Earlier this week, coffee in hand, I was reading the Wall Street Journal. To my surprise, I learned that Andy Pettitte is being put on the disabled list and is likely to be out for four to five weeks. And for what? A groin injury? I see injuries similar to Pettitte’s on athletes all the time in my office. A groin injury is something that a Professional Applied Kinesiologist could fix and get Pettitte back on the field in approximately one week, if treated right away.

Professional Applied Kinesiologists believe that a sprain/strain results from an awkward or over exerted movement, which in turn, excites the nerve endings (Golgi tendon organs) at the beginning and end of the muscle to "shut off" the muscle in an attempt to protect it from further harm.

While Pettitte is bound to receive traditional methods of physical therapy (like electrical muscle stimulation, ice, massage and ultrasound), it’s important to realize that the muscle MUST be functioning properly BEFORE it could be strengthened through any form of physical therapy. Applied Kinesiology uses specific chiropractic techniques, muscle massage therapies, sports nutrition and exercises to get the muscle function working properly. If the muscle function is not restored prior to the more traditional methods of rehabilitation, the healing process will take much longer – like somewhere in the ballpark of three to six weeks, as in Pettitte’s case.

If Pettitte visited a Professional Applied Kinesiologist, he could expect to receive a therapy known as origin/insertion technique, where the endings of the injured muscle(s) would be stimulated to restore normal function by diminishing the signals from the Golgi Tendon Organs. Pettitte could also expect to undergo what Professional Applied Kinesiologists call “speed healing.”

Speed healing is the process of restoring the normal tone and function of the muscle so that traditional physical therapy treatments could work more effectively in rehabilitating and strengthening the injured muscle. Muscle strength alone will not do the job – it is with normalized muscle function that a Professional AK comes in to work in conjunction with a physical therapist, strength and conditioning coach and massage therapist. This is the reason similar injuries can lead one athlete to be restored to pre-injury status or can hamper an athlete for the rest of his career. Speed healing was developed specifically for this type of injury 46 years ago and has been used successfully on thousands of professional and amateur athletes worldwide.

As mentioned, Applied Kinesiology would help Pettite restore normal muscle function so that his groin injury could be rehabilitated more effectively, but he would also need to implicate proper nutrition and vitamins into his lifestyle as a supplement. If I were treating Pettitte, I’d suggest he take the following:

Raw calcium tablets, which contain the enzyme phosphatase to help the muscle heal
Gotu kola, an herb which has been shown to help muscles to recuperate
An enzyme solution to place on the area to be absorbed through the skin. This aids in decreasing the inflammation and muscle waste products.

Applied Kinesiology works with muscle function, like the gears of a car. Then, it can be exercised, like with a gas pedal. Electrical muscle stimulation, ice, massage and ultrasound are all good techniques and work well WITH Professional Applied Kinesiology (PAK). However, PAK is very effective at specifying these general therapies to the individual person. The key is that Andy Pettitte would have to be treated RIGHT NOW with Professional Applied Kinesiology. If so, he could be back on the field in one week. If delayed, the injury will take a few days longer to heal for every week the muscle is not treated by a Professional Applied Kinesiologist.

It’s been said that insanity is doing the same thing but expecting different results. If the traditional course of physical therapy treatment is followed, the results will likely be similar to 2001 when Pettitte suffered a similar injury and had difficulty the remainder of the season. Because of this, there is a high probability that he will not regain the form he displayed over the first half of the season during 2010. But this does not have to be so if Professional Applied Kinesiology was performed in conjunction with the fine treatment he is currently receiving.