Key Takeaways from a Fitness Competition

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of being the performance physical therapy sponsor at an incredible event to raise funds for breast cancer research—Girls Gone RX, hosted by our friends at Crossfit Route 7 in Tyson’s Corner.

From the moment I stepped through the doors, I could feel the energy. A throwback mix of NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and Britney Spears filled the air, instantly taking me (and probably many others!) back to the days of Total Request Live on MTV.

But it wasn’t just the music that made this event memorable—there were some amazing takeaways from the competition that can apply to physical therapy, or any sport or workout routine. Here’s what stood out:

The Power of a Supportive Environment

One thing CrossFit does exceptionally well—especially at CrossFit Route 7—is foster a fun, supportive community. It was inspiring to see how excited everyone was to be spending their Saturday at the gym, whether they were competing or cheering on the athletes. The event was a women-only competition, yet both men and women were there in full force, cheering loudly from the sidelines.

The participants ranged from beginners to seasoned athletes. Some were lifting impressive amounts of weight, while others were simply excited to be part of the action. The diversity of skill levels only added to the event’s energy and made it even more inclusive. A supportive environment doesn’t just apply to fitness, it matters in healthcare and physical therapy as well.

Taking Warm-Ups Seriously

These athletes were no strangers to competition, and their warm-up routines showed it. Before each event, competitors spent significant time preparing, but these weren’t your typical, one-size-fits-all warm-ups. The exercises were specifically tailored to the movements required for each event.

For example, before an event involving barbell cleans, the athletes took time to perfect their form, using weights similar to what they’d be competing with. It was impressive to see how much attention was given to detail, and it served as a reminder that a good warm-up should transition you smoothly into your workout. By the time the event began, most of the athletes had already broken a sweat, minimizing the risk of injury.

Master the Basics

Most of the women competing had clearly spent countless hours honing their skills. CrossFit requires a blend of mobility, strength, and technical expertise. It’s tempting to jump straight into the fun aspects of a sport, but this event was a great reminder that you must master the prerequisite qualities of any activity first for long-term success.

Just like building a house, laying a strong foundation is key before adding the finishing touches. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned athlete, it’s essential to invest time in developing the movement patterns and technical skills that pave the way for long-term success and injury prevention.

A personalized movement assessment can make all the difference, helping you stay injury-free while enjoying your favorite sport. If you’re interested in learning more about how to get your own custom movement evaluation, contact us!

The rise of the “Dad bod”

In recent years, professional sports have witnessed an intriguing shift. Athletes like Patrick Mahomes and Luka Dončić are redefining what it means to succeed at the highest levels, demonstrating that elite performance is no longer solely tied to having a shredded, lean physique. Instead, a new focus has emerged on functional athletic physical therapy and performance-based training, which emphasizes improving sports-specific skills and recovery over aesthetic goals.

The rise of “dadbods” among some of the world’s greatest athletes marks a departure from the long-standing belief that athletes must conform to a particular body type to succeed. While these athletes may not fit the traditional image of being hyper-muscular or ultra-lean, their success lies in their ability to excel through explosive movements, agility, and endurance—qualities enhanced through a combination of performance training and specialized athletic physical therapy.

The Role of Athletic Physical Therapy in Modern Training

Athletic physical therapy has become increasingly important in optimizing the performance of elite athletes. This shift represents a growing recognition of the value of recovery, injury prevention, and the enhancement of functional movement patterns. Through tailored physical therapy sessions, athletes can address muscle imbalances, improve joint mobility, and rehabilitate from injuries in a way that supports their overall athletic performance.

For example, athletes who focus on building vertical jumps, sprinting speed, and endurance use power-based training methods that allow them to excel in their respective sports. These techniques are often complemented by physical therapy, which helps to minimize fatigue, prevent overuse injuries, and ensure that the body can handle the demands of high-intensity competition.

By integrating athletic physical therapy into their routine, athletes can maintain peak condition throughout a long season without the risk of burnout. This is in stark contrast to bodybuilding, where the focus is on muscle isolation and aesthetics, often at the expense of functional performance and injury prevention.

Functional Movements and Sport-Specific Training

Athletes design their training around the specific demands of their sport, focusing on compound, functional movements that replicate on-field actions. From ball throws to sled pushes, these exercises build dynamic strength, coordination, and stamina—key components of athletic success. In conjunction with athletic physical therapy, this approach ensures that athletes not only build the strength needed to dominate in their sport but also stay resilient against injuries.

Athletic physical therapy is particularly useful when addressing issues related to biomechanics. Functional movement screens are commonly used to identify any movement patterns that may predispose an athlete to injury. By correcting these through targeted physical therapy exercises, athletes can enhance their range of motion, improve posture, and ensure that they can perform at their best without sacrificing their long-term health.

