What is Performance Physical Therapy?
Let me tell you about a recent patient experience that fired me up. Patient tells me that they recently visited their orthopedic doctor. The doc says, “Great, your numbers look good, and you’re cleared by PT” after 3 months of outpatient rehab. However, the patient still does not feel like he is at 100%. He is no longer in pain, but he does not have full knee flexion, he cannot run, squat, or perform basic CrossFit movements. He was advised by his clinic physical therapist to “keep modifying”, “keep listening to your body,” and “slowly progress until you feel like you can try it out”. He feels that he is at 70% of his recovery.
What the BLEEP. How vague is that instruction to “slowly progress”?!
It’s like saying The Grand Canyon is your vacation destination (and that’s a great destination!) but you’re not provided with a particular route, map, or GPS to find your way there. “Just keep going west and you’ll eventually reach it!” Keep going West?! Sure, maybe you’ll get there. But you could also get lost along the way, spend more time trying to figure out how to get there, more money, more aggravation, and you may never get to reach The Grand Canyon.
EEK!!!
What if recovery didn’t have to be vague. What if this person had clarity to know exactly when, how, how much, and how intensely to progress? What if he had a movement expert who could provide that clarity, guidance, and confidence?! What if he could get back to his activities faster with less pain and less anxiety?
During today’s session, we re-assessed single leg stance activities. Within 30 seconds I could see it. He was struggling to balance on one leg, with a massive arch collapse, poor foot tripod control, and resultant knee valgus (buckling) shape. This presentation is a classic indicator for recurrent knee irritation, micro-trauma, and high risk for ACL re-injury.
Read that again. A high risk of ACL re-injury from poor foot control. This was after he had been “cleared” by PT, he had already “graduated” at 70% of his function.
With all the prior fancy balance work training on the 1/2 foam roll and BOSU ball, not once did his provider talk to him about foot core, foot intrinsics, and its impact on knee control.
He did not balance with external perturbations (ie, holding a dumbbell).
He had not progressed to side-shuffles, hopping, skipping, or jumping/landing movements.
It took all of 30 seconds for me to detect this movement impairment. Foot control is a KEY movement impairment to this particular patient’s future success.
Providers. I am begging you. We need to be better. For our patients, for their lives, for their success, for their health.
Have you ever noticed that most ACL injuries are related to FOOT CONTACT on the ground: usually triggered by a “planting” and twisting motion? When the mechanism of injury starts from the ground up, OUR INTERVENTION NEEDS TO START FROM THE GROUND UP.
THIS is what performance physical therapy looks like: it is the process of trust, specific movement analysis, expertise in delivering exactly what is needed for the next steps to success. It is a conversation and exchange of ideas between you, the individual, and the provider. This combination empowers you to go from “just good enough” to fully thriving with full confidence in your athletic abilities.
This patient’s story is all too familiar. Maybe it even sounds like your story. I get so fired up about this and I am so passionate about providing this movement expertise that it breaks my heart when I see other providers unable to reach this level with their patients. It could be because the system does not allow for enough TIME and exposure to these activities. Or, it could be that these providers do not know about these vital connections within the body.
I would prefer to give each provider the benefit of the doubt and instead blame the system of our current outpatient physical therapy model.
If you’re fired up about this disconnect between where you are and where you want to be, I am too. Let’s connect.
Life is too short to live “just good enough”. If you’re tired of feeling “just good enough” and are lacking clarity and vision, I’d like to challenge you to reach out. I’m here as your advocate and movement expert to help you reach your goals.
If you are feeling lost wandering westward, let’s get you to your “Grand Canyon” of goals. It all starts with a 15 minute free discovery call, and if performance physical therapy at Magnify PT is the next step for you, we provide a a head-to-toe physical therapy evaluation for movement specificity.
Come #SeekTheExtraordinary at Magnify Physical Therapy.
