Trevor Rappa | Agility in Rehab: Understanding Movement Compensations and Creating Adaptable Athletes

In order for an athlete to successfully return to their sport after an injury, they must be adequately prepared for the demands and chaos of that sport. For most field and court sports, the skill of agility is paramount to their success. In this episode, Trevor Rappa joins to share his approach to rebuilding this skill, with an emphasis on identifying and addressing potentially maladaptive movement strategies.

We dissect the complexities of introducing change of direction and agility in the return-to-play process, unraveling the art and science behind successful strategies. The discussion underlines the absolute necessity of a collaborative approach between physical therapy and strength conditioning for a comprehensive and effective recovery. We further delve into compensatory strategies, the common ones exhibited with certain types of movements, and why they might be manifesting.

The episode wraps up with an examination of athlete evaluation through video analysis, the role of motor learning in the rate of progress, and the paradox of movement predictability and creativity in sports. We also discuss striking a delicate balance between drawing attention to athletes' potentially negative compensations and not overloading them with information.

Time Stamps:

[6:32] How the blending of physical therapy and strength & conditioning is filling the rehab gap

[10:50] Key performance indicators for efficiently changing direction

[15:19] Common movement compensations when recovering from a lower-body injury

[25:15] How to identify and assess compensatory strategies in real-time

[27:29] Communicating with athletes when compensations have been identified and helping them find effective strategies

[33:37] How to address maladaptive compensations that appear in game-like scenarios

[46:27] Fostering creativity and adaptability in athletes' movement capabilities

[53:17] Information on Resilient Performance Therapy's online courses

Dr. Trevor Rappa is a performance-based physical therapist and co-founder of Resilient Performance PT. He works with athletes from high school to the professional level whether they are rehabbing or looking to improve their on-field performance. Before becoming a PT he worked as a strength and conditioning coach and completed an internship at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning. Trevor has advanced training in joint and soft tissue mobilization, dry needling, movement analysis and specializes in working with athletes along the entire return to sport continuum. He graduated from Amherst College where he was a member of the football team before earning his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Columbia University.

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