Enhancing Sports Performance by improving range of motion

By Stacey Vornbrock, MS

Hi Gary,

So many people have inquired about the progress I’ve made since we did our videotaped session together 3 years ago! I wanted to give you an update on that and also to tell you about something I have been “pioneering” for about a year now in the sports performance arena.

I have worked with Senior PGA Tour Players, Nationwide and Gateway Tour Players, two major league baseball players, a former NFL player who is now on the Celebrity Pro Golf Tour, and many amateur and recreational athletes. I feel so blessed and excited to work with these men (and a few women). Their response to EFT has been great and they have been willing to tell others about their experience and successes.

Now for the exciting news. Over a year ago, I started working with a Nationwide Tour Player who was getting ready to go to Q School (Qualifying School). When I met him, his hip flexors were so tight that he couldn’t rotate fully around into his back swing. In order to get around he was lifting his left foot off the ground, a big no-no as this causes instability and a whole host of other problems. His golf pro asked if I could do something about his tight hip flexors. I said “sure, let’s try it, it won’t make things worse”!

Well it was a one-minute miracle. Within two rounds of tapping, he was able to keep his left foot rock-solid on the ground and his hip rotation had increased from about 20 degrees to 40 degrees (the golf pro was speechless). The next day his golf pro was stretching him on the table when I arrived and he told me he had 40 degrees rotation but he still needed another 5 degrees. I said “no problem” and we started tapping. In front of our eyes his hip rotated another 10 degrees. Later I learned that this golfer had experienced a pretty traumatic left hip injury, so we tapped on all aspects of that injury. Tyler, the golf pro, and I were very excited by this and I started experimenting with other golfers, all with great results, but no specific measurable proof.

Then in September I had a local company contact me called Motion DNA Corporation. They use sensors and a very high tech program to measure golf and baseball swings and motion of every kind. They had heard about me and were interested in the work I do with athletes. I went in to meet with them and eventually had the good fortune to meet their athletic trainer, Marilyn. I told her that I could get fabulous results with range of motion (ROM) and I asked her to let me work with a few of her clients to show her the results I could get. She gave me three people and provided me with the measurements I had been wanting.

The first was John who was in his mid-thirties and had been in a car accident about two months prior. He had injured his neck and shoulders. She had been working with him for one month with no results.

I explained to her that whenever there is an injury there are three levels to clear – 1) the actual trauma to the body, 2) the emotional trauma and 3) the memory of protection. Anytime your body is injured it creates a memory of protection on the cellular level to keep that area safe. That injury can go on to heal but the memory of protection remains in place and acts as if the body is still injured. With EFT it’s very easy to speak directly with the cells and remove this memory of protection thus allowing the body to return to a state of balance.

At the end of the first session John had an increase in ROM of 67% (remember Marilyn had worked for 1 month with him and no results) and by the end of his second session his symptoms were gone.

The second was Aaron, age 15, who plays baseball. Marilyn was stretching his hamstrings and he was wincing. He had no injuries, just tight hamstrings. It had taken her two months to obtain 20 degrees ROM in his hamstrings. In 30 seconds I was able to increase his ROM by an additional 25 degrees. She said that is over a 200% increase in ROM. She was speechless!

The third client was Julie, who is 16 yrs. old and plays softball and baseball. She had snapped her ACL (the ligament that helps hold the knee together) and had surgery for that. She missed a critical week or two of rehabilitation after the surgery and months later she couldn’t straighten her knee. She needed to straighten it to be able to do the exercises that would strengthen the muscles above her knee that hold the knee in place.

Marilyn had worked with her for two months with no results. She was ready to recommend that her parents take her back for surgery because she thought that it was scar tissue deep in her knee. Marilyn wanted to know if I could help her. Again I said “well I can’t make things worse, let’s try it”. By the end of the first session, we had 5 degrees ROM and by the end of the second session we had 20 degrees ROM. This was enough for her to go home and start doing her exercises to strengthen her knee. This young woman was saved from having unnecessary surgery!

In almost all cases of ROM issues I start by addressing the actual trauma to the body first. I’ll use an injury to the back as an example. I begin with:

“Even though I’m holding this trauma in every cell of my back, I deeply and completely...”

Then at each point I say:

I’m holding this trauma in all the muscles of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the ligaments of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the tendons of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the joints of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the bones of my back

I’m holding this trauma in every cell of my spine

I’m holding this trauma in all the tissues of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the nerves of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the fascia of my back

I’m holding this trauma in all the fluids of my back

Next I move to the emotional trauma. I ask a lot of questions about the injury itself and what that meant to them and how it changed their life as a result. Whatever they report I tap on, but I also go through all of the parts listed above and tap on anger, pain, and fear as those are stored in the cells at and around the injury site.

For example:

“Even though I’m holding this fear in all the muscles of my back, I deeply and completely...”

I’m holding this fear in all the muscles of my back

I’m holding this fear in all the ligaments of my back... and so on.

Finally, I address the memory of protection. I can’t emphasize how important this is and how much this will change the results you have with clients:

“Even though I’m holding this memory of protection in every cell of my back, I deeply and completely...”

I’m holding this memory of protection in all the muscles of my back

I’m holding this memory of protection in all the ligaments of my back... and so on.

My body thinks it still has to protect my back

My back doesn’t feel safe

My back is afraid of being re-injured

I’ve discovered that if there isn’t an injury or an emotion held at the site of the body that is limited in ROM, I can just tap without saying anything and movement happens immediately. However, if there is no increase in ROM you can assume there is some emotional or physical trauma held in the cells there. My experience has been that these changes in ROM are permanent. If a client loses ground it simply indicates to me that there is something (usually emotional) that I missed.

I have given you some of the measured results I’ve had over the past year, but I have many more clients with equally stunning results in their increase in ROM. I now use this with all my athletes on a regular basis. I would encourage all of you to start experimenting first with yourselves to increase your ROM and then experiment with family and friends. When you have your own amazing results contact chiropractors, massage therapists, doctors, and physical therapists and introduce this to them!

Best Regards,

Stacey Vornbrock, M.S., LPC