HeadStrong - Optimizing Rehabilitation and Human Performance

Today's episode is another conversation with my friend and training partner, KC. KC approached me with a problem I've encountered both personally as an older athlete as well as professionally in the clinic. Namely - how do we maintain high levels of athleticism into our older years? We talk about navigating injury, the challenging mindset of a good recovery in your 30's and beyond. Lastly we discuss the need to balance our egos with the realities of aging process. The idea is to stay active and engaged in this life for a long time and we try to unpack how to get that done. If you've heard any of my podcasts in the past, you'll probably notice some consistent themes emerging such as regular physical activity, good nutrition, sleep, and being there for your training partners and family members who support you. I hope you find the conversation entertaining and informative. If you like this or any other episode of this podcast, please be kind to the algorithm and like, share, or subscribe! Until next time. Stay in the fight.

Today I get the chance to speak with Santiago Chavez, PT, DPT, NCS. Santi is a board-certified Neurologic Physical Therapist with an extensive background in rehabilitating injuries involving the brain and nervous system. He is passionate about helping people stay healthy, but has a keen interest in how the brain and nervous system play key roles in our quality of life on and off the mats. His fascination with the brain also has a personal side to it, as his younger brother is an accomplished fighter, jiujitsu black belt, and head coach at 10th Planet El Paso, Cristobal Chavez. In this podcast we'll discuss keeping the brain healthy while training and competing in the combat sports we love. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Until next time. Stay in the fight. Rod

Today I deviate from the format of my first few podcasts by having a conversation with a friend and former patient, KC Cooper. KC has been grappling for well over 10 years, but also participates in other cool and sometimes-dangerous activities. In September of 2019, KC sustained a complex fracture of the tibia and fibula doing what is referred to has "cowboy protection" at a local rodeo. It's essentially a game of tag played with an angry and agile bull. KC's injury was so severe, he immediately underwent surgery that evening to stabilize his lower leg. It took three months before he could begin to bear weight through his leg and begin the process of rehabilitation. A year after his injury he was back to doing what he loved at the rodeo and on the mats, but the process wasn't easy. He got through the challenges restoring mobility, strength, and balance to his lower extremity and finally got back to doing what he loved. Today he's back on the mats and the ring. We discuss the injury and how the recovery has gone including some of his biggest challenges and the mindset behind getting over a pretty formidable trauma. As I've said many times, a big injury can be a crossroad for people who do cool things. Even to this day, KC continues to struggle with some aspects of the process. We talk about his injury and the recovery, including some of the more challenging aspects of it and the things that made a difference for him. I hope this episode offers some insight into the injury recovery process directly from a patient's perspective. The struggle is tough and at times mentally/emotionally frustrating. With a healthy mindset and a reasonable approach to rehab, you will get back out there. Until next time - Stay in the Fight. Rod

Several years ago, I put together a graphic for my patients called "The Path to Recovery". It occurred to me that many of my patients felt that they didn't have a sense of direction for their recovery and sometimes felt lost in the process. I started thinking of it as being lost in a very unfamiliar place, but yet needing to get somewhere important. Imagine being lost in a very unfamiliar place and knowing you have somewhere you need to be, but you don't know where it is, how you are going to get there, who can help you, or even who you can trust to get you there? It would be unnerving and require a lot of thoughtful action to get you to your destination. Well that's how recovering from a devastating injury can be. You should never be lost or alone in the process. Hopefully you'll find this episode as useful as some of my patients. Stay on the path - and in the fight! Rod

In this episode, I discuss the idea of aging and what strategies we can take to optimize the process for our time on the mats. Some folks fret getting older and that's understandable. Like most things in life, our lives on and off the mats can be made better with a little bit of knowledge and planning. Like good jiujitsu aging well is a function of simply showing up consistently and applying some basic principles. We can't roll back the clock, but we can make our lives on and off the mats worth remembering. Until next time! #stayinthefight

Having the right set of expectations is huge when recovering from any injury. In this episode I discuss the important role your expectations play in your recovery as well as tips to maximize their benefit in keeping you on the mats. #stayinthefight

When someone asks me for advice, it's usually about some kind of pain they're experiencing. Over the years I've come to understand that pain is a pretty complex and interesting topic and not always easy to sort out. In this episode I discuss what pain is, and why understanding it is a really important part of any recovery. I hope you find it helpful too. Until next time! #stayinthefight

It's not a glamorous aspect of the process, but setting good expectations is an important part of the recovery.  In fact, a big part of my job as physical therapist and coach is doing just that - setting and managing expectations. I see first-hand how persistent gaps in expectation wreak havoc on a recovery process. By the same token I see what a healthy set of expectations can do to positi itvely influence your outcome.   In this episode I discuss why expectations are important and some guidelines for getting the most out of yours.   --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Sometimes knowing what to expect out of a recovery makes the process much simpler and easier. A number of years ago, I drew up a whiteboard graphic I called the Path to Recovery. I never realized just how helpful it would be for patients to have a visual understanding of where they were in their rehab and recovery. It was often a relief for them to see that even thought they were having some trouble, most of their challenges were normal for that particular stage in their recovery. In this episode I discuss "The Path" and how you might be able to integrate it into a recovery from major surgery or injury. This simple visual had a powerful impact on my patients and received some pretty positive feedback from my colleagues as well. I hope you find it useful too. See you soon! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

As a coach and physical therapist, I like to see people doing cool things like lifting, running, fighting, and hunting. I think more people should do as many of these things as possible. They keep us connected to each other and who we are as humans. Too many times I see people fall away from their ability to do these cool things. In this episode I discuss what I look for in a persons ability to transition back to doing cool things. It's the first of many podcasts I'll be doing on this topic so I hope you enjoy and stick around.