REHAB BY LUKE

Special memories with my world 💙🇫🇯🏉

Coaching not just prescribing 🎯

I have come to realise the importance of really coaching the movement. We can prescribe all kinds of exercises in the effort to target a particular muscle group. However just because we think we have targeted that muscle doesn’t always mean the patient or athlete feels that particular muscle or group of muscles working. So despite having the best program on paper, in reality it can be far from optimal.

Take your time to coach your patients/ athletes and in the process you will identify areas that may need further work. Then you can build exercises or cues around these nuances to improve overall function. In time you will build yourself your own little set of progressions to improve movement and function.

Great to sit down and chat with about sports rehabilitation and performance. Have a listen to the podcast 🎙Link in bio!

Achieving athletic normal 🥊

The usual practice of rehabilitation programs is to follow a medical approach with respect to biological healing. The result is a slow build with a quick wind up prior to return to play. Time plays a major role, but the focus should always be function.
What if we could spend more time creating athletic normal for our athletes? That is the athlete spends more time working the entire chain making shapes and changing shapes whilst still paying respect to biological healing. The athlete owns their athletic normal for longer, meaning that when it’s “go” time, the athlete is actually prepared to do the movements required. This is not about getting an athlete to return early, it’s about rehabilitating the athlete and not the injury. Making shapes and changing shapes to open up neural pathways to assist in nailing optimal (athletic normal) movement patterns.

This is a key lesson learnt from my time with Bill Knowles. “Sport is all about making shapes and changing shapes”- these shapes change as we progress, but should fundamentally underpin all rehabilitation programs!

Pool 🏊‍♂️ 💧

Keep your head above water. 👱‍♂️
Now do this whilst maintaining trunk alignment and control. 🦵
A little more difficult now. 💪
But as you master the timing of the movement, alignment and control take care of themselves.

Sometimes during rehab the athlete might find themselves struggling to keep that head above water- there may be a slight set back, or things might just be progressing a littler slower than they may like. Most will experience this as some point during their return, and that is ok. Often, a return to focusing on the timing of movements can be the recharge they need. The pool is an awesome way to isolate timing as without it, your head falls below the surface. The pool also reduces joint load, incorporates full body movements, gives you a cardiovascular workout but most of all it changes the landscape for the athlete.

Sport is all about making shapes. 🔻◾️🔺
Players make shapes at varying angles and in various directions. Sometimes we spend too much time focusing on strength in a traditional range of motion which may not be conducive to what the athlete actually requires!
Body weight at high reps or the addition of a mini band/ resistance belts may be all that is required. Just keep adding more and more reps. It’s low load but with each repetition neurological recruitment increases and we will evoke motor unit recruitment. Ultimately building a pathway from the brain to muscle to facilitate the required movement.
Build it with slow movements and then progress speed if that is conducive to the athlete and what they are required to do!

Off to a great start here in Philadelphia 🇺🇸 An amazing experience for both athlete and physio to learn from a wealth of knowledge with an unbelievable amount of experience in looking after injuries that occur in elite athletes. 💪

Next stop…. PHILADELPHIA ✈️🇺🇸 Stay tuned as and I learn from - One of the greatest reconditioning specialists in the sporting world! 💪

It’s been a hot minute, but I’ve got some great rehab content coming over the next few weeks! Let me know below what you want to see most! 👇👇

Photo of my little bloke joining in on some training sessions! 💚❤️

Planning a rehabilitation program from start to finish can be tricky, especially when we all respond differently to surgery, load and movement. Some people are “quick healers” others tend to take a little longer to “settle”. Regardless the process is the same.

Phase 1- Educate and restore range of motion.

Phase 2- Restore strength imbalances and prepare the athlete to return to run and train.

Phase 3- Chase sport and game specific requirements.

There is of course genuine overlap between the phases. It’s not a tick the box approach. Phase 1 continues throughout, however as you progress the focus changes but we never forget the basics. We all enjoy phase 3 as it’s the most dynamic and ultimately the phase we get to really challenge ourselves as practitioners to be innovative. However if we’re to use the golfing analogy “drive for show” (phase 3) and “putt for dough” (phase 1 and 2) then it’s the latter where the majority of our focus should lie.

INJURY REHAB PROGRAMS 💪

Get in touch! 📞📱💪

LETS DISCUSS 🎙

Great to see on the mend from his neck injury on the weekend, and even better to be treating him in our new state of the art Rehab and Performance Centre down at Caringbah! Officially opening on Monday! Call 9524 9003 to book or enquire about our rehab programs and memberships! 🟢

WATCH THIS SPACE 🟢

The Sutherland Shire’s newest Rehab & Performance Centre is opening in March! Watch this space- we’ve been working hard and can’t wait to help you reach your rehab goals! 🚴‍♂️⛹️‍♂️🏋️