All month, my house has been revving up for the World Cup. My husband absolutely LOVES soccer and that enjoyment of the sport has become contagious. We now play soccer and watch soccer frequently and I can only imagine our (not yet in existence) children will be learning to play soccer before they learn to walk.
This past weekend my husband had the World Cup games on and I was repeatedly drawn to the amazing way in which the players move. As elite athletes, their entire existence revolves around being able to move with almost absolute perfection. The most interesting part of the games to me are the slow motion replays of when a player is injured. Very common in soccer is a groin pull. Did you know that if you follow the movement planes of the groin, it connects straight up the spine to the jaw?
Next time you’re watching a soccer game and they show a slow motion groin pull, take a look up to their jaw and see if they are clenching it really hard during that moment right before they go down.
I could spend all day talking about the intricacies of movement from the way their ankles are able to plant, rotate and still maintain strength, all the way up to the activation of their neck muscles during that same movement. What I find to be most amazing, is the difference between those elite athletes and the people that I see in my office. I can often watch a person walk in and I can say, which part we ought to address first just based on the way they come into the office. Sometimes, its not quite as obvious and we have to get deeper into the movements with some specific movements and muscle testing.
My point is, how you move is important, regardless of your athletic level. If you have never had an evaluation, you should! It could be the missing link to your chronic or repetitive pain problem.
PS – USA plays tonight! I’m looking forward to evaluating our players!