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.

What Your Patient Experience Tells You About Your Provider

When I first moved to the DC area, I had to find a new dermatologist. With pale skin and a bald head, I knew I needed someone I could rely on. What I didn’t expect was just how different the experience of healthcare could be from one provider to the next.

My first attempt went something like this:
I called the office, asked for an appointment, and was told the soonest available was six weeks away. When I explained that I had a conflict, I was told it would actually be six months before I could get in. Not exactly encouraging but I made it work.

When I finally arrived for the appointment, no one looked up from behind the desk, no one greeted me, and I was handed a clipboard without so much as a “thank you.” When the doctor did see me, it was for maybe three minutes. He seemed rushed, didn’t answer my questions, and was clearly just trying to get to the next patient.

Unfortunately, this kind of experience is all too common in healthcare.

Later, I found another dermatologist, and the difference was night and day. The staff answered the phone with warmth, greeted me by name when I arrived, and the doctor took the time to listen. She didn’t spend tons of time with me, but she was present, thorough, and made me feel valued.

The way you’re treated during the process often reflects the quality of care you’ll receive.

How We Approach Care at Cohen Health and Performance

At Cohen Health and Performance (CHP), we’ve built our model of care around the kind of experience every patient deserves. If you’re looking for physical therapy near you in Bethesda, here’s what makes us different:

Here’s what makes us different:

One-on-One Sessions: Every appointment is a full hour with your Doctor of Physical Therapy—no bouncing between patients, no rushing.
Personal Connection: We know your name when you walk in, and we take pride in making every patient feel welcome.
Full Presence: During your session, our entire focus is on you. We answer your questions, explain the “why” behind your program, and adjust as needed.
Between-Session Support: Need something outside of your appointment? Our team is available through our patient portal or a quick call to make sure you’re supported every step of the way.

Whether you’re an athlete recovering from injury, an active adult wanting to stay strong, or a parent helping your child navigate youth sports, your experience matters just as much as the treatment itself.

Choosing Physical Therapy in Bethesda

If you’re looking for physical therapy in Bethesda, we encourage you to ask yourself:

Do they listen to me?
Do they treat me like a person, not a number?
Are they invested in my success inside and outside the clinic?

At CHP, our answer to all three is a resounding yes.

So if you want a healthcare team that’s truly in your corner—committed to your goals, your progress, and your overall experience—we’d love to help.

What Performance Physical Therapist, Dr. Biddle, learned from breaking her leg

I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Catherine Biddle to our physical therapy team in Bethesda. Dr. Biddle specializes in treating gymnasts, dancers, and athletes with hypermobility related conditions. As a former Division I gymnast at Northern Illinois University, she brings both expertise and personal experience in overcoming sports injuries.

She was kind enough to tell us about the injury that inspired her to become a sports physical therapist and what you can learn from her journey.

______________________________________________________________

At 15, I suffered a serious injury during gymnastics practice. While performing a skill called a blind full on bars, I turned too early, causing a fall from 12 feet onto concrete. The result? A broken fibula in three places and a dislocated tibia.

Two days later, I had surgery to insert a plate and eight screws in my leg. My doctors warned I might never compete at the same level again. As a gymnast for 13 years who was being actively recruited by colleges, this news was devastating. I felt lost—until I started physical therapy three weeks after surgery.

When I crutched into my first physical therapy session, feeling hopeless, my therapist did something powerful: she asked me how I was doing—not just physically, but emotionally and mentally. That conversation changed everything. She told me that while recovery wouldn’t be easy or fast, we would do everything we could to get me back to gymnastics. Thirteen months later, I joined a Division I gymnastics program and had a fulfilling collegiate career.

My injury taught me that the physical therapy journey is about more than just the body. It’s about mindset, support, and perseverance. The right therapist can make all the difference, helping you heal both physically and emotionally.

Most importantly, I learned that a surgeon’s prognosis isn’t the end of the story. With the right support system, a positive outlook, and hard work, you can overcome obstacles you never thought possible.

These lessons shape how I approach my work today. I focus on more than just my patients’ injuries—I consider how they’re feeling overall and what their goals are. Healing isn’t just about “fixing” the problem; it’s about helping people return to the activities they love.

So how do you know if you’ve found the right healthcare provider for you?

Ask questions!

Prior to your visit, prepare a list of the questions that are important to you. Your provider should be willing to answer all of your questions, even if they can’t give you a definitive answer at the moment.

Here are 3 questions that I advise asking.

1. Why did this happen, and how can we prevent it from happening again?
Understanding the cause of your injury helps ensure it doesn’t become a recurring issue.

2. What should I be doing at home?
Recovery extends beyond the clinic. Make sure you’re clear on what exercises or precautions you should follow at home.

3. How will we measure my progress?
Your goals should guide your recovery, not just standard benchmarks. Set clear expectations with your therapist to track meaningful progress.

Physical therapy is most effective when it’s a partnership. The more engaged you are in your recovery, the better your results will be. Asking these questions helps you take control of your health and build a stronger relationship with your therapist.

Interested in scheduling an appointment with me or a member of our team? Contact us!

-Dr. Catherine Biddle PT, DPT

What Sprinters Teach Distance Runners

Our physical therapists in Bethesda commonly teach sprinting drills to both distance runners and field sport athletes.

Although distance running and field sports are very different activities, sprinting drills help to correct running form within both groups of people and make a positive impact throughout the physical therapy process.

For runners, sprint training teaches the body to move fast. The greater the speed is that a runner is capable of running, the easier it is to run fast for extended periods of time.

For example, if someone wishes to run a marathon in 4 hours or less, this person needs to average 9:09 minutes per mile. Prior to incorporating sprint training into their routine, this person may have been capable of running 14 mph at maximum speed. After sprint training, this person is now capable of running 15 mph at maximum speed. Due to having a faster maximum speed, running a 9:09 minute mile is now less taxing on the body, therefore requiring less energy to sustain this pace.

For distance runners and field sport athletes, sprinting improves running technique by forcing an individual to pick their hips and knees up in front of their body to larger degree. This helps to change the common habit of kicking legs far behind the body, resulting in further compensations that increase the risk for hamstring injuries among many others.

Check out the video below to learn more about how we coach running technique here at Cohen Health in Performance Bethesda!

Physical Therapy Didn’t Work…

I tried physical therapy and it didn’t work.

Many of our patients in Bethesda have seen other physical therapists prior to seeing us. In their previous physical therapy experiences, they did not achieve the results that they were looking for and are coming to us for answers.

Personally, I love working with these people because they continue to believe that our profession can help them. However, negative experiences in physical therapy often cause many others to lose faith in the profession.

Perhaps you are one of these people. If so, I don’t blame you as I once was in your shoes!

When I was in High School, I experienced a quadricep injury that was impacting my ability to play football.

I went to my local physical therapy practice searching for help in overcoming this injury and play in my junior season. It was going to be my first season starting on both offense and defense causing this injury to constantly remain in the front of my mind.

My introduction to physical therapy was not what I had hoped for, and I now realize that my physical therapists were not taking great care of me (to learn more about how you can determine if this is the case, see my latest blog here).

Luckily, I was still able to play in my season and was back to 100% by the middle of the year. However, I can’t help but wonder if I would have been fully healthy to start the season if I saw a different physical therapist.

Like all other professions, the physical therapy industry has great professionals and poor ones. Furthermore, some physical therapists specialize with athletes, some with cardiac patients and others with people living in nursing homes.

As a result, my hope is that instead of saying “I tried physical therapy and it didn’t work”, you say “This physical therapist or physical therapy practice didn’t provide the results that I was looking for and I need to find someone that is a better fit for what I need.”