The Basic Idea is to Change the Skeletal and Muscular Physiology and their Airway Dynamics to Improve their Performance 

We can only improve an athlete's performance if he/she has dysfunction in his/her Head and Neck and Occlusion that we can see as a result of Body Asymmetry

Basically it is a Tricentric Dependence related to:

       1. Cranio-Vertebral Joints "OA / AA"

       2. Cranio-Mandibular Joints  "TMJ"

       3. Dental Occlusion   the "Bite"

If that is the case than we can performance enhance the sports athlete 

Where do we start this process

1.  We know what it looks like when your posture is out of wack and you have dysfunction in your neck and occlsion (your "bite")

2.  If you stand in front of the athlete, he/she is a good candidate for this project if you will notice at least 2 of the following:

For a Right Handed Dominant Athlete

        1. Head is Not Centered over Spine

                Head is Tilted to the Left and Forward 

        2. Has a Rounding of Shoulders 

        3. Right Shoulder is Lower than Left

        4. Right Hip is Higher than Left Hip

        5. Right Knee is Higher than Left Knee

         6.  Rib Cage is Not Symmetrical  (This decreases lung capacity and negatively affects Stamina. A decreased lung capacity also decrease oxygen to the brain. This decreases an athltete's ability to concentration and focus under stress.)

          7. This Body Asymmetry, Vertebral Mal-Aligment                                                  Hinders Athletic Performance     

          8.  FHP or Forward Head Posture

                a. As the Head Progresses Forward the Muscles of the Back and Neck have to work harder to keep the chin off the chest thereby expending more energy than it needs too.  It reduces the vertebral artery, the primary blood flow to the brain. The muscles and ligaments of the upper cervical vertebrae hyperextend to forward translate the cervical vertebrae. This leads to shortening of the muscles of the back of the neck as well as compression of the cervical vertebrae. So the consequences of FHP increases the workload for the many muscles attached to the cervical spine which has the job of holding up the head which leads to muscle imbalance as the body tries to adapt and find efficient ways to hold the head up for straight ahead vision.

                (The Head arrives before the Rest of the Body)

                 b.  For every inch your head moves forward it                            gains 10lbs in weight and can add up to 30 lbs in weight as far as the muscles

                         in your upper back (SCM Trapezius

Latissimus Dorsi} and

                         neck are concerned, because they have to work that much harder to keep the head (chin) from dropping into your chest.  This also forces the suboccipital muscles (they raise the chin, are located below the occipital bone and insert on C1 and C2, the two straight rectus muscles rectus capitis posterior, rectus capitus posterior minior and the two oblique muscles obliquus capitas superior, obliquus capitas inferior) to remain in constant contraction.
               c.  FHP and Breathing:  

                     1.  Shape of thorax is changed by FHP. It causes expansion of the upper anterior thorax and contraction of the lower posterior thorax. These changes causes decreased respiratory function. As many of our alveoli lie in the lower posterior portions of the lungs therefore the quality and volume of oxygen is compromised.
                     2.  FHP causes muscle imbalance. Equilibrium is necessary for normal muscle movement. Muscle imbalance will manifest in one group being overactive or too tight and one group being under active and too loose. This reduces lung capacity which leads to decreased moveability and function of the diaphragm and inefficient breathing patterns.

               d.  FHP in conjunction with a dysfunctional "Bite" can pull the entire spine out of alignment and may result in the loss of 30% of lung capacity because forward head posture greatly influences respiratory  function by weakening the respiratory muscles. It is the result of mobility impairment in the muscles of the anterior thorax (intercostal muscles), muscles of the upper extremities originating on the thorax (Pectoralis Major, Minor, Latissimus Dorsi, Serratus Anterior), muscles of the cervical spine that attach to the Scapula and Upper Thorax ( Levator Scapulae, Sterncleidomadtoid, Scalenus - Ant,Post,Middle, Upper Trapezius) and the the muscles of the Suboccipital Region (Rectus Capitus Posterior Major and Minor, Obliquus Capitis Superior and Inferior) and Impaired Muscle performance due to stretched and weak lower cervical and upper thoracic erector spine and scapular retractor muscles ( Rhomboids, Middle Trapezius), anterior throat muscles ( Suprahyoid and Infrahyoid Muscles), and capitol flexors ( Rectus Capitus Anterior and Lateralis, Superior Oblique Longus Coli, Longus Capitus)

           9.  Is there a Dental Midline Shift, Crossbite, Overbite, Underbite, Tooth Crowding, Tooth Clenching and Grinding, Constricted Vaulted Palate, Overjet, Remodeling of the Condyle of the Mandible - Fossa - Eminence due to muscle malalignment, as time, load, pressure created as a result of retruding the Condyle posterior and superior from the Posterior Rotation of the Cranium, rotation of C1 - C2 with resultant Sphenoid Bone movement affecting the muscle lengths of the Medial Pterygoid Muscles and the Lateral Pterygoid Muscles.  In both Habitual and Centric Relation on which side do you make contact on first?

          10. Is there any TMJ Dysfunction due to FHP as a result of loss of a Skeletal Midline resulting in increased tension of the muscles of mastication Masseter, Pterygoids, Temporalis, resulting from the Posterior Rotation of Occipital Condyles and subsequent rotation of Atlas and Axis as well as Tilt of Spenoid Bone creating muscle imbalance and TMJ Dysfunction. This muscle imbalance over time, pressure, muscles either lengthen or shorten will retrude the head of the condyle posterior and superior into the Fossa resulting in changing the shape of the head of the condyle, the Fossa, the Eminence, and the Disc.

          11.  A Great Athlete Compensates for this by Adaptive Mechanisms which Kicks in and without Knowing to Compensate the Neck starts coming Forward. Again, we are back to the FHP Forward Head Posture Issues

          12. WE TEST INITIALLY TO SEE IF WE CAN CHANGE "THE BITE" OF THE ATHLETE in .25 mm INCREMENTS TO SEE IF SHE WILL RESPOND POSTIVELY TO ONE OF OUR DOWELS.  THIS WILL TELL US IF WE CAN CHANGE HIS/HER  SKELETAL PHYSIOLOGY  

MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY AND  AIRWAY DYNAMICS TO UTILIZE HIS/HER BODY ENERGY MORE EFFICIENTLY.  THIS IS LIKE A "WOOOH" FACTOR. YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT STRONGER THAN YOU WERE JUST 10 SECONDS AGO. WE ARE JUST TRYING TO MAKE YOU MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND. 

          13.  THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT:

                a. I CAN NOT I REPEAT I CAN NOT MAKE YOU ANY STRONGER THAN YOU ACTUALLY ARE BECAUSE OF ALL YOUR GAME TIME PREPARATION WRT STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING AND PRACTICE THAN YOU ACTUALLY ARE
                b. ALL I AM DOING IS FINDING A FIXED JAW POSITION SO THAT THE BODY STRENGTH YOU ALREADY HAVE CAN BE DISTRIBUTED TO YOUR CORE MUSCLES MORE EFFICIENTLY. as a RESULT OF VERTEBRAL RE-ALIGNMENT for BETTER MUSCLE RECRUITMENT TO ALLOW YOU TO BE MECHANICALLY MORE EFFICIENT AND HAVE MORE STAMINA AND ENDURANCE DURING THE LAST 10 MINUTES OF THE GAMES WHEN MOST GAMES ARE WON AND LOST

HOW DOES THIS MOUTHGUARD  PROJECT HYPOTHOSIS WORK:

IF AN ATHLETE HAS