Balance is basic to relief

After reading the article at Big-name athletes turn to Patterson for rehab work - Houston Chronicle, I am sure that most Rockets fans will feel more secure now that McGrady 's back problems won't be as problematic as before! :D

It's just common sense," Patterson said. "I try to see why you aren't balanced. None of us is perfect physically or mentally or spiritually. We get into strains, and strains become compensations.

"A specialist looks at one particular thing. If you go to a neurologist, he's not going to start by looking at your feet. There's is a missing link between medicine and therapy, and it's determining the trigger. What came first to get you out of balance?"

Frequently, the trigger isn't obvious. McGrady came to Waco for help in coping with back spasms. Patterson started not with McGrady's back but rather with his knees.

"Everybody looks at his back, and they miss the fact that his head is pulled to the right, his right shoulder is dropped forward and when he goes to sit down, he puts his hands down to steady himself, which means he has very little leg strength," Patterson said.

"When his legs would get fatigued, his back would start hurting, and the thing that mystified everyone is that it would hurt on the left side one week and the right side the next week. All the textbooks say that doesn't happen. No one had ever looked at his knees or ankles or the fact he had flat feet, which meant he rolled his foot inward when he ran, which put stress on the outside (of his legs)."

"There are so many young pitchers and football players who have all the potential in the world but never have a chance because of a simple injury, and then operations and therapy make the situation worse," Patterson said. "The kick in this for me is seeing great athletes perform at their potential as long as they can."

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

Categories