Sports Physical Therapy Lessons From The Daniels Jones Injury

If you watched NFL football 9 days ago, you probably saw the heartbreaking moment when Colts quarterback Daniel Jones ruptured his Achilles in what had been shaping up to be a breakout season. The kind of year that shapes a career in an instant.

What made it even more concerning is that he had been playing for weeks with a fractured fibula in the opposite leg. And while we’ll never know for certain if one injury caused the other, the situation highlights an important truth:

Your body reacts to injury as a system, not as a single joint or muscle.

This same pattern is something we see every day at our sports physical therapy clinics in McLean and Bethesda.

Pain Is Often Not the Real Problem

One of the biggest misconceptions in injury recovery is assuming pain always means something is wrong exactly where it hurts.

Your body is a chain. When one link is weak or restricted, the rest of the chain absorbs stress.

At our
Sports Physical Therapy McLean and
Sports Physical Therapy Bethesda clinics, we commonly see:

• An ankle injury showing up later as knee pain
• Hip stiffness leading to low back issues
• A stiff upper back contributing to shoulder pain

A stressed area may feel like the problem, but it often is just compensating for another weakness elsewhere.

Young Athletes Should Not Copy Pro Athletes

Professional athletes live in a different world.

Playing is their job. The reward may be millions of dollars, championships, and career-defining moments.

For high school athletes, the goal should not be to sacrifice long-term health to win the next game. The goal is development, confidence, and staying healthy for years to come.

At our McLean and Bethesda sports physical therapy locations, we help families and athletes make smart decisions every day about when it is okay to push through discomfort and when the risk is simply not worth it.

The Most Common Risk We See: Incomplete Rehab

Most re-injuries don’t happen from a freak accident.

They happen when athletes return before their bodies are truly ready.

We regularly see athletes who can:

Run straight
Jog pain-free
Walk normally

But cannot yet:

Cut safely
Decelerate under control
Jump and land with good mechanics
Handle full game-speed movements

Pain may be gone, but the body may still be under-prepared for the stresses of sport.

If you’re interested in our approach, check out our program for
High School Athlete Injury Rehabilitation — where rehab is not just about healing, but restoring movement, strength, and readiness.

The Right Question to Ask

Instead of asking:
“Can I play?”

A better question is:
“Can I move the way my sport demands without compensating?”

At our sports physical therapy clinics in Bethesda and McLean, return-to-play decisions are based on far more than pain relief.

We evaluate strength, symmetry, movement quality, coordination, and readiness for sport-specific stresses.

How Technology Helps Us Make That Decision — Not Guesswork

One of the biggest advantages we offer is our use of advanced technology for return-to-play testing and performance evaluation. No more guessing if someone “feels fine.” We get objective data.

We’ve written more about this on our dedicated page for How Technology Is Changing Sports Physical Therapy in Bethesda and McLean.

Here’s how that technology helps:

Precise movement analysis to catch compensations
Strength and power testing to verify balanced return
Data on jump mechanics, landing, and force absorption
Objective criteria for return-to-play. Not opinions

That means when we clear an athlete for sport again, we can be confident they’re ready for the demands ahead. Not just based on feeling or judgment but on real, measurable performance.

How Sports Physical Therapy in McLean and Bethesda Can Help

If your athlete is coming back from an injury and something still doesn’t feel right, but you’re not sure why, they deserve answers.

At Cohen Health and Performance, we provide:

One-on-one sports physical therapy
Strength, mobility, and performance testing using advanced technology
Sport-specific rehab progressions
Return-to-play guidance based on data and movement quality

Whether you are searching for sports physical therapy McLean or sports physical therapy Bethesda, our mission is simple:

Keep athletes healthy now and strong for the future.

Toughness is admired in sports. Preparation and smart decisions are what prevent injuries.

The best athletes aren’t the ones who ignore pain.
They are the ones who listen to their body early and fix the problem before it becomes a season-ending setback.

Looking for sports physical therapy in McLean or Bethesda?

If you are unsure whether your athlete is truly ready to return from injury or want a professional evaluation before letting them get back into full sport, we’d love to help.

