Getting Better Gas Milage

The human body is similar to a machine with its parts having a specific place and function. Our bones, ligaments, muscles and nerves are all structures that all have an ideal position. This ideal alignment is called the length – tension relationship. If any of these structures lose their alignment than imbalances occur and synergistic muscles are asked to produce more force than they are capable of in order to complete the required demands. This leads to overuse injuries and what is known as energy leaks.
Energy leaks occur when all of the energy generated to perform a certain task or movement does not go specifically into that task or movement. For example consider an athlete who is generally stiff throughout the hips. Testing identifies flexibility to be the weakest link, but the athlete continues to insist that strength and endurance are what he needs to work on. His training could have many energy leaks. Let’s say he chose to run hills instead of focusing on flexibility. Hill running requires the athlete to lift the knee as high as possible. Hill running promotes acceleration, leg strength, and good sprinting form, but an athlete who attempts hill running without optimal hip flexibility will use some other form of movement to help gain the stride length necessary for hill training. The brain and body will compensate for the lack of flexibility and use alternative movement patterns. This athlete is not working through the weak link; he is working around it and is creating an energy leak in doing so.
It is possible for an athlete to perform well even when poor form is used, but eventually the athlete will experience breakdown, inconsistency, fatigue, soreness, and even injury. It should be the goal of the training program to create efficient movement in the activity. This will conserve energy, keep the athlete relaxed, and allow the athlete to practice more and compete with less stress.
At Sports Chiropractic and Natural Health Solutions our examination looks to identify the weak link. If testing shows weakness on one area, that is the area that must be corrected. When testing reveals improvement in that area, another area can be addressed.
Restoring the normal or ideal length – tension relationship will allow the body perform more efficiently and without expending as much energy. This translates to running backs having more breakaway speed in the 4th quarter, a boxer having more stamina in the later rounds of a fight and a runner having that extra boost necessary to carry them across the finish line. This also translates to preventing overuse injuries, energy leaks and allows your body to perform at the highest level possible.

Dr. Todd Rodman
Sports Chiropractic & Natural Health Solutions
9878 Clint Moore Rd. Ste. 206
Boca Raton, FL, 33496