Ask A Therapist - Can My Therapist Help Me Prevent Injury?

When Joe and I contrived starting a cash-based physical therapy practice several years ago we knew that one of our main objectives would be to offer more education to the public.  Many traditional physical therapy clinics are still positioned to treat injury after-the-fact.  In that setting, we have our hands tied by insurance and patients often go for their full 12 or 20 visits...or whatever is offered by insurance, regardless of what the patient needs.  In that setting, insurance is not particularly interested in paying out so that healthy people can get more education that might keep them healthy in the long run.  That's where cash-practices step in...

Sustainable Running helps runners assess their own movement quality and provides interventions.

Natural Performance Rehab, LLC. and other similar models of practice are the future of physical therapy.  No longer do we need to sit idle and wait for the injured ("The Walking Dead") to enter the clinic.  We are out among you to offer education, support, and a way to move forward towards a better quality of life.  We know that it is imperative that people take responsibility for their own health and happiness.  All this is true.  But I also believe that having good information and support from a tribe of people who get it, is also important.  By good information I mean information that is useful and actionable.  It's information that allows you to do your own experiment, to test for yourself if the research studies mean anything for you.  By a tribe I mean you friends, family, gym, workout group, therapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc.  Have a tribe!  Finally, challenge the medical establishment.  Challenge your therapist and your coach.  Ask questions always so that you can learn why someone is saying what they're saying, then decide if you agree.  Always ask.

Since both Joe and I run quite a bit and a high percentage of runners get injured every year, we have started first with running courses which are mostly taught at Crossfit SoCo.  We are actually in the modification process so that we can take our longer 4-hr courses, which are very comprehensive, and condense them to 1-hr courses on various topics (so you can chose the topic/class more specifically).  We expect to post a schedule in the coming weeks for our shorter running courses.  In addition, in a few months time we are working to add preventative courses for cross-fitters and weight-lifters as well.

We will always use THIS PAGE to post about upcoming classes.

Imagine your future self could come back and give you a few tips on how to navigate your workouts, your diet, etc. for maximum results and minimal effort.  Your future self could tell you exactly where your personal habits are leading and how you might benefit from reconsidering your current routine.  Fortunately, all of us can choose to do an assessment if we wish.  Many of us do this in other areas of our lives, performance evaluations at work, health and dental screenings, and perhaps we belong to some other group of like-minded individuals who also help us stay on a good course.  I rely on friends, family, professional mentors, and even some experts in their fields to bring perspective to my daily decisions.  Our mindset, our habits (unconscious decisions) and our conscious decisions will all marry to give us a path in life.  The great news is we can affect all of those areas and we can create a tribe or team around us so that we are not doing it alone or with just our willpower.

Some of the services we offer, such as classes and movement assessments, are designed to do just that.  Much like a general health screening or a visit to the dentist, we assess your movement health and give you feedback (and homework).  Sometimes we have movement inefficiencies that have not caused us any injuries, but they could become worse over time if they are not known.  It's like having tarter buildup and weak enamel.  All may seem fine until one day you wake up with tooth pain and the dentist says you have a cavity.  Our goal is to help make you aware of your movement so that you're now in the driver's seat.  We measure where you are, together we determine where you want to go, and then we create a plan to help you get there.  This is how medicine and health should work...

I realize this week's post is quite general about what we do as cash-based therapists so I thought I would introduce you at the end to Dr. Irene Davis of Spaulding National Running Center. Dr. Davis is both a physical therapist and a PhD.  She is one of the foremost authors of running mechanics literature in the country and she also runs a local-clinic that treats runners.  This is truly the ideal combination if you want some of the best evidence and information (i.e. she knows the research and she tests it in the real world).  You can find many great interviews via youtube but this interview is perhaps my new favorite.  It's a great listen as you commute.

Dr. Irene Davis
Her website.