Visit:
• https://cohenhp.com/mclean-va/
• https://cohenhp.com/bethesda-md/

Because staying on the field isn’t just about grit.
It’s about preparation, smart rehab, and long-term health.

What Do ACL Rehab and Vince Lombardi Have in Common?

Guest post by Dr. Samuel Kinney, Performance Physical Therapist at Cohen Health & Performance – McLean

If you’re an athlete in the McLean area recovering from an ACL injury, you already know how demanding the process can be. At our sports physical therapy clinic in McLean, Dr. Samuel Kinney takes a page from one of football’s greats, Vince Lombardi, to help athletes master the fundamentals that make the difference between average recovery and peak performance.

Back to Basics: The Lombardi Lesson

Back in 1959, Vince Lombardi was hired to turn around the struggling Green Bay Packers. Reporters wanted to know his plan. Would he redesign the offense, invent new formations, or bring in something flashy and new?

His answer was simple: master the basics.

Lombardi believed football games were won not through trick plays but through relentless execution of fundamentals. Things like blocking and tackling done to perfection. His five championships speak for themselves.

Much like Lombardi’s approach, early-phase ACL rehab centers on the same idea: mastering the fundamentals. At Cohen Health & Performance in McLean, one of those core fundamentals is activation of the quadriceps muscle, a skill that’s often tougher than it sounds.

What’s Going On: The Quad Isn’t Just Weak. It’s Disconnected

After a knee injury such as an ACL tear or surgery, the muscle may look fine, but the nervous system that activates it can become inhibited.

This phenomenon is known as arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) and it’s one of the biggest early obstacles we see in sports physical therapy McLean patients recovering from ACL injuries.

Here’s how it happens:

Nerves within the injured ACL and joint become disrupted.
Swelling, pain, and trauma trigger a protective response.
That protection reduces the signal from the brain and spinal cord to the quadriceps.

The result: athletes think they’re activating the quad, but the signal isn’t strong enough to produce full contraction. Even during “quad sets” or knee extensions, the activation may fall short and recovery can stall.

Why It Matters

You might wonder, “If my athlete is lifting and making progress, what’s the problem?”

Here’s why early quad activation is critical:

Stability: When the quad isn’t firing properly, the knee loses stability, raising the risk of reinjury or compensations at the hip or ankle.
Performance: Even if strength returns, delayed activation impacts cutting, pivoting, and jumping mechanics, a split-second difference that affects performance.
Longevity: Research shows quad activation issues can persist for months post-surgery if not addressed early.

For parents supporting their young athletes, this early stage sets the tone for safe, confident return-to-sport progressions.

How We Address It at Cohen Health & Performance in McLean and Bethesda

Our sports physical therapy team in McLean and Bethesda focuses on reconnecting athletes with their quads and rebuilding a strong, stable foundation:

Early Stage — Control Swelling & Restore Motion
Swelling and pain inhibit the quad. We prioritize compression, elevation, and restoring full knee extension as quickly as possible to improve activation.
Early Activation — Get the Quad Turning On
Once cleared post-surgery, we begin re-educating the nervous system. Using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), we help re-establish the brain-to-muscle connection — a proven strategy to accelerate recovery.
Progressive Strengthening
When activation becomes consistent, we progress into strength training and functional movement patterns. The fundamentals never get skipped; reliable quad activation remains the base for every phase of rehab and performance.

How Parents Can Help at Home

Supporting your athlete’s recovery outside the clinic makes a huge difference:

Ask about NMES: Ensure your child’s therapist includes NMES and teaches home use.
Encourage consistency: Simple activation drills repeated daily rebuild the mind-muscle link.
Watch their movement: Hesitation or favoring one leg can signal incomplete activation.
Reinforce their home program: Progress continues between sessions — not just in the clinic.

At Cohen Health & Performance, we believe lasting results come from doing the basics exceptionally well — just like Lombardi preached.

If your athlete is recovering from an ACL injury, our sports physical therapy team in McLean and Bethesda are ready to help them move, feel, and perform at their best.

Cohen Health & Performance – McLean
Tailored ACL rehabilitation and performance physical therapy for athletes who want to come back stronger.

