Help me become an expert Physical Therapist of my own body.
June 12, 2013 7:27 AM Subscribe
I have been an athlete all my life, I have had several injuries and am going through 6 months of physical therapy right now which I really like. I am then moving to a part of China where PT is near non-existent. I'd like to continue a "pre-hab" routine, and I'd like to become good at knowing which exercises to do, what my body needs, what injuries I should be looking at preventing, and noticing at the first twinge of an injury and knowing how to remedy it. I want to become an expert at my body, and keeping it injury free so I can continue sports at a competitive level for many years (I'm 30 now). I'd like to become a PT for my own body. Which books are must-reads? youtube videos? I really like stuff like this NBA Fit Youtube Video
Becoming a Supple Leopard Is written by the Mobility WOD guy.
posted by ghharr at 7:34 AM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ghharr at 7:34 AM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
The therapists I've worked with (as a patient and as an assistant) have all been very willing to give a list of general conditioning/recovery exercises to their patients. Maybe ask the PT you're working with (if you're still seeing them) for a list like that, for general conditioning?
posted by Pantengliopoli at 7:42 AM on June 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Pantengliopoli at 7:42 AM on June 12, 2013 [2 favorites]
Becoming a Supple Leopard has already changed my life and I've only had it for a few weeks. The tools and exercises that he prescribes are all fairly inexpensive and easy to do. Some of them require access to a barbell or kettlebell, but the majority don't. You can cover a lot of ground with a resistance band and a couple lacrosse balls or tennis balls.
It can't hurt to just start going through the mWOD videos from the beginning, too, and skipping over the ones you can't do for lack of equipment. The mWOD site used to be really hard to navigate but it was redesigned around the same time as the book release and is now a bit easier to work through.
Also, not quite "self PT," but it might be worth looking at Gymnastics WOD, run by Carl Paoli (who works with Kelly Starrett, the mWOD guy). Lots of bodyweight exercises there and progressions to build up to more advanced stuff that will help keep you limber and strong.
posted by Kosh at 7:48 AM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
It can't hurt to just start going through the mWOD videos from the beginning, too, and skipping over the ones you can't do for lack of equipment. The mWOD site used to be really hard to navigate but it was redesigned around the same time as the book release and is now a bit easier to work through.
Also, not quite "self PT," but it might be worth looking at Gymnastics WOD, run by Carl Paoli (who works with Kelly Starrett, the mWOD guy). Lots of bodyweight exercises there and progressions to build up to more advanced stuff that will help keep you limber and strong.
posted by Kosh at 7:48 AM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth my PT mentioned Becoming a Snow Leopard the other day. Her view is that it's a good resource to be used in conjunction with a PT.
posted by dfriedman at 8:36 AM on June 12, 2013
posted by dfriedman at 8:36 AM on June 12, 2013
Check out Ido Portal's blog. It's pretty scattered but he has loads of entries on there with videos linked.
He's also my hero. I want to be able to move like him
posted by astapasta24 at 9:32 AM on June 12, 2013
He's also my hero. I want to be able to move like him
posted by astapasta24 at 9:32 AM on June 12, 2013
A good physical therapist will teach you how to do appropriate exercises yourself. Don't feel uncomfortable asking if your therapist hasn't brought this up to you yet of their own accord. This isn't like asking your barber about how to cut your own hair -- they are supposed to teach you self care to avoid injury in the future.
posted by telegraph at 2:25 PM on June 12, 2013
posted by telegraph at 2:25 PM on June 12, 2013
As long as you have an internet connection you can stay pretty well apprised of PT as far as basic self-assessment and prehab program design goes. It may not be as good as in-person assessment from a professional, but you may find that being forced to self-educate could well be more beneficial for you in the long run than just being able to outsource the job to someone else. As well as the aforementioned MWOD, here's some stuff to bookmark:
http://www.ericcressey.com/articles
http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/category/anatomy/
http://bretcontreras.com/
http://www.8weeksout.com/videos/
http://www.functionalmovement.com/
http://www.stopchasingpain.com/blog/
http://www.rehabgate.com/vb/
http://www.somasimple.com/forums/index.php
http://saveyourself.ca/
http://www.thesportsphysiotherapist.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGaitGuys#p/u
Reddit also has lots of good subs, from the vast but varying /r/fitness and /r/bodyweightfitness to very empirically grounded /r/weightroom and the sparse but super brainy /r/advancedfitness.
Finding and engaging with a good online fitness community, preferably one that involves your sports, is the best thing you can do to make a habit out of learning.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 4:56 PM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
http://www.ericcressey.com/articles
http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blog/category/anatomy/
http://bretcontreras.com/
http://www.8weeksout.com/videos/
http://www.functionalmovement.com/
http://www.stopchasingpain.com/blog/
http://www.rehabgate.com/vb/
http://www.somasimple.com/forums/index.php
http://saveyourself.ca/
http://www.thesportsphysiotherapist.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGaitGuys#p/u
Reddit also has lots of good subs, from the vast but varying /r/fitness and /r/bodyweightfitness to very empirically grounded /r/weightroom and the sparse but super brainy /r/advancedfitness.
Finding and engaging with a good online fitness community, preferably one that involves your sports, is the best thing you can do to make a habit out of learning.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 4:56 PM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by crawfo at 7:33 AM on June 12, 2013 [1 favorite]