Physical Therapy Resources
29
OCTOBER, 2019
Assuming you’re an avid listener of the Beyond Sets & Reps podcast, you know that I had my guest, Brett Hayes, leave us all hanging with the promise of a blog post for some physical therapy resources. While there’s no way Brett can give an all inclusive list, I asked him to provide a few of his top go-to’s that can serve as a starting point for any coach looking to learn more about physical therapy/rehab.
Boy, did he come through – Brett delivered on the list of resources with a little of everything. Different outlets, professionals and mediums to get you started down the rabbit hole of how physical therapy can contribute to performance.
First up for Brett’s recommendations is anything by Mark Verstegen. If that name is unfamiliar to you, the names Athletes’ Performance and Core Performance and EXOS should ring a bell – Mark is the founder. He’s credited as the pioneer of integrated performance training and he serves as the Director of Performance for the NFL Players Association, and is an athletic coach for the German national football team (aka soccer here in the States).
There’s one series in particular that Brett gave as a recommendation, the Core Performance Series by Mark Verstegen. The series addresses many therapeutic approaches without actually being therapy, so it can serve as a great place for coaches to dip their toes into the physical therapy pool.
Next up in the resource list is Mike Reinold (mikereinold.com) as a source of information for therapeutic discussion in sports medicine. With six certifications/designations, Mike definitely has alphabet soup after his name and he’s currently the Senior Medical Advisor for the Chicago White Sox and the Director of Baseball Performance at Northeastern University.
While you won’t agree with everything Dr. Reinold says or preaches, he’s great at providing space for the discussion to take place. He puts out content consistently via his email newsletter, online courses, social media, blogs, and podcasts. There’s no shortage of information out there and he helps sift through the noise.
For the younger coaches out there who want things in social media bite size chunks, check out MoveU on Instagram. This is another one where you may not agree with everything they put out there, but they uniquely paint muscle structures with striking detail on workout models that accurately show muscle activity during common movements. So even if you’re not on board with some of their messaging, you can check out their stuff for the visuals alone.
Last, but certainly not least, is a book by Sue Falsone called Bridging the Gap from Rehab to Performance as a great resource if you’re just getting into the field. In the book, physical therapist Sue Falsone walks the reader through the thought process and physical practice of guiding an injured athlete from injury through rehab and back to the field of play. To both health care professionals and strength and conditioning experts alike, she describes the path as her athletes move through pain and healing toward optimal function and advanced performance.