While hypertrophy (muscle building) still plays a role in an athlete’s training, the primary focus is on developing muscle mass that supports agility, explosiveness, and the specific demands of their sport. Athletic physical therapy supports this process by ensuring that the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are properly conditioned to handle the stresses of athletic performance.

Evolving Nutrition and Conditioning Strategies

Nutrition strategies in professional sports have also evolved alongside the rise of performance-based training. While bodybuilders typically go through extreme bulking and cutting phases to achieve a particular physique, athletes prioritize maintaining a consistent body fat percentage that allows them to perform at their best. In this context, athletic physical therapy also plays a crucial role by ensuring that the body is adequately nourished and recovered, ready for the rigors of competition.

Athletes focus not on achieving a specific look but on sustained performance, allowing them to remain at their peak over extended periods. Similarly, their conditioning programs are designed to maximize cardiovascular efficiency and sport-specific endurance rather than simply burning fat. Whether it’s high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or tailored conditioning, their approach is centered on enhancing stamina and durability for the long season ahead.

A New Mindset in Athletic Training

The rise of athletes prioritizing performance over aesthetics sends a powerful message, particularly to youth athletes: skill development, functional strength, and injury prevention should always come first. Athletic physical therapy helps ensure that athletes can maintain their physical health while improving their performance, proving that chasing an idealized body image is less relevant to success in sports. Instead, mental resilience, recovery, and athletic ability are the true markers of success.

As more athletes embrace this mindset, the field of athletic physical therapy is expected to grow in importance, continuing to evolve alongside the training methodologies that emphasize performance and health over aesthetics. If you’re interested in finding the best athletic physical therapy and performance training solutions, contact us to learn more about our upcoming performance training groups, launching soon!

This made physical therapist, Dr. Sneh, sad

Dr. Sneh, a great sports physical therapist and proud Minnesota native, is an avid Minnesota Vikings fan. This year, the Vikings drafted their quarterback of the future, JJ McCarthy, and the excitement among their fans is palpable. McCarthy has shown promising performance so far in the preseason—a time when rookies often struggle to find their footing.

Unfortunately, following his most recent preseason game, reports emerged that McCarthy had sustained a knee injury that would require surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

I commend the Vikings’ approach to handling McCarthy’s injury, as it offers valuable insights into how we should approach injuries in high school athletes.

The meniscus is a C-shaped piece of cartilage in the knee, acting as a shock absorber between the femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone). When an athlete suffers a meniscus tear that cannot be rehabilitated, they face three primary options:

Rest and Physical Therapy: This is the preferred option. The best surgery is the one that doesn’t need to happen, and that wisdom extends far beyond knee injuries. A skilled physical therapist, especially one experienced with athletes, begins by reducing pain, inflammation, and swelling, before moving on to restore range of motion and strength. Next, they guide the athlete through normal functional activities like walking and running, eventually progressing to sport-specific exercises.In addition, one of the most overlooked aspects of physical therapy is identifying the root cause of the injury. Why did it happen in the first place? Is there anything that can be done to reduce the risk of it happening again? A truly effective sports physical therapist has not completed their job until these questions are answered and addressed. It’s not just about returning to the “previous level of function”—sometimes, that may not be good enough!
Meniscectomy (Trimming the Torn Parts): In some cases, the meniscus tear cannot be repaired, and the damaged parts must be trimmed away in a procedure known as a meniscectomy. The upside is that recovery from this surgery is relatively quick, with athletes often returning to play in as little as 4-6 weeks, provided they receive proper post-operative physical therapy. However, the downside is that trimming the meniscus means there’s less cartilage left to protect the knee, which can increase the risk of early-stage arthritis and future knee discomfort.
Meniscus Repair (Fixing the Tear): If the meniscus can be repaired, this is generally the preferred option. During a meniscus repair, the torn pieces are stitched together, restoring the knee’s structure as closely as possible to its pre-injury state. This approach reduces the risk of early-stage arthritis and long-term complications but requires a lengthy rehabilitation process. Athletes often do not return to full sports participation until a year after the surgery.

McCarthy and the Vikings’ medical team chose to pursue a meniscus repair for his injury.

While Dr. Sneh was disappointed that he won’t be seeing his team’s promising young quarterback on the field this season, he was heartened by the team’s decision to prioritize McCarthy’s long-term health.

In professional sports, long-term health outcomes for players are often overshadowed by the immediate pressures to get back in the game. Historically, many athletes have opted for a meniscectomy—despite the poor long-term outcomes—because it allowed them to return to play faster.

