Learning to run: On Zion Williamson and the importance of proper biomechanics

As Zion Williamson continues his rehabilitation from preseason knee surgery, the New Orleans Pelicans reportedly tinkering with his biomechanics. This is good for both the athlete and team.

Rookie phenom Zion Williamson has yet to step foot on the court for an official NBA game, though according to ESPN’s Jorge Sedano, that may change soon after the turn of the new year.

In an article written by Andrew Lopez that accompanied Sedano’s on-air report during the New Orleans Pelicans‘ Christmas Day victory over the Denver Nuggets, the pair reported that Williamson will likely participate in a few practices prior to returning to game action, with the current timeline for this taking place “just after the new year.”

However, the biggest reveal in ESPN’s reporting centered around the idea that part of the reason why Williamson’s rehabilitation has been pushed beyond the original 6-8 week timeframe is that the Pelicans’ athletic training and medical staff have been working with the Duke product to “tweak…how he walks and runs” by “working on the kinetic chain of his body.”

While this may sound ominous and dire at first blush, the reality is that this is a commendable and proper approach to rehabilitation and does not imply long-term concern for Williamson’s durability; if anything, this news should do just the opposite.

With regards to Williamson’s injury, the term “kinetic chain” is used to describe the interconnectedness between the core, hips, knees, ankles and feet, as well as the muscles that control the joints located within and between these anatomical structures. The kinetic chain of the lower extremities can be further subdivided into the anterior and posterior chains. The posterior kinetic chain — which is primarily comprised of the hip abductors, glutes, hamstrings and calves — is frequently a major area of focus when rehabilitating lower extremity injuries.

Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and this aphorism applies to the kinetic chains of the human body as well. To boil down a complex concept simply: If any of the above-listed muscle groups are weak relative to the others, the athlete will likely be at an increased risk for injury; by strengthening weak links in the kinematic chain — particularly the hip abductors and glutes — the body becomes better able to redistribute the significant amount of force that is placed through the body’s joints during NBA gameplay. In essence, strong muscles are able to keep joints optimally aligned so the muscles and soft tissues that support those joints are better able to absorb shock and prevent injuries, such as meniscus and ACL tears.

However, sometimes the strength gains are slower to carry over onto the basketball court; this is known as functional strength. This means that while the athlete may have a strong kinetic chain during relatively static activities such as lifting, they may not during most complex tasks such as jumping and landing or pivoting and cutting, especially once the athlete becomes mentally and physically fatigued. Once the athlete has mastered functional strength, they are usually cleared to resume on-court activities, such as 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 drills.

Additionally, the kinetic chain can be influenced to reduce pressure on the joints by changing the way that athletes run and jump. This can often take quite a bit of time, mental energy and focus early on in the training program, but as the motions become second nature, the efficiency in which the body moves improves. This leads to decreased muscular fatigue as well as decreased injury rates. These “tweaks,” as the Pelicans call them, can be as easy as telling the athlete to run and/or land “softer.”

These concepts are regularly utilized by athletic training and performance specialists to decrease an athlete’s risk for injury, as highlighted by The Athletic‘s Sam Vecenie on Twitter. Peak Performance Project — perhaps better known as P3 — is an athletic performance company located in Santa Barbara, California, that has been working on improving athlete’s kinetic chains for decades; here is a comprehensive list of their NBA clients.

So, is there reason to be concerned that Zion Williamson has yet to play in an NBA game as the calendar turns to 2020? At this time and based on the information that has been made public, the answer is most likely not. For all intents and purposes, the New Orleans Pelicans and Williamson are taking his rehabilitation seriously and are doing their best to make sure that the superstar-in-the-making will be set up for optimal health and performance moving forward. At the end of the day, that should be what fans and athletes want from their team’s training staff.