Inform Performance

Episode 38: Andy McDonald chats to Scott Epsley the Philadelphia 76ers Medical Director. Scott is an Australian Physiotherapist who has previously worked for Georgetown University, Medstar Sports Medicine and consulted to numerous sporting organisations including the Washington Wizards, Australian Womens Field Hockey and professional athletes across a wide range of sports including basketball, cycling, indy car, golf, and sprinting. Scott is also an RMSK Certified Musculoskeletal Sonographer with a passion for clinical diagnostics and bone stress injuries.   In this episode Andy & Scott discuss:    Scott’s background & role  Ultrasonography in sports medicine  Bone Injuries with Ultrasonography  Bone Stress Injuries  Understanding the bone tissue Symptoms Medical management Phases & remodelling Monitoring Loading & rehab Return-to-play    Where you can find Scott:    LinkedIn Twitter   Smartletics Tempo App Apple App Store Google App Store  Website   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our Team    Andy McDonald Ben Ashworth

Episode 37: Andy McDonald chats to Pierre Barrieu a High Performance Expert at FIFA. As a performance practitioner Pierre has enjoyed spells at LA Galaxy, Swansea City, UAE Football Association and the USA National Team + plus more! Pierre has an extensive and varied background across multiple football leagues, national teams and environments and as a result provides the conversation with pragmatism and experiential insight.    In this episode Andy & Pierre discuss:    Pierres background  Cultural differences between leagues and countries  Trends of practice and methodology  Player availability monitoring  Coach development & education    Where you can find Pierre:    LinkedIn Twitter   Smartletics Tempo App Apple App Store Google App Store  Website   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our Team    Andy McDonald Ben Ashworth

Episode 36: Andy McDonald chats to Physiotherapy Consultant Gordon Bosworth. Gordon is Founder and Clinical Director of The Bosworth Clinic and has been involved in elite sport for most of his life. Specialising in performance therapy, Gordon has supported elite athletes and teams across multiple sports and notably was Physiotherapist to the British Bobsleigh and Bob-Skeleton Team, a member of the Great Britain Teams at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Sochi, Salt Lake City and Torino. He was also Medical Lead for the Canadian Speed Skating Team at Vancouver Games & Chief Physiotherapist to British Athletics at the London Games in 2012. More recently he worked with the Canadian #1 Women’s Bobsleigh and Cross-Country Teams at the PyeongChang Games. A clinician of great calibre and experience.    In this episode Andy & Gordon discuss:    Gordons background  Effective Physiotherapy at Olympic Games  Involvement with Altis  Gordons Approach Understanding optimal function first Levelling the playing the field Structure governs function Approach to manual therapy  Second opinion work & consultancy    Where you can find Gordon:    LinkedIn Twitter Website    If you enjoyed this episode then check out Episode 35 with Dr Jas Randhawa   Smartletics Tempo App Apple App Store Google App Store  Website   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our Team    Andy McDonald Ben Ashworth