During my time working with retired professional football players in Texas, I witnessed firsthand the consequences of these rushed decisions. Athletes who were at the peak of their careers just 10-20 years ago are now struggling with basic mobility. Many wake up in constant pain, even though they’re only in their 30s or 40s. I’ll never forget meeting a young man, someone I had watched on TV less than a decade earlier, who had already undergone a knee replacement.

While these are extreme examples, there’s much to learn from the Vikings’ approach to McCarthy’s injury.

The long-term health of young athletes must always be prioritized. It’s easy for a high school game or a college showcase to feel like the Super Bowl, but there will always be another opportunity.

We strive to instill this perspective in our athletes, though it can be challenging when an upcoming game or season feels like the most important thing in their world.

Prioritizing a young athlete’s long-term health may seem like common sense, but the reality can be complex. How can you be sure that an athlete isn’t risking their future by playing now?

That’s where we come in.

Many athletes seek our expertise for an assessment to determine if they’re ready to return to play without jeopardizing their long-term health and goals. If you have concerns about an athlete in your life this upcoming fall season, you know where to find us!

Natural selection and the Olympics

Recently, my wife and I went on a family vacation with the whole crew—my parents, brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. While watching the Olympics, we found ourselves captivated by the swimming events, which brought back memories for my mom of my old swim team days.

I swam competitively until I was about 12, and I decided to retire while I was still on top (in hindsight that may have been a bad choice considering how much time I spent in physical therapy as a result of football injuries!).

Back then, I dominated the competition, but swimming didn’t ignite the same passion in me as other sports did.

My mom always believed I could have excelled in high school swimming and maybe even competed at an elite college level.

I love that she thinks so highly of me, but realistically, that wasn’t in the cards.

As a kid, I hit my growth spurts early, which gave me a physical edge over my peers during my swimming years. However, had I continued, they would have eventually caught up to me.

I’m of average height and don’t have particularly large hands or feet—traits that are significant advantages for elite swimmers.

If you’ve watched the Olympics, you might have noticed how different body types excel in different sports.

Swimmers tend to be tall, with long torsos relative to their legs, and they often have large hands and feet. They also have greater shoulder mobility, which helps them achieve the positions necessary for elite performance.

On the other hand, elite sprinters are usually stiff and springy, with a noticeable amount of muscle mass to generate bursts of power. Distance runners are typically taller, leaner, and have longer legs relative to their torsos—almost the opposite of swimmers.

At the highest levels of competition, natural selection tends to favor those with the ideal physical attributes for the sport. For a stark contrast, just look at the difference between USA Gymnast Suni Lee and USA Basketball Player Kevin Durant (there is a great photo of them together that you can find online).

Of course, physical attributes are just one piece of the puzzle. Becoming an Olympian requires immense talent, hard work, and unwavering commitment.

So, what should an athlete do if they love their sport but don’t have the ideal body type for it?

This is where sports physical therapy comes into play.

At the high school and collegiate levels, many athletes aren’t maximizing their potential. Generic, one-size-fits-all training programs often hold them back from fully utilizing their talents.

Moreover, even the most gifted athletes are liabilities to their teams if they aren’t consistently available to compete. Those who may not have the same physical gifts as their peers can gain an advantage by staying reliably injury-free and always being ready to compete. Sports physical therapy can play a crucial role in this by providing personalized treatment and injury prevention strategies.

A customized, scientifically designed training program, combined with sports physical therapy and injury prevention, can give any athlete the upper hand.

If you or your athlete are looking for that competitive edge, contact us—we can help you get there with a specialized sports physical therapy approach!

What we can learn from polyglots

My wife’s grandfather greeted me in Spanish the first time I met him. Later, he made some comments to my wife, mother-in-law, and father-in-law in Spanish. My in-laws claimed he wasn’t saying anything about me, but my wife thought it was too funny not to tell me what he said. At that moment, I decided that I was going to learn Spanish and wouldn’t stop until I could chat with him.

Sadly, he has since passed, but now my in-laws can’t make jokes in front of me without me knowing anymore!

I thought of this story while reading Dr. Adam Grant’s new book, Hidden Potential.

In it, he talks about how polyglots—people who can speak and think in multiple languages—learn new languages so quickly. The people he references in the book weren’t exceptional students in school, nor did they possess exceptionally high IQs. Their secret is that they seek discomfort. The more uncomfortable they are when learning a new language, the more they are learning. More discomfort equals more mistakes. More mistakes equal more learning opportunities and less chance of repeating them.

The same principle applies to physical therapy and movement. Our bodies continue to move in ways that are most comfortable until we force them to do something different. This stimulates our nervous system to learn new movements and expand our range of skills and strategies. The more movement strategies we have, the less likely we are to overuse a single method, thereby lowering our injury risk.

