I recently had the opportunity to listen to “The Sports Medicine Podcast” where Dr. Dold interviewed David Epstein, author of a New York Times bestseller, The Sports Gene, and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. After listening to the podcast, I was intrigued enough to pick up the book and take a deep dive into the subject matter. The following is my synopsis.
Here Are My Thoughts
The book starts off with the comparison of two GOAT athletes and how they came to achieve greatness by vastly different paths.
Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.
Tiger, from an early age, was drawn to golf. With the help of his parents and an affinity for the game, he became laser-focused. What he achieved over the next four decades is the stuff of legend.
Roger, on the other hand, took a different path. Even though his parents taught tennis, they would not allow him to play at an early age. What they did do was encourage him to play as many other sports as possible. Not until he was a teenager and still desired to play tennis did they embrace the inevitable.
Through David Epstein’s research, he discovered that individuals who do not at least initially specialize in a certain area of expertise develop a more well-rounded approach to what later becomes their passion or life’s work. The theory is that by experiencing a multitude of different activities, one can develop more broadly.
As one develops and grows older, they can recognize what they truly desire to specialize in. There are a multitude of examples across different professions on how this plays out. Super interesting and worth the time to read.
As a teenager, I can’t count on two hands how many jobs I had. Whether it was waiting tables, or mowing lawns, babysitting, working as a physical therapy aide, or framing houses. They were vastly different, and all led me to where I am today.
Each experience allowed me to meet different people, learn a new skill, develop discipline, and become more well-rounded.
As a healthcare provider, I have the opportunity to discuss with parents how to prevent injuries in their children and best practices to remain injury-free. Although I have had a similar approach prior to reading Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, I concur that the best way to prevent such childhood injuries in athletes is to make sure they are involved in various sports.
As a child, we were not familiar with the world of hyper-specialized child athletics. We had no indoor training facilities, specialized coaches, or year-round opportunities to play one sport. You played the sport that correlated with the season. Baseball in the summer, soccer, and football in the fall, and basketball, wrestling, and volleyball in the winter.
From a development perspective, this allowed the individual to grow athletically and in a much more rounded manner. It also allowed certain tired, worn-out soft tissue structures to heal properly. It was your own form of rehabilitation, and you didn’t even realize it.
Here at The Center For Spine Care and Mobility, we have used a diversified approach to treating our patient population across New York City via chiropractic, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, or medical services.
Whatever is best for the patient is what we employ for optimal results. Patients will present to us with different complaints and tell us they have already tried acupuncture, or physical therapy with limited results.
By integrating these services, the potential to heal increases, and the chance of getting that patient better and quicker rises.
