Younghoe Koo · NFL kicker, Atlanta Falcons
A 97% field goal accuracy in 2020. Years of one-sided power had finally caught up with his body.
Most people know Younghoe Koo as one of the most accurate kickers in professional football, with a 97% field goal success rate in 2020. What most people didn’t see was the pain behind the scenes. When he came to us, he was dealing with significant pain in one leg and his right lower back, not because he wasn’t strong or conditioned or doing enough recovery, but because thousands upon thousands of kicks had created adaptations throughout his system. Left shoulder higher, torso rotated and leaning, pelvis shifted, right foot rotated, all signs of years of elite, specialized repetition.
- Ice baths and the occasional adjustment
- A stretching routine and soft-tissue work
- Standard pro-athlete recovery between practices and games
- Pushing through to perform at the highest level on the field
- Restored mobility lost to years of one-sided specialization
- Improved balance between both sides of his body
- Worked on movement off the field so he could keep performing on the field
- 10 months of consistent off-field practice unwinding the adaptations
“The same adaptations that made me an elite kicker were quietly costing me everywhere else, in the gym, at home, even just walking around between practices.”
Over time, his posture changed. His movement changed. His body became more balanced. And perhaps most importantly, the pain that had been limiting him began to improve, while he kept performing at one of the highest levels in the world.
Pain isn’t always a sign that something is broken. Sometimes it’s a sign that the body has been relying on the same strategy for too long. Adaptations don’t just show up on the field, they show up everywhere. Learning how to unwind those patterns made sure the athlete off the field could keep showing up to the field.
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