Contact us today to learn more about our individualized sports physical therapy McLean programs.

What Pro Athletes Teach Us About Sports Physical Therapy

Before moving to the DMV, I spent several years in Dallas, Texas working for a company called EXOS, a world-renowned leader in sports performance and sports physical therapy. If you haven’t heard of them, EXOS works with some of the best athletes in the world. NFL players, Major League Baseball athletes, professional basketball players, and Olympians across multiple sports.

When I first started there, I assumed these elite athletes recovered faster from injuries simply because they were the best of the best. They’re in the top 1% of their sport, with incredible genetics and access to every resource imaginable. Daily rehab sessions, personalized nutrition, and world-class sports medicine teams.

And yes, all of those factors help.
But over time, I realized something bigger: what really sets these athletes apart isn’t just their access to care. It’s their approach to sports physical therapy.

1. They Start Rehab Immediately After Injury

When most people get injured, they wait.
Work, family, and other commitments get in the way, and rehab gets pushed to “next week.” But delaying treatment allows stiffness, swelling, and compensations to set in, making recovery longer and more frustrating.

Professional athletes don’t wait. They start sports physical therapy almost immediately after injury. Their therapists get the injured area moving safely and within pain-free limits right away. Early motion helps maintain mobility, reduces swelling, and speeds up recovery.

The lesson for the rest of us?
The sooner you start rehab, the sooner you’ll get back to the activities that matter most.

2. They Treat Rehab Like Training

Elite athletes view every rehab session like a workout. They track everything. Strength, volume, reps, and intensity, just like they would in the weight room. Every session has purpose and measurable progress.

At Cohen Health and Performance, that’s exactly how we approach sports physical therapy. We track objective progress through force-plate testing, strength metrics, and movement quality. Every session builds on the last, helping athletes and active adults see small, consistent gains that add up to big results over time.

The takeaway:
Your rehab shouldn’t be random. Treat it with the same focus and structure you’d give your training program.

3. They Trust the Process and Don’t Rush the Return

By the middle of every football season, nearly every player is dealing with something. Many could technically “play,” but smart teams and medical staffs know that coming back too soon increases the risk of re-injury and more time lost in the long run.

The same principle applies to anyone going through sports physical therapy. You might feel better after a few sessions, but that doesn’t mean your body is fully ready for the demands of your sport or activity. Strength, power, and control need to be rebuilt gradually so you can perform confidently without setbacks.

That’s why we test and track readiness. So you don’t just get cleared; you get truly ready.

4. They Build a Team Around Their Recovery

No professional athlete recovers alone. They have a team. Physical therapists, athletic trainers, physicians, strength coaches, and family, all communicating and working toward the same goal.

Your team might look a little different, but the principle is the same. Recovery works best when everyone is aligned: you, your physical therapist, your doctor, and even your support system at home. When everyone’s working together, you stay accountable and make steady, confident progress.

Bringing a Pro Athlete Mindset to Your Recovery

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from sports physical therapy. The same mindset that helps the pros get back on the field can help you get back to the gym, the court, or the activities you love most.

Start early.
Stay consistent.
Track your progress.
Trust the process.
And surround yourself with the right team.

If you’re looking for expert-level sports physical therapy in Bethesda or McLean, our team at Cohen Health and Performance is here to help. We work with athletes and active adults every day to recover faster, move better, and perform at their best, on and off the field.

Surgeon Says “You’re Cleared.” What That Really Means

At Cohen Health and Performance, we see this all the time.

A patient walks in excited because their orthopedic surgeon just told them, “You’re cleared.”

For the athlete or for a parent of a young athlete that sounds like great news. It feels like full steam ahead, time to get back to the field, the court, or the gym.

But being cleared by your surgeon doesn’t necessarily mean your body is ready for the demands of your sport.

That’s where our team at Cohen Health and Performance, providers of expert physical therapy in Bethesda, comes in.

What Your Surgeon Means by “Cleared”

When your surgeon clears you, it’s a medical milestone. It means:

The surgery was successful.
Imaging and MRI results look good.
Your range of motion has returned.
You’ve regained a basic level of strength.

