TREATING THE JAMAICANS 

In April of 2023, I had another of the opportunity to work at Camp Speed in Kingston, Jamaica. I taught self treatment of the fascia system using foam rollers and balls as well as mobility and stability exercises. The program was held at Jamaica College that consistently produces elite track and field athletes. Coach Harrison, the head coach of Jamaica College requested that I evaluate two of their injured athletes that are scheduled to compete at the Penn Relays next week.
 
The first athlete who is also on the Jamaican National Team was complaining of hip pain that was affecting his acceleration. I determined with muscle and mobility testing that this piriformis muscle was not firing in the proper sequence and had poor mobility of his right hip compared to the left. We were able to correct this distortion with manipulation of the hip and SI joint, we instructed him to release the piriformis and glutes with a lacrosse ball and taught him hip mobility exercises. He happily stated that the injury resolved.
 
The second athlete complained of quadriceps and patella pain. During his evaluation we observed that he could not perform a basic deep squat. He stated that he frequently stretches that quad. Upon our evaluation, we determined that he had poor mobility of his ankle caused by an old ankle sprain, weak hip flexors and quad spasms caused by over-stretching. We manipulated the ankle to restore mobility of the fixated ankle, performed cupping of the quad with active movement to release the spasms and instructed him to practice an assisted deep squat, foam roll his quad and hip flexor and to cease any static stretching of that quad. He felt a 75% improvement and instructed him to continue the self treatment exercises that we prescribed. It was a thrill to assist these international athletes and was greatly appreciated by the athletes and coaches.