Ortho-Bionomy and Baseball were made for each other. Any repetitive motion sport for that matter, but baseball I think can benefit the greatest. With a roster of 25 players who are all susceptible to RMIs adding OB to the weekly therapy regimen will act as the most cost effective, proactive insurance policy a team could invest in. Regular treatment, meaning one or two 45-60 minute sessions a week will decrease the occurrence of injury, speed recovery times between outings for pitchers, create endurance and durability to endure a full season without injury and as a by product an increase in production from innings pitched, lowered ERA, accuracy and control, batting average and fielding percentages, the list goes on.
OB works by keeping the reflexes of the body working in there most efficient manner. Over the course of playing, from season to season, the body starts to stabilize itself by becoming contracted and splinted as opposed to expansive and flexible. The body does this internally to allow for the continuous stress it is being put under. The body literally changes it’s tracking and stabilizing systems. It is natural and not just a physical occurrence in muscles and bones but actually the software that controls/tells muscles, bones and tendons HOW to do their job. In other words at their core RMIs are a computer/software issue. The injury to physical structure is just the outcome. Keep the computer operating correctly and injuries don’t occur. This is true not just for athletes but for all humans.
Regular OB sessions are particularly effective at preventing RMIs for a couple reasons. First OB directly addresses the bodys internal balancing systems. The techniques of OB keep these systems working in their “optimal mode” keeping the players body in it’s most efficient operating motions. When this happens stress and tension doesn’t build in the system and injury doesn’t occur.
Second by maintaining these “operating systems” the body keeps the Kinetic Chain of Movement flowing without restriction, allowing all the pieces to articulate as a fully functional perfectly tuned living piston. Think in terms of a whip and catapult. Force and torque are built with each piece doing its job in succession. If one of the pieces are off track the system is less efficient at best and breaks down at worst.
By combining these two ideas I have been able to prove, at least at the High School Varsity level, that RMIs can successfully be prevented. I believe this way of working is the missing link we have been searching for. As the science around these ideas continues to grow we will see a move in physical rehab and prevention starting to include these ‘indirect techniques” more and more.
Take a look in the article section. The Monterey Herald article and Carmel case study spell out the ideas and results we were able to achieve.