During my physical therapy evaluations, I assess my patients to determine which movement strategies they predominantly use. I then help by teaching them new ways to move so that the overused tissues or body parts can have a break. Physical therapy is about more than just treating injuries; it’s about preventing them and improving overall movement efficiency. By learning new movement patterns, patients can enhance their physical performance and reduce the likelihood of future injuries.

One of the most fascinating aspects of physical therapy is its ability to adapt to the needs of each individual. No two bodies are the same, and therefore, no two treatment plans should be identical. Physical therapists, like myself, take the time to understand each patient’s unique challenges and goals. This personalized approach ensures that the therapy is effective and relevant to the patient’s life.

For example, someone recovering from a sports injury might need a different set of exercises and strategies than someone dealing with chronic pain. Physical therapy addresses these differences by creating tailored treatment plans. These plans often include a combination of exercises, manual therapy, and education to help patients understand their bodies and how to care for them properly.

Another crucial aspect of physical therapy is the emphasis on patient education. Many people are unaware of how their daily habits and movements can contribute to pain and injury. By educating patients about proper body mechanics and movement strategies, physical therapists empower them to take control of their health. This knowledge not only aids in recovery but also helps prevent future problems.

Physical therapy is also deeply rooted in evidence-based practice. This means that the techniques and methods used are supported by scientific research and have been proven to be effective. Physical therapists continually update their knowledge and skills to provide the best possible care for their patients. This commitment to ongoing education ensures that patients receive the most current and effective treatments available.

Moreover, physical therapy is not just for those who are injured. It is also beneficial for individuals looking to improve their overall fitness and performance. Athletes, in particular, can benefit greatly from physical therapy. By identifying and addressing any movement dysfunctions, physical therapists can help athletes optimize their performance and reduce the risk of injury. This proactive approach allows athletes to stay at the top of their game and achieve their goals.

Naturally, these new movements feel foreign and may be uncomfortable to the ego, but they are necessary. When was the last time you had a movement assessment to determine how you can expand your movement capabilities and reduce your injury risk? If it has been more than a year, it may be time for a movement check-up!

If this is something you are interested in scheduling, contact us!

CHP Spotlight Interview with Dr. Michael Antonis

Dr. Michael Antonis, a sports medicine specialist at OrthoVirginia, currently serves as the team physician for the Washington Commanders. With a previous tenure as the team physician for D.C. United and Loudoun United spanning five years, his expertise has significantly benefited our physical therapy team.

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Antonis for an engaging discussion. He shared a wealth of incredible information that I’m excited to pass on to you. Be sure to watch the full interview below and find a summary of key points right after the video!

Physical therapy plays a crucial role in addressing and preventing injuries among athletes. The injuries of professional athletes differ significantly from those of youth athletes and weekend warriors due to varying levels of physical demands, conditioning, and experience.

Differences in Injuries: Professional Athletes vs. Youth Athletes and Weekend Warriors

Professional athletes often experience injuries due to the intense physical demands of their sports. These injuries can include torn ligaments, muscle strains, and stress fractures, often resulting from overuse or high-impact activities. Due to their rigorous training schedules, professional athletes also face chronic injuries that require ongoing physical therapy for effective management and recovery.

In contrast, youth athletes are more prone to growth plate injuries, sprains, and strains as their bodies are still developing. The lack of proper conditioning and technique can contribute to these injuries. Weekend warriors, who engage in sports activities sporadically, often suffer from acute injuries like ankle sprains, knee injuries, and lower back pain. These injuries are typically a result of sudden, intense physical exertion without adequate warm-up or conditioning.

Reducing Injury Risks for Young Athletes

Parents play a vital role in minimizing injury risks for their young athletes. Ensuring that children participate in a variety of sports can help develop overall athleticism and prevent overuse injuries. Emphasizing proper technique and form through coaching and training is essential. Encouraging adequate rest and recovery time is equally important to avoid burnout and overuse injuries.

Advancements in Sports Technology

Recent advancements in sports technology have significantly contributed to reducing injury risks and facilitating a more effective return to sport. Wearable technology, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, monitors an athlete’s physical activity, providing valuable data on performance and fatigue levels. This information can help tailor training programs to individual needs, reducing the risk of overtraining and subsequent injuries.

Innovations in sports equipment, such as improved footwear and protective gear, offer enhanced support and safety, reducing the likelihood of injuries. Additionally, advancements in diagnostic tools, like MRI and ultrasound, enable early detection and precise diagnosis of injuries, allowing for targeted and effective physical therapy interventions.

Regenerative medicine, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and stem cell treatments, has shown promise in accelerating the healing process and reducing recovery time. These therapies, combined with personalized physical therapy programs, can significantly enhance an athlete’s return to sport.