Why is Sidebend Magical?
We have spent extensive time studying the key movements in multiple sports. We believe that they fundamentally show the importance of sidebending as part of human motion. We believe this validates the work done by Serge Gracovetsky on the “Spine Engine Theory” (1988) of human locomotion as well as Fryette’s Law (1948) which is commonly accepted within Osteopathic medicine.
When you envision a baseball player at impact did you think that they are facing the pitcher at impact? Jose Altuve as well as all other Major League players we have seen are doing exactly that.
Did You Think Professional Golfers (and not Amateurs) Show Heavy Side Bend at Impact? As you can see from the pictures below, all professional golfers have a significant side bend at impact.
Did You Think Professional Soccer Players are Tilted away from the ball >45 degrees and are Side Bending Toward the Ball at Impact? This is one of the more amazing pictures of Lionel Messi at impact in a seemingly impossible position. He makes room for his side bend towards the ball be leaning away from the ball at an angle that seems impossible.
Sidebending towards puck in classic hockey slapshot.
In the throwing motion we see sidebending away from the throwing arm versus hitting where sidebending occurs in the direction of the ball.
The Spine Engine Theory and the Reason behind Sidebending
The spine engine theory postulates that the spine NOT limbs drive all human locomotion. It is not that the limbs are not important but that they are just an extension of movements driven by the spine. Serge Gracovetsky developed this theory in 1980s. He was a nuclear physicist who started studying human locomotion due to issues he was having with his back.
The data points he found that did not fit the “Leg Spring Theory” were:
• Quadraplegic Who Could Walk – Gracovetsky found a man who was born without limbs who could walk which obviously supported the importance of other parts of the body. In addition, Gracovetsky observed that this subject’s upper body motions were almost exactly the same as those of a person with limbs.
• Foot is NOT Able to Impart Significant Torque Into the Ground – if the foot is not creating torque, they Gracovetsky searched for the fixed point around which rotational force was being generated and found it a the base of the spine.
The mechanism Gracovetsky found was stretching the Fascia around the spine which required flexion of the spine.
This is consistent with Fryette’s Law which was developed in 1948 and commonly used in osteopathic medicine. Principle #1 of Fryette’s law states:
All of the images of professional athlete’s are demonstrations of Fryette’s law. In Gracovetsky’s work, he showed that the force generated by stretching fascia was greater than what was being provided by the muscles. It took field goal kickers in the NFL half a century to discover this.
All of the images of professional athlete’s are demonstrations of Fryette’s law. In Gracovetsky’s work, he showed that the force generated by stretching fascia was greater than what was being provided by the muscles. It took field goal kickers in the NFL half a century to discover this.