Blog

posted on August 23, 2019

If you’ve been involved in sports for any extended period of time, chances are you’ve sustained some type of injury. Whether it be minor or major, most people will go through their share of bumps and bruises along the way. This past January, I suffered a substantial glute strain while preparing for an upcoming powerlifting meet. I was around 14 weeks out from the competition, so I knew I had a good amount of time to put some attention towards proper recovery before I resumed my planned training. Over the next few weeks, I focused on doing specific rehab work in order to get myself back into training. I was feeling better each week. I wasn’t perfect, but I knew I was at a good enough point where I could compete, or so I thought. Three weeks out from the meet, I tore my hamstring during what were my final heavy deadlifts of the prep. Needless to say, I was not able to fully compete in the meet.

After getting multiple opinions, I decided to take 8 weeks off from any lower body resistance training in order to let the damaged area completely heal. I focused on PT exercises, light stretching, dry needling, and other various recovery modalities. Once I was able to return to training, things felt better, but something still wasn’t right. I swallowed my pride, put my ego aside, and looked for some professional help. After setting up an evaluation with my good friend and Physical Therapist, Jared Caroff, we discovered the underlying causes of my injuries. My right ankle had become locked up from a sprain which I had suffered a few years back. I never took the steps that I should have in order to properly rehab it, so as it healed, it became “locked up.” When this happens, other surrounding areas become at risk for future injury. In this case, that area was the knee joint. So, in order to protect the knee, the body placed more stress on the much larger and stronger hip joint in order to protect the knee. This caused mobility issues at both my right ankle and right hip. My glute stopped firing and my hamstring just couldn’t carry the load on its own anymore.

Now that we knew exactly what was going on, it was time to address each area individually and then the system as a whole. The following is a list of stretches and exercises that Jared and I put together, and their importance towards my performance.

Ankle flossing: Restore movement by increasing ROM, decreasing inflammation, and promoting circulation in the area: Daily (5-7 minutes).
Banded ankle distraction: Increase ankle mobility by working through soft tissue and joint restriction: Daily (3-5 minutes).
Standing gastroc and soleus stretches: Promote increased ROM and elasticity in areas that were limited in activation: Daily (2-3 minutes)
Single leg kettlebell pass: Build strength in the ankle stabilizers and promote ankle stability: 3-4 times per week (2 sets x 10 each hand).
Standing and seated calf raise: Promote strength and stability throughout the newly established range of motion: 3-4 times per week (2 sets x 20 reps).
Banded hip distraction & “Worlds greatest stretch” : Improve hip and thoracic mobility and focus towards correcting hip impingement: Daily (3-5 minutes).
Banded lateral walks w/ high step emphasis: Glute activation, hip stability, and coordination: Daily (2 sets x 10 steps each direction).
Copenhagen side plank: Improve adductor strength as well as hip & knee stability: 2-3 times per week (2 sets x 20-30 seconds each).
1 & 1.5 goblet squat: This movement is tying everything together. Focusing on the system properly performing as a whole and establishing the correct movement patterns: 3 times per week (4 sets of 5 reps).

Be sure to stop by and ask how this approach could help you reach your goals.