Episode 35: Andy McDonald chats to Dr Jas Randhawa the Lead Performance Therapist at Altis. Jas is a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine with a background in Strength & Conditioning who has previously worked at the Canadian Basketball team. In this episode Andy and Jas dig into what the Altis Performance Therapy philosophy and methodology is and discuss it in an injury context compared to the traditional model of care or performance.    In this episode Andy and Jas discuss:    Jas's background Clinician Education  Altis Performance Therapy Philosophy & Methodology  Performance Trinity Monitoring collaborative effectiveness  Origins of Performance Therapy Systematic reduction of detail Making research practical Performance Therapy in comparison to ‘traditional’ models    Where you can find Jas:   Instagram Twitter Altis   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team    Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 34: Andy McDonald chats to Tracy Axel the Director of high performance analytics at USA surfing and manager of sports performance research and analytics at Mamba sports academy. In this episode with Tracy we’ll be discussing her role at USA surfing and unpackaged what professional surfing looks like from a sport science and performance analytics standpoint.    In this episode Andy and Tracy discuss:    Surfing as an Olympic sport  Training culture in surfing  Performance markers in surfing  Physiology and conditioning in surfing  Return to play in surfing Future of research in surfing Tracys approach to high-performance  Effective communication between a performance MDT    Where you can find Tracy:   LinkedIn Twitter  Instagram   Smartletics Tempo App Apple App Store Google App Store  Website   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team    Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 33: Andy McDonald chats to Strength & Conditioning Coach Alex Natera. Alex is based at GWS Giants Football Club in Sydney as Senior Athletic Performance Specialist. Alex has a wealth of experience and has enjoyed previous roles at Aspire Academy in Qatar, South Australian Sports Institute, English Institute of Sport, St Mary’s University, and Crystal Palace Football club to name a few. In this episode we have a discussion about something he is world renowned for in Isometrics and Eccentric training methods.  In this episode Andy and Alex Natera discuss:  Alex’s background  Training during Covid. High-Neural output work Alex’s interest in Isometrics Reasoning & benefits isometrics  When to implement isometrics  Methods for implementing Isometrics  Program transitioning in/out of isometrics  Eccentric Training  Isometrics in rehab  Where you can find Alex: LinkedIn Instagram Twitter Smartletics Tempo App Apple App Store Google App Store  Website Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on: Instagram Twitter Our Website Our team  Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 32: Andy McDonald chats to Alex Wolf the co-founder of Wayfaring. Alex is a Performance Consultant, Strength & Conditioning Coach and also an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the high performance. He has a wealth of experience of preparing athletes, staff and teams successfully for Olympic Games. He has previously been Head of Learning, head of strength of S&C and the technical lead at the English Institute of Sport, as well as lead S&C coach for GB rowing amongst other sporting roles. Alex in this episode shares wealth of technical knowledge and thinking on the topic of adaptation led programming.    In this episode Andy and Alex Wolf discuss:    Alex’s professional background Adaptation Led Programming  Origin of work and questions  Why do we strength train? Function as product of outcome not method Clarity and explicit objectives Simple solutions to clear objectives Structural, local & global coordination adaptation Periodisation & adaptation led programming Clarity in language and terminology  Wayfaring - leading teams     Where you can find Alex: Twitter  LinkedIn   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on: Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team  Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 31: Andy McDonald hosts a discussion on achilles tendinopathy between Karin Silbernagel, Mark Young and Matt Tuttle.  Dr Dr Karin Grävare-Silbernagel is an Associate Professor at the Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, USA. At University of Delaware she runs the tendon research lab together with her colleagues from mechanical and biomedical engineering.  Mark Young is a Senior Physiotherapist at the Geelong Cats who has previously worked at the AIS, EIS, UK Athletics, Nike Athletics and the England & Wales Cricket Board.  Dr Matt Tuttle has previously been on the podcast in episodes 11 and 24 and is the Lead Sport Scientist and Physical Therapist for NBA team the Denver Nuggets.   In this episode the panel discuss:    Their backgrounds & personal interests in tendons Achilles diagnostic considerations & processes Acute achilles tendinopathy management Management approach & philosophy Challenges in their individual athlete settings Tendon risk mitigation Elastography & UTC to monitor and Intervene with rehab Imaging Achilles tendon ruptures Tendon Resiliency Managing Tendons In-season Athlete cut points / can the athlete train or play? Managing warm-up and game timing Setting expectations What exercises to use to make a tendon feel better in-season. Thorough assessment and differentials   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:   Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team    Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 30: Andy McDonald chats to Dr Meeta Singh. Dr Meeta Singh is a sleep doctor whose work and research focuses on “Coaching the sleep muscle” to help maximize performance in both individual athletes and sports teams. She is the Service chief of the sleep medicine, and section head and medical director at the Henry Fordsleep laboratory in Michigan. Dr Singh is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as a psychiatrist and sleep medicine sub-specialist. She has served as a consultant for multiple NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA teams. She has also worked with college sports teams. As part of this service, Dr. Singh performs athletic sleep assessments with personalized prescriptions for better sleep. She also helps sports teams and athletes with their travel management with a focus on addressing sleep deprivation and jet lag and maximizing athletic performance. Her passion is lecturing and educating teams and athletes about the benefits of sleep on performance.   In this episode Andy and Dr Meeta Singh discuss: Her background  Sleep requirement, deficit & dose response  Sleep Diaries  Wearable Technology Educating and implementing sleep strategies  Orthosomnia  Sleep Environment Jet lag Crossing time zones  Relationship between sleep and Injury risk  Sleep and Recovery from injury Can you get too much sleep? Napping  Uncoupled sleep and circadian rhythm Backroom staff sleep considerations   Where you can find Dr Meeta Singh: Twitter  LinkedIn Instagram Website    Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on: Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team  Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth

Episode 29: Andy McDonald chats to Dr Andy Barr a British Physiotherapist / Doctor of Physical Therapy. Andy is an established leader in the field of high performance and injury risk reduction with over 20 years of experience working in professional sports. He has held Director of Medicine and Performance roles with Bolton Wanderers F.C., Southampton F.C. and Manchester City F.C. in the EPL, New York Knicks in the NBA and New York City F.C. in the MLS. More recently Andy is the CEO & founder of Quantum Performance in Los Angeles providing rehab and performance solutions to elite athletes and teams.    In this conversation with Dr Andy Barr we discuss: Andy’s background Transitioning from the UK to USA / EPL to the NBA Working freelance and as a consultant  Andy’s 4 Pillars approach to rehabilitation Variety during rehab Pros and cons of working independently vs in a team Andy’s current and future projects   Where you can find Dr Andy Barr: Twitter Linkedin Instagram   Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on: Instagram Twitter Our Website   Our team  Andy McDonald   Ben Ashworth