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Elisabeth Meinecke over at Fox Sports Midwest has a cool story out this AM about Dr. Erin Shannon, the Rams'... well she...I mean, just let her explain.
The field of energy medicine itself is based on an understanding of the body that's rarely encountered in traditional Western medicine.
"It is literally the electric energy that runs through our body, just like blood runs through our body," Shannon explains.
It hinges on the belief in a strong mind-body connection, a common theme in Eastern medicine, and its noninvasive approach, Shannon says, complements Western medicine's work. She's well versed in both schools of thought, but it's the former that has proved game-changing in her work with professional athletes.
So no, it's not something that runs throughout our American medical community with ease. But as the story lays out, from her helping Joe Buck through a vocal issue in 2011 to her work with Chris Long, James Laurinaitis, William Hayes and others, it's working. Just take how JL55 put it:
"I think as an athlete you always have self-doubt in certain areas," [Laurinaitis] says, "so having that mental ability to kind of flip your thought process and try to really tell your mind that maybe things aren't as difficult as you think they are, and don't be afraid of certain things -- I really found myself throughout the year, and really throughout training camp, just kind of using the techniques that she's taught about really positive self-talk and really getting rid of all the negative kind of baggage that can weigh you down throughout a game."
It's a great reminder that so much of what goes down off the field can be as, or more important, than the immediacy of actual football. And for Shannon, who married Rams Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams last year after meeting him back in 2012 ahead of the Rams' week four win over Seattle, that off-field work is certainly going to continue whether we notice it or not.