the founder of Applied Kinesiology, became the first ever recognized and appointed Olympic Chiropractor for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Today, chiropractic is a commonplace treatment for high-level amateur and professional athletes.
Applied Kinesiology, which evaluates patients for underlying issues through mental/emotional, physical and biochemical lenses, allows the practitioner to identify specific deficiencies in order to promote overall health and wellness. This allows athletes to perform at their peak ability, recover from their injuries incredibly fast and prevent severe injuries that are common for Olympic athletes. What makes this type of care so effective for athletes (and everyone else)?
I’ll use an example. All muscles and joints of the body are interconnected. So, let’s say an athlete sustained a previous neck injury, perhaps in a fender bender car accident. The neck flexors aren’t on, so they aren’t stabilizing the neck. Also, because of the neurologic connection, they are shutting off lower leg stabilizing muscles. This means that you can predispose yourself to a serious injury if you don’t ever address the neck flexors. So, while you may present as having lower hip flexor weakness, the problem actually stems from the neck. If you don’t fix the neck you will not find complete restoration and healing to the lower extremities. It’s imperative to look at the body as a whole instead of focusing on one muscle group. Applied Kinesiology evaluates and fixes lower and upper gait mechanisms. And athletes need both to be functioning for full body movement and performance.
Here is another example. If your hamstrings are typically tight (and a lot of people have this) it’s often because the quadriceps in the front are weak. Therefore, hamstrings are tight and shortened. Yes, foam rolling them or massage will help them to relax for a time, but they will retighten again and you will continue to see tight hamstrings. In this case, when specific muscle testing is performed, we often see weak abdominal muscles. Both abdominal muscles along with quads are related to small intestine on acupuncture evaluation. So, if an athlete has a digestive issue, they will continue to shut off those muscles, making it difficult to perform and predisposing them to an injury. Thereby, you can work on tight hamstrings all day, everyday, OR you can simply identify the root cause of their tightness and fix the underlying issues. This will improve performance, endurance and strength of that muscle. It is devastating to see athletes get injured and never recover (yes, some injuries are worse than others). Most can be helped and they can continue to compete at high levels for longer periods of time utilizing this type of approach to healthcare.
These are just two examples of how Applied Kinesiology is able to identify and fix the underlying issues with athletes. Obviously, the same principle applies to non-athletes as well.
Dr. Goodheart has left a profound legacy and we’re so grateful for his contribution to the chiropractic profession.
So, if you or someone you love struggles with recurrent muscle weakness, tightness or inability to fully recover from a past injury, give us a call or click the button below to schedule your appointment. You might be surprised at how good you can feel and how quickly you can get back to doing what you love!
If you are interested in further addressing this topic, please feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment. Dr. V is a Chiropractor and Functional Medicine Doctor in Elmhurst, Illinois who evaluates patients from the inside out, focusing on areas including hormone imbalance, digestive health, anxiety/depression, autoimmune disease, and many others.