3 Indications You Should Ignore a Social Media Post

Today there is more access to information then ever. This access to information is no more prevalent than in the realms of health, medicine, fitness/performance, or any other area of athletic physical therapy. Anyone with a social media account can quickly find thousands of posts related to these topics which creates a whole new challenge.

Because everyone can promote themselves as an expert on social media, it is essential to have a discerning eye for quality information. Unfortunately, social media platforms, such as Instagram, do not promote posts based on the validity of the information presented.

Amongst such a vast array of information, how do you determine when you should ignore a social media post related to health, fitness, or performance physical therapy information?

The presenter speaks in absolutes. Commonly the best answer that a professional can give you is “it depends.” The reason for this is that a person’s experience is context dependent and is the result of several different factors that must be considered together. For example, stretching or improving mobility is often promoted as a “fix” for a given injury. However, this does not apply to those that have more important problems to solve or possess full range of motion in the area being discussed. For more information on this topic, check out our post on Is Mobility Overrated? Furthermore, it is impossible to know of every possible factor that could be contributing to pain, injury, limitations, or challenges. Therefore, even the best among us cannot claim to be 100% certain, especially on social media.
The information is unnecessarily complicated. An expert can take a complex topic and break it down so that it makes sense to you. Overly complicated terminology and unnecessary use of medical jargon are red flags that the presenter may not fully understand the material being presented.
Promoting personal success stories as evidence. Personal success stories are anecdotal. The definition of anecdotal is “not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research.” Many medical and fitness professional post personal success stories as evidence for the validity of their method, approach, or something that they are attempting to market. This ignores all the other factors that may have contributed to these results (see #1 above). Even if the results being presented are valid, it only applies to the person being shown. Quality research commonly requires thousands of trials before being considered valid. A case study of 1 or 2 people only applies to the people being referenced and ignores your unique circumstances.

**Bonus: If a presenter promotes “quick fixes”, run!

Discerning quality from poor information is very challenging in the modern age. Everyone can promote themselves as an expert, however there are several ways to determine when it is best to ignore a presenter. These are just a few of several ways that you can do so.

Photo Credits

“Social Media” by MySign AG is licensed under CC BY 2.0

How Rate of Perceived Exertion Can Make You a Better Athlete

In performance physical therapy, training programs follow a strict methodology for exercises, sets, reps, and effort to produce a specific training effect.

One overlooked, but equally important aspect of an effective training program is autoregulation, which describes adjusting the training effort to accommodate a present condition. For example, if the program calls for a brief warmup, reducing the weight on the bar is one easy form of autoregulation.

One of the main use cases of autoregulation involves using the RPE scale, also known as the Rate of Perceived Exertion. The RPE scale is a scale from 1–10 that measures the perceived level of exertion or difficulty.

Rather than saying, “Darn, that set was really difficult!” you could say, “I’d rank that as an 8 out of 10 on the RPE scale.” Using RPE in performance physical therapy is an effective way to place a numerical value on the difficulty of an exercise, set, or workout.

Credit: Michael Tuchscherer & RTS

How to Implement RPE Into Your Training

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand the usefulness of RPE. According to Propane Fitness, autoregulating using RPE allows an athlete to get the most out of each training session — whether you’re feeling amazing and well-rested or if you slept for two hours on the floor of your buddies apartment. By adjusting the training load based on perceived difficulty, you’re better able to manage the workload of each exercise.

A sample workout using RPE might look like this:

Barbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 5 reps @ 8 RPE
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 sets x 8 reps @ 6 RPE

Implementing RPE into a workout is as simple as adding it to the already existing workout. RPE is simply a training tool that allows for more customization and variation in training load. An RPE of 8 would require more weight, whereas an RPE of 6 means an easier training load, thus lighter weight.

All in all, tracking the RPE of sets and reps is incredibly valuable when working with a coach or performance physical therapist. This method of autoregulation creates common ground between the PT and the athlete. It also creates a well-defined approach for managing workload and training effort, an invaluable tool for avoiding injury and overtraining.

The difficulty of RPE is determining how difficult each set or workout should be — or rather placing an RPE value to each exercise. This is why it’s important to work with an experienced personal trainer or performance physical therapist. For a deep dive into implementing RPE into your training, contact us today for a free consultation!

CHP Spotlight Interview Series: Dr. Anjali Dsouza

Check out this edition of the CHP Spotlight Interview Series with Dr. Anjali Dsouza. Dr. Dsouza is a physician at the District Center for Integrative Medicine. She specializes in integrative medicine, functional medicine, and is an expert in palliative care, as well as psychiatry! She shared so much incredible information that I know will help us during the injury rehabilitation process!

