Hey Coach, is MVPT Friend or Foe?

FRIEND 

Let’s get that out of the way.  Friend.  You know your sport, and I know biomechanics.  You want your athletes to be their best, and I can help you get them there.  I believe that collaboration is the key to all of us learning, growing, and performing at a high level.  I cannot coach better than you, but I guarantee that you don’t know the body like I do.  It is that triangle that creates healthy high performance athletes. Every person brings a past medical history, training history, strength, athletic ability, and mental situation that WE can learn from.  My passion is taking someone who thinks they can’t do something and showing them how to do it.  Can I coach Lacrosse?  Basketball?  Football?  No.  But I can sure evaluate the jumping, cutting, running, throwing, and any sport related activity to make sure the athlete knows what stretching, strengthening, and biomechanics he or she should use to elevate his or her performance to the highest level possible. 

STAGNANT OR INJURED ATHLETES

Training plateaus and injuries are virtually the same.  At MVPT we can help a 2:05 half-marathoner who is stuck on that time and not injured.  There is a training flaw, a weakness or stiffness, or a biomechanical reason full potential is not realized.  What about whether or not an athlete should race or not?  Fast tracking is a method of getting the athlete ready to race in a short period of time, taking in consideration of the long term health of the problem.  Yes, you can race with a strain 2 weeks before a big race.  An emphasis on education makes the athlete aware of what problems he or she has, and he or she is given a program to address the limitations.  A coach could say “something isn’t right, let me get you to my guy and see what we need to do.”  What I do is evaluate the body, evaluate the movement, and identify problems.  When the athlete is ready to resume training, I hand him back to the coach.  Afterward, the coach and I collaborate to reestablish consistent training and then I phase out.  If there is an ongoing strength problem we do monthly training plans to allow the body to work on sound movement and if we need to film the movement, we do.  Movement is the key.

STAYING CURRENT

Wouldn’t you prefer to see a PT who has knowledge of anatomy, physiology, running gait expertise, and can tweak physical body, sports/endurance training, and biomechanical factors so you can return to training, competing, and racing quickly?  At MVPT we are reading the latest research literature to be sure that the recommendations we make are reliable and predictable.  Everybody is different right?  Not quite.  Everyone has the same anatomy and physiology, and their body will adapt to the force placed on them.  Would you want a dentist who thinks not all mouth care is the same?  What about a heart surgeon who doesn’t pay attention to normal heart electricity?  Everybody’s ACL of the knee is the same angle, right?  YES.  If that angle is not precise then the knee will not work accurately.  There are many variables in the human body but having a balance of science and art is how people get needs met.  As a professional, it is my job to know what is helpful and what is not.  That is where knowledge comes in.  Where do you apply it, how soon, AND how hard?  That is where experience comes in.  Wouldn’t you like to know the brace you are using actually puts you at risk for more injury?  Wouldn’t you prefer a Physical Therapist who has 90% of patients either runners or athletes who use running skills?

WHO AM I?

I am an athlete.  My philosophy at Maximum Velocity Physical Therapy (MVPT) is based on my lifetime in sports, experiences with both good and bad training, education in the principles of physical therapy, and searching for more information to make ME a better athlete.  During my two years as an assistant coach at UNLV in the cross country and track programs, I noticed these athletes had the ideal situation.  All they had to do was show up to class and practice and compete.  They have coaches, strength and conditioning staff, athletic trainers, counselors, and nutritionists.  That is what age groupers are looking for, why can’t regular people have that?  There is a need there, and as a PT I can do the athletic training, strength training, and to a certain level counseling.   

I established MVPT to give patients who fall through the cracks of traditional medicine a home because people did not take the time to listen, educate, and serve.  That includes patients, athletes, or both.  MVPT serves the community by ensuring healthy quality patient care and athletic performance is administered.  My goal is to surround myself with passionate, knowledgeable, and fun coaches and athletes all day, every day. 

WHAT AM I SELLING? 

I am selling education and performance.  I offer physical therapy to get healthy, I offer performance evaluation and training, and I offer monthly strength classes to reinforce healthy moving with resistance.  Injury rates are low in strong athletes and performance is high in the same group.  Who doesn’t need or want that?  We can be creative to meet your lifestyle and time needs.  I am humbled by the continued support of coaches, and your referrals mean the world to me.  I am having a blast!  Feel free to check out my website:  maxvelocityPT.com.  Please call 702-998-2900 to make an appointment or ask questions.