In other words, your surgeon’s focus is on whether the surgical site has healed and whether you’re safe to start progressing again. Their job is to make sure the repair looks good, moves well, and passes basic checks.

But that doesn’t mean your body is fully prepared for the demands of your sport.

Why “Cleared” Doesn’t Always Mean “Ready”

Let’s take a closer look at what happens in those follow-up visits.

Your surgeon might test your strength by asking you to hold your arm or leg in a fixed position while they apply pressure. If you can resist them without pain or weakness, that box gets checked.

The problem? That’s not how sports work.

Sports are dynamic. You’re not holding a static position. You’re cutting, sprinting, jumping, landing, throwing, or reacting at high speed. Your body must not only produce force but also control and absorb it repeatedly and efficiently.

That’s where the real risk lies after surgery. An athlete may appear strong in basic tests, but when it’s time to decelerate from a sprint or land from a jump, their body might not yet have the capacity to handle those forces safely.

Without that preparation, the risk of reinjury or injury elsewhere in the body skyrockets.

How Physical Therapy Bridges the Gap

This is exactly where advanced sports physical therapy in Bethesda plays a critical role.

At CHP, our job isn’t just to make sure your range of motion and strength look good on paper. It’s to determine if your body can handle the high-speed, high-load, fatigue-driven conditions of your sport.

We use a combination of clinical expertise and advanced sports technology, including VALD Force Plates, A-frames, and dynamometers to objectively measure how your body performs.

Some of the key things we assess include:

Force production: How much power can you generate through your repaired side?
Deceleration control: Can you safely slow your body down after a sprint or jump?
Symmetry: Are you unconsciously favoring one side more than the other?
Fatigue performance: Do you maintain good control and power when you’re tired?

These metrics tell us whether your body is actually ready for competition—not just whether your surgery has healed.

Every Sport Has Different Demands

One of the most important things we teach our patients is that every sport has its own movement and performance prerequisites.

A swimmer’s shoulder rehab will look completely different from a soccer player recovering from an ACL surgery.

A tennis player’s shoulder must tolerate explosive, high-velocity end-range movements.

A football player must absorb and redirect massive amounts of force.

That’s why at CHP, no two return-to-sport plans look the same. We build individualized programs that mirror the specific stresses and skills of your sport, helping you return not just healthy, but stronger, faster, and more resilient than before.

Fatigue: The Hidden Factor Behind Re-injury

Another key area we focus on is how your body performs when tired.

It’s easy to look great when you’re fresh but most injuries don’t happen during warm-ups. They happen when fatigue sets in late in the game, when your muscles and nervous system are under stress.

That’s why we test your ability to maintain strength, stability, and control under fatigue.

If your repaired side starts to fail once you’re tired, your risk of reinjury increases dramatically.

By building up work capacity and fatigue tolerance, we help you finish strong, no matter the score or the quarter.

The CHP Difference

At Cohen Health and Performance, our approach to physical therapy in Bethesda is centered on one goal: helping athletes safely and confidently return to the activities they love.

We combine one-on-one care, advanced testing technology, and individualized programming to make sure every athlete we work with is truly ready, not just medically cleared.

If you’ve been cleared by your surgeon but want to be confident that your body is ready for the next step, we’d love to help.

Contact us at Cohen Health and Performance today to learn more about our individualized physical therapy programs in Bethesda and McLean designed to help athletes move, feel, and perform at their best.

Why Foam Rolling Isn’t Fixing Your IT Band Pain (And What Actually Will)

If you’re an athletes or runner who’s been dealing with persistent pain on the outside of your thigh or knee, there’s a good chance someone has told you to grab a foam roller and go to town on your IT band.

And if you’ve tried it, you probably noticed that it didn’t do much.

At Cohen Health and Performance, where we specialize in physical therapy for runners, we see this all the time—runners struggling with IT band syndrome who are stretching and rolling with little to no relief. The truth is, there’s a much more effective approach to solving this common issue.

Understanding the IT Band: It’s Not a Muscle

The iliotibial (IT) band is a thick, fibrous piece of connective tissue—known as fascia—that runs from your hip down to the outside of your knee. Unlike muscle tissue, fascia doesn’t stretch or adapt the way muscles do. In fact, in cadaver dissections during our physical therapy training, we saw just how tough and dense this tissue is.

