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Peak
Performers: On June 2, the University of Tennessee reached the pinnacle of success by capturing the NCAA title at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The Volunteers, who edged TCU 50-49 to win the men’s title, performed at their peak by supplementing their talent and determination with specific care from team chiropractor Dr. Michael Petty. "I do an analysis of each athlete, from head to toe, to determine what needs to be adjusted," he explains. "It doesn’t matter if he is a sprinter, thrower, jumper or vaulter. I analyze from his feet to the upper extremities, and obviously the spine is a major part. But there are a lot of little subtle things that athletes at that level develop that could affect performance. "I use a series of muscle tests that tie in with specific joints and nerves, and I use that as an analytical tool to pre-check them. Then, I post-check them after I do an adjustment to ensure that we really cleared out all of the mechanical dysfunction." Petty, a UT graduate, began managing a Knoxville practice after his 1986 graduation, as valedictorian, from Life College. He started working with the Vol football team in 1996 and provided care for the 1998 national champion squad. "Once I was introduced to the football team and started going to the training room regularly, the track athletes heard about me and began coming into the training room for care. It was at the request of the track trainer, who was familiar with chiropractic and how it fit into the system," he notes. In 1997, Petty began attending local track and field meets to provide care for the Vol track team, and his work that year at the Sea-Ray Relays drew attention. "They were adjusted right before they competed, and all of a sudden they were hitting personal records – or PRs, as they call them," he points out. "That stimulated the process of getting me on the road to travel with them to Southeastern Conference and national meets. I didn’t start traveling with the track team until 1999. It evolved as the coaches saw the difference in the athletes, who asked if they could take me." Freshman decathlete Blake Sabo sought care from Petty prior to this year’s Sea-Ray Relays and discovered chiropractic’s performance enhancement benefits. "He had never been adjusted before this year, and he actually had six personal bests out of 10 events at the meet," the chiropractor states. "Then, at the conference meet, I saw Blake in between every single event. He set new PRs three times in the javelin, and he had a total overall PR for the decathlon." To win the NCAA championship, the Vols used the brilliant performance of freshman Justin Gatlin, a 19-year-old Pensacola, Fla., native who was recently named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year for outdoor track. He finished as the meet’s high scorer with 22 points by winning the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, as well as competing on the second-place 4 x 100 meter relay team. His 10:08 time in the 100-meter race set a UT freshman record. For sprinters such as Gatlin, junior Leonard Scott and freshman Sean Lambert, Petty uses procedures to restore optimal function. "Primarily, the lower spine is where we focus," he emphasizes. "The sprinters always test with hardly any strength in their hip flexors, which are the accelerators – the term I use. That’s how you’re going to go faster if they’re firing properly. "Then, I roll the athletes on their side, and I do lower spine adjusting on them, usually in the area of L3 or L4. Upon adjusting that area, instantaneously they have incredible strength, like they’re supposed to." Although Gatlin and Lambert had never been adjusted before competing in the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, they gave stirring performances. "They ran the fastest times in the country, along with Leonard Scott, who had been adjusted several times. They finished 1-2-3 in the 60-meter and the 200-meter dash," Petty says. Gatlin, who won the 200-meter dash and finished second in the 100-meter dash at the SEC Championships, has shown enormous potential. "He’s still learning how to do starts," Petty describes. "He comes out of the blocks in fourth place and then speeds up and passes everybody else. That’s how he won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in the national outdoor. Petty coordinates his work with the UT training staff, which manages the rehabilitation and therapy programs. To provide effective chiropractic care, he uses a proven analytical system. "Muscle testing is a great educational tool, because I can take a world-class athlete, who is not really complaining of pain, and overpower him during specific muscle tests," he explains. "Then, I can adjust the joint that ties with that, and suddenly he’s overpowering me, which is what he should be doing. It’s an eye opener, because this is potential performance enhancement. You can put it to the test on the clock, or in the field, and the athletes are doing better than they’ve ever done before." About the author: James Panter is editor of Today’s Chiropractic. Inquiries should be addressed to him at 1425 Franklin Rd., Marietta, GA 30067; or E-mail jpanter@life.edu.
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