The Ask Mike Reinold Show

Oblique injuries are common in baseball players, and not so common in other sports.

With baseball players training so much more in the offseason with high volume and max intent, it’s no wonder these injuries are rising.

Here’s how we approach these injuries and how to progress them back to hitting.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/oblique-injuries-in-baseball-players/

Restoring range of motion after a rotator cuff repair is one of the most important factors in long-term patient satisfaction.

Internal rotation is especially important, as a loss of IR can really limit their functional movements.

There are many variables to consider when rehabbing a rotator cuff repair patient. Several factors will alter our speed of progression.

Unfortunately, protocols vary greatly. Here are our thoughts on restorin...

Rehabilitation after ACL reconstruction is a long, sequential process.

We look for specific criteria before progressing our athletes back to running.

Here are the criteria we look for and the progression we follow for plyometrics, running, sprinting, and agility work to help athletes get back to competition after ACL surgery.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/return-to-running-after-acl-surgery/

Little League Elbow is a common injury in youth baseball players. 

Little League Elbow is a growth plate injury typically seen in baseball pitchers around the age of 13.

At this age, the bone is typically the weak link, not the ligament. This is why we see more bony growth plate injuries than Tommy John injuries in youth athletes.

These often take longer to heal than you think, so we don’t usually rush them.

Here’s how we rehab these i...

Over the last decade, the amount of sports physical therapy residency programs has skyrocketed. There are so many great programs now.

Our students ask us all the time if they should do a residency.

Our answer is always, “It depends.” They aren’t for everyone.

Here are our current thoughts on sports PT residencies, who should consider them, and who shouldn’t.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/update-on-sp...

Ah, the diagnosis of biceps tendonitis. We’ve all seen it so many times on script from doctors.

Is all anterior shoulder pain coming from the biceps? How can you tell? How does this change your rehab?

We’ll answer all this and more in this episode.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/evaluation-and-treatment-of-biceps-pain/

It’s so awesome to see so many cash-based physical therapy businesses starting around the country.

It’s really been an amazing experience for us at Champion to be out-of-network with health insurances for over 10 years.

In this episode, we have some advice, pros, and cons for those looking to succeed with this model.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/what-it-takes-to-start-a-cash-based-pt-prac...

We’re starting to see more and more ACL reconstruction procedures with an LET, or lateral extra-articular tenodesis. Especially in revisions and younger female athletes.

In this episode we talk about the technique, how it changes the rehab progression, and some tips on what to watch out for.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/acl-reconstruction-with-lateral-extra-articular-tenodesis-let/

If you want to help your athletes maximize their potential, you need to have a system to assess athletic qualities.

This is important to individualize programming and monitor progress.

We follow a few steps in our system:

1. Identify the athletic qualities needed in a sport
2. Identify an assessment to measure this quality
3. Determine the technology needed

Here are the athletic qualities we value at Champion, and how...

One of the most common questions we tend to get over time is how to return athletes back to sport after an injury.

This is one of the main topics in our online Champion Sports PT Mentorship, and probably the most popular portion of the program for past students (BTW, our next cohort starts in January… click here to learn more). 

In this episode, we talk about the criteria to start a return to sport progression, and then how to advanc...

Limb symmetry index is often used to measure performance and determine return to play.

Makes sense, but what if the other side isn’t perfect?

We prefer to look at more than just LSI, but there’s a bunch that goes into it. We discuss in this episode.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/is-limb-symmetry-index-our-goal/ 

Rotator cuff tears are becoming more common in younger active patients in their 40s and 50s.

Typically, they are small tears at this time, but what should we do with them? Should we consider surgery? Should we avoid it at all costs?

We talk about some of the things to consider in this episode.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/rotator-cuff-repair-surgery-in-younger-patients/

There are a ton of scientific and medical journals these days. Seems like there are more and more each year.

We’ve talked over the years about how there are actually some journals you want to avoid, and others that you want to follow.

In this episode, we talk about our current favorites plus some other current thoughts on how to stay current.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/our-favorite-jour...

Blood flow restriction training has been such a great addition to what we do in physical therapy.

Just like everything else, the more we use it, the more we refine what we are doing.

Here are our latest thoughts on how we are using BFR at Champion.

Check out the show notes below to see our latest recommendations on BFR cuffs.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/bfr-update-for-2025-how-w...

We’ve all had the patient walk in the door with acute low back pain. It’s awful. They’re in a ton of pain and can’t function.

In this episode, we discuss our strategies for working with people with acute lumbar radiculopathy to get them on the right path as soon as possible.

To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/how-to-treat-acute-lumbar-radiculopathy/ 

We all know it’s important to challenge our patients with load during the exercise progression of a rehabilitation plan.

Many people like to poke fun at the concept of 3 sets of 10 repetitions, probably because some abuse it, but there is a time and place for everything.

In this episode, we discuss set and rep schemes and how we periodize our exercises during physical therapy and even the gym.

To see full show notes and more...

Rotator cuff repair surgery is one of the most common procedures in physical therapy, yet the recommended postoperative guidelines vary significantly.

Different doctors worldwide disagree on what’s best. Some want to be conservative and delay range of motion and physical therapy to maximize the chance that the repair does not fail.

But is that best? Are there negatives?

In this episode, we discuss some of the science behind delaying r...

Our understanding of SLAP tears, or superior labral tears of the shoulder, continues to evolve. In the past, we often rushed to surgical repair of a SLAP lesion, but now we understand that not all SLAP tears need to be repaired. In fact, repairing some types of SLAP tears in the wrong person could make them worse!

In this episode we talk about the difference between a “good” SLAP tear and a “bad” SLAP tear.

To see...

Rate of force development has become popular in the strength and conditioning world, but not so much in rehabilitation.

After an injury, we often work on strength and power, but we must also work on producing force as quickly as possible to benefit athletes.

In this episode, we discuss how to measure RFD and how to incorporate it into the rehabilitation process for an injured athlete.

To see full show notes and more, head to...