That means your foam roller isn’t “loosening” the IT band. You’re not breaking up tissue adhesions. And you’re definitely not lengthening it. So what can you do?

Focus on the Muscles That Influence the IT Band

The key to managing and eliminating IT band pain lies in addressing the muscles that attach to it:

Tensor Fasciae Latae (TFL)
Gluteus Maximus
Gluteus Medius

These muscles influence the tension and position of the IT band. If they’re tight, weak, or imbalanced, they can pull on the IT band in ways that cause irritation—especially during repetitive activities like running.

Why Hip Mobility Matters

One of the first things we assess in our physical therapy for runners sessions is hip mobility. If your hip joints don’t move well, the muscles surrounding them can’t work through their full range of motion. This can lead to stiffness, compensation, and excessive tension placed on the IT band.

Improving hip mobility creates a healthier foundation for movement and reduces the mechanical stress on the IT band during running.

Strength Balance Is Critical

Another common issue? Muscle imbalances.

For example, if the TFL (front/side of the hip) is more active than the glutes (back of the hip), it can pull the IT band forward and create friction or irritation. A strong, well-functioning gluteal complex helps counterbalance this tension and stabilize the pelvis—especially important with each stride during running.

At Cohen Health and Performance, our team of physical therapists uses targeted strength work to restore that balance and reduce IT band stress.

Pelvis Positioning

How your pelvis and rib cage stack during movement matters more than most runners realize. Many runners adopt an anterior pelvic tilt (hips tipped forward), which changes how muscles like the glutes and TFL function. This posture can amplify IT band tension and make even “normal” movement patterns painful.

Addressing postural habits is an important part of our assessment and treatment process.

Movement Patterns and Running Technique

Finally, we always look at how our patients move—whether it’s squatting, lunging, or running. Movement strategies that rely too heavily on compensation patterns (e.g., overusing the quads or collapsing through the hips) can place unnecessary strain on the IT band.

If you’ve never had your movement or running gait analyzed by a physical therapist, this is a great first step.

Physical Therapy for Runners: Get to the Root of IT Band Pain

The bottom line: foam rolling your IT band might provide short-term relief, but it doesn’t fix the root cause. If you’re dealing with ongoing lateral thigh or knee pain, the answer lies in a comprehensive assessment of your mobility, strength, posture, and movement patterns.

At Cohen Health and Performance, we specialize in physical therapy for runners. We’ll help you:

Identify the true source of your IT band pain
Build a personalized program to restore function and eliminate discomfort
Keep you running stronger, longer, and pain-free

Ready to Get Rid of IT Band Pain for Good?

Visit us at our Bethesda or McLean locations
Click here to schedule a 1-on-1 evaluation with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy

Don’t let IT band pain sideline your training. Let’s get you back to what you love—stronger and smarter than ever.

CHP Spotlight Interview with Dr. Rajeev Pandarinath

Many of us will eventually need joint replacement surgery. Why is it better to start with physical therapy and delay this surgery whenever possible?

ACL tears are one of the most common knee injuries among weekend warriors and high school athletes. How does Dr. Pandarinath change his approach in one situation versus the other? Does a high school athlete require a unique approach for the post-operative, sports physical therapy process?

Why do some rotator cuff tears require immediate surgery?

I recently interviewed Dr. Rajeev Pandarinath to tackle these questions and more in the latest edition of the CHP Spotlight Interview series. Dr. Pandarinath is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in arthroscopic procedures of the shoulder, knee, and hip.

The mission of the CHP Spotlight Interview Series is to share information with you from local experts in the fields of sports medicine, physical therapy, personal training, and sports performance. Now, more than ever, a seemingly infinite amount of information is available, and finding credible information is challenging. But we have good news. We are here to help you find the best information about physical therapy, personal training, and sports medicine from experts in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, DC, McLean, and Northern Virginia.

If you or someone you love has had a shoulder, hip, or knee injury, don’t miss this interview!

To learn more about Dr. Pandarinath, click here and check out our interview below!