Leverage Points in Human Performance: Why Systems Thinking Changes Everything

In my experience, most practitioners chase symptoms — trigger points, tightness, pain, and the like. They use Theraguns, cupping, ultrasound, and other passive modalities to address what they see in front of them.

The issue is that these and other symptoms are the byproduct of underlying dysfunction.

As a manual therapist, I don't treat symptoms. I look for leverage points in complex adaptive systems — places where small changes create system-wide transformations.

Why Traditional Approaches Fail:

Traditional approaches fail because of linear thinking - problem A gets treatment A. This means practitioners treat effects rather than causes.

Here's a simple example we've all seen: "My hamstrings feel tight lately." The immediate response? Get the Theragun! Stretch them out. Focus on the hamstrings “feeling better“.

But what if the tight hamstrings are actually a neurological issue? While the percussion device may feel good, it doesn't address the real problem. It's not a leverage point — just temporary symptom relief that misses the underlying dysfunction.

The Missing Piece:

The human body is a complex adaptive system. When the symptom of tight hamstrings arises, and is actually a neurological issue, it affects other systems at the joint and connective tissue levels, ultimately impacting performance.

Why this matters: if the hamstrings have neurological tightness, we can't achieve true length. Without length, we can't affect the connective tissue. And without the lengthening component, we can't access new joint space.

Because neurology impacts these other systems, we can leverage our treatment strategy to create multi-system improvements — a true leverage point.

Three Common Leverage Points

1. Joint Function

Joints contain a high concentration of receptors, acting as a feedback mechanism to the central nervous system. Constantly signaling to the central nervous system about length, velocity, position, movement, and load.

By way of manual palpation, I can assess joint and capsular restrictions that constrain system function and behavior. Identifying bottlenecks in the system that don’t just affect the joint, they cascade into other systems and their behaviors.

For example, a shoulder joint that lacks the ability to internally rotate due to capsular restrictions will place excess demands on other parts of the system. This creates a cascade of dysfunction that will ultimately impact performance.

Leverage Effect: Expand joint workspace → improve connective tissue architecture → improve neurological network → improve shoulder joint health and performance.

2. Connective Tissue

How our bodies absorb and distribute force depends on the quality and organization of our connective tissue — the network that connects muscles, bones, and joints.

Through palpation, I can feel lines of tension or restrictions in this tissue network. For example, when assessing the biceps area with my fingertips, I can detect if one area has abnormal tension compared to the surrounding tissue.

Mechanical tension restricts normal force transmission and can cause further downstream effects and an increased risk of injury.

Leverage Effect: improve connective tissue architecture → better force transmission → improved load-bearing capacity → improved tissue health and performance

3. Neurological Mechanisms

In clinical practice, when neurological tightness presents itself, it jumps to the top of the priority list. When engaged in abnormal behavior, the nervous system acts as a gatekeeper, preventing us from accessing certain areas, such as connective tissue and joint workspace, essentially anticipating problems and acting as a protective mechanism.

Neurological tightness feels completely different than mechanical tension. It’s a firm and abrupt stop accompanied by involuntary muscular contraction. My aim as a practitioner is to restore and normalize the nervous system’s behavior using force-based inputs.

A clear case of neurological tightness is adhesive capsulitis, also known as frozen shoulder. Here, the joint capsule becomes very limited and painful, causing the nervous system to guard and restrict movement even further. To begin restoring joint health and function, I must first alter the behavior of the nervous system directly, which will enable me to treat the biology, specifically the shoulder joint capsule.

Leverage Effect: Decrease neurological tightness → improve top-down and bottom-up information flow → Reestablish the neurological network of joint function → improve health and performance at the joint level → improve the level of performance

How This Changes Everything

Different Assessment:

This systems approach completely changes how I work with clients. Instead of chasing individual symptoms, I'm looking for behavioral patterns that reveal what's really driving the dysfunction.

During assessment, my palpation tells me whether I'm dealing with mechanical restrictions in the tissues, neurological tightness, or joint limitations. This immediately reveals the most efficient intervention point — the leverage point that will create the biggest system-wide impact.

Using traditional approaches and more linear thinking wastes valuable time. By taking a more systematic approach, I can identify the leverage point, apply the appropriate input, and compress recovery time dramatically.

For example, rather than using a percussion device (Theragun) on tight hamstrings, I might discover the real issue is neurological tightness from a prior hamstring strain. Address the nervous system first, then treat the connective tissue, then train specific joint ranges. This systematic progression — a conjugate strategy in clinical practice — gets results faster and more completely.

Conclusion

The Paradigm Shift:

It’s not a simple thing, shifting someone’s mindset from symptom management to maximizing system potential using a conjugate strategy. This is a paradigm shift — another leverage point.

In her book “Thinking in Systems”, Donella Meadows says, “Systems thinking is a way of thinking that gives us the freedom to identify root causes of problems and see new opportunities. Systems thinking helps to manage, adapt, and see a breadth of choices we have before us.”

Most practitioners are still stuck in linear thinking, chasing symptoms as they appear. But when you work with someone who understands systems - who can identify the real leverage points in your performance - you discover a breadth of possibilities you never knew existed.

What recurring issue keeps coming back despite multiple treatments? What if the real problem isn't where you think it is?

References:

Meadows, Donella H. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. Edited by Diana Wright, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008

Chivers, Michael, and John Quint. “Absolute: The Art and Science of Human Performance.” Dr. Michael Chivers, Substack.