Enhancing Sports Performance

Almost every professional sports organization has a Chiropractor on their team to enhance player performance and promote optimum recovery from injuries. Hand, eye, and foot coordination is one of the most important skills to develop for any athlete. Inches can be the difference between a home run and a strike out in baseball. Dr. Sperry won the Nobel prize for his work showing more than 90% of the brains messages are for coordinating the body and the affects from gravity.

One of the most important parts of the brain function is directing the messages from the brain to the body. This process is called "Proprioception" and is one of those background physical processes that make up your body's total IQ. Proprioceptors are specialized nerve endings located in your muscles and joints that inform your brain about your body's position in three-dimensional space.

You're able to write legibly because proprioceptors are sending instantaneous data about the angles of the small joints of your fingers and wrists as your pen moves across the page. You're able to run on the beach because proprioceptors are continuously sending signals to your brain about the changing shape of the uneven surface of the sand.

Without these specialized nerve endings, we'd never be able to hit a baseball, throw a Frisbee, or drive a car. But proprioceptors can be affected by posture and nerve stress. One person out for a stroll might trip over a crack in the pavement and suffer a badly sprained ankle. Another person might trip over the same crack, even badly turning over their ankle in the process, and keep on walking without even a trace of a limp.

The difference between injury and non-injury is the level of proprioceptor training, and this level usually is related to whether you're doing regular exercise. Exercise trains your muscles and joints to adapt to varying kinds of stresses (weight-bearing loads) throughout a variety of positions (the full range of motion of those joints).However, if an ankle, shoulder, or the back are injured it can disrupt the exact messages to and from the brain. This in turn can affect hand, eye, and foot coordination.

As a result, trained proprioceptors can withstand a high degree of stress (such as a sudden twisting of an ankle). The untrained ankle, possibly the ankle of a person who hasn't done much walking, running, or bike riding in the last five years, will be damaged by an unusual and unexpected stress. The result is an ankle sprain of varying severity and possibly a broken ankle.

Similarly, it is well known that older adults experience more frequent falls than do younger adults. Part of the explanation involves proprioception. Many older adults don't engage in regular exercise. Proprioceptive function decreases, changes in level or surface aren't recognized quickly by the person's feet and ankles, and the person falls.

It's easy to see that the effort to maintain an athletes proprioceptive system is time well spent. This process is also extremely important for anyone that wants to maintain a high level of mobility as you age. The fastest way to boost the brain body connection is by maintaining the best alignment possible and doing regular exercise. All kinds of exercise provide benefit, so the best exercises are the ones that have some interest for you personally.

Better Brain Tip:

• Athletes -Do regular coordination exercises or drills for your desired sport
• Non Athlete- balance on one foot with the opposite arm outstretched in front of your body for 30 seconds / then switch leg and arm sequence { this develops better brain balancing and proprioception}