Single-Leg Strength Training Exercises That Reduce Your Risk of Injury

Years of performance physical therapy have revealed that running injuries are often caused by repetitive stress injuries when running. The better you can control the adverse effects of repetitive stress, the fewer injuries you’ll get as a result.

One simple way to control repetitive stress is by implementing single-leg strength training exercises into your training. The benefits of these exercises are numerous. Not only will single-leg exercises increase a runner’s ability to shock absorb in a single leg position, but they’ll also decrease ground contact times, resulting in faster pacing. Lastly, because of your improved capacity to handle stress, your risk of injury is diminished.

Here are some great single-leg exercises to start incorporating into your strength training routine:

Single-Leg Snapback

Single-leg snapbacks help runners improve footstrike mechanics and better understand the impact of different body positions.

Single Leg Snapback

Single-Leg RDL’s

The single-leg RDL is a perfect exercise to train the glutes and hamstrings effectively. This exercise also helps eliminate strength imbalances between the left and right sides of the body, increasing lower-body stability and protecting the knee from injury.

Single Leg RDLs

Single-Leg Bounding Drills

Bounding drills are great for improving force absorption qualities when running or jogging. These drills will help enforce proper trunk, hip, leg positioning, and control needed to land stably on every stride. There are a couple of great bounding drills, but our favorites are Single Leg Forward Bound + Stick⁠, Single-Leg Forward Triple Bound + Stick, and the SL Lateral Bound + Stick⁠.

Single Leg Bounding

Are You Ready to Start Running Again? This Self Assessment will Help!

Are You Ready to Start Running Again? This Self Assessment Will Help

If ankle injuries occur, it’s important to give your body time to recover. That said, how do you know when you’re ready to run again? This short self-assessment is used in sports physical therapy in Bethesda and Chevy Chase to gauge when patients are ready to return to running after an injury.

Do you have enough dorsiflexion?

Dorsiflexion is the action of moving the foot upwards towards the shin. The degree of dorsiflexion in the foot/ankle plays a major role in avoiding injury, increasing speed, and improving efficiency.

We recommend dorsiflexion of 15 degrees or more before a return to running.

The single-leg hop test

Can you perform a single-leg hop (at least a couple feet) with a soft, steady landing that’s similar between both feet? Athletic physical therapists frequently use the single-leg hop test to determine the patient’s ability to return to high-level athletics after an injury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxvJ7iRawh0

In addition to comparing your results to the accept recovery rates, it’s important to measure how your ankle feels when performing a single-leg hop test. Ideally, the pain level during the test should be 0/10.

Is cardiovascular health good enough?

After several weeks or months of inactivity, there’s a good chance the patient’s cardiovascular health has declined. To return to running safely, it’s important to increase running time and distance gradually. This ensures the body has enough time to adapt to the added stress of running again.

Injuries are bound to happen at some point. The key is to give your body enough time to recover by making sure you don’t return too soon. By following this simple self-assessment, you’ll help ensure you don’t re-injure yourself by returning before your body is ready.

A Physical Therapist’s View: How Does LeBron’s Ankle Injury Impact His Season?

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is out “indefinitely” after suffering a high ankle sprain in a recent game against the Atlanta Hawks. “Indefinitely” paired with “high ankle sprain” is usually a bad sign in the sports world. However, from a performance physical therapy and performance training perspective, LeBron’s injury would likely have been much worse had it not been for his rigorous off-season training program.

A high ankle sprain occurs when there’s tearing or damage to the ligaments (known as the syndesmosis) located above the ankle. Less common than low ankle sprains, high ankle sprains caused by a sudden turning, cutting, or twisting motion. Athletes playing high-impact sports that require frequent running and jumping, such as basketball, soccer, football, and lacrosse, are at higher risk for these more severe sprains.

The average recovery for high ankle sprains can take significantly longer than typical sprains. In general, it takes roughly 6–8 weeks to fully, though it can take up to 3 months in severe cases. LeBron is expected to be out “indefinitely” as he recovers from his recent injury. However, given his intense training and recovery regime, it’s likely that he’ll be back on the court sooner than expected.

After watching the gruesome video of Solomon Hill tripping into LeBron’s ankle, it would have been easy to assume a severe injury. However, LeBron’s off-season training program may have kept his ankle sprain from becoming something more serious. Still dominant in his 18th year in the NBA, LeBron’s continued focus on training and recovery is very apparent. For the past 16 years, LeBron has worked with trainer Mike Mancias, who helped LeBron continue to dominate by focusing on nutrition, mobility, and strength training.

Most people think that strength training can prevent injuries. However, strength training often just prevents injuries from becoming more serious. It’s hard to avoid certain things from happening in a game. That said, off-season training can help prevent injuries from becoming severe.