Improve Your Athletic Performance
by Dr. Broghan Reilly
If you or someone you know is an athlete this article is for you. Fresh cut grass, the smell of leather, bright lights, shimmering floors, cool clean anticipation: these are all part of being an athlete and having a love of the game. Athletes are a quirky bunch (elite group) of individuals always looking to improve their performance and willing to sacrifice their body for the game. Despite the passion and adrenaline associated with the game, fewer than 30% of athletes have access to or take advantage of their full potential.
What is the secret to how you improve your athletic performance and gain access to your full potential? Functional Movement Analysis (FMA) is a specific screening test performed by a health care practitioner that has a Masters degree in Sports Science and Rehabilitation. FMA consists of fourteen separate movement observational screens that reveal dysfunctional movement patterns that inhibit an athlete’s performance and lead to injury.
One example of an FMA screen is called the Wall Angle. To perform this test at home, lay flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor (this will cause your lower back to be rounded and flat pressed against the floor). After you are in this position, take your arms and bend them to ninety degrees at the elbow, while keeping your arms in a T position from your torso. Try and lay your forearms flat, with the back of your hands on the floor. If you can lay your forearms flat without lifting your lower back off of the ground, you are negative for this FMA screen.
Dr. Broghan Reilly has both his Masters in Sports Science and Rehabilitation and a Doctorate in Chiropractic. Dr. Reilly is the team chiropractor for the semi-pro football team, the Eau Claire Crush. Dr. Reilly is the owner and sole chiropractor at Reilly Chiropractic in Lake Hallie, located between Kwik Trip and Aldi Foods across from Wal-Mart. To learn more about FMA and chiropractic go to www.chippewachiropractor.com.