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The Need for Pre-Hab & Re-hab

Good health requires exercise — basic human movement. With the sedentary demand of most contemporary jobs, however, this concept can easily be overlooked. Moving properly is no longer intrinsic as it was throughout childhood; the hours devoted to being physically active have withered down to small windows
of opportunity between work, errands, social obligations, and sleep. But for those dedicated to fitness, finding time is not as challenging as making the most of that time.

Those who pursue fitness strive for the optimization of human movement, typically in the form of strength, speed, power, skill, or any combination of the four. Achieving any one of these requires the practice of movement(s) through higher intensities and/or volumes than the demands of standard daily activity. In other words, fitness requires efficient movement in order to be sustainable and yield progress.

Among the many barriers to any fitness goal, inefficient movement is the worst. If not addressed, it spreads and wreaks havoc on the overall kinetic chain. Why is this important? Because it’s the alignment of the kinetic chain which dictates transfer of power, stability, balance, and flexibility. Optimal performance cannot be had without these factors.

Unfortunately, we all have inefficiencies throughout our frame, resulting from years at a desk job, prior injuries, or just going about exercise in the wrong manner. Regardless of the primary cause, impatience or misinformation exacerbates this cycle of poor movement, which can lead to new injuries or aggravate an old one, stymieing overall progress.

As you can see, this issue is a difficult and convoluted one to tackle. Where do you start? How do you know what’s wrong with you? Are you moving well? Can/should you work through it? Which prehab/rehab method is best for you? Our latest column in Tabata Times seeks to help you answer these questions for yourself as well as educate the community about proper maintenance of the muscles and joints. Our group of professionals all possess extensive experience with the CrossFit community as athletes, coaches, and/or trainers and have experience in competitive sports. The broad perspective they offer will yield detailed insight regarding movement.

Meet Our PT Team

Missy Albrecht

DPT, CSCS, FMS| Physical Therapist/Coach

Missy graduated from Mount St Mary’s in 2011 with her DPT and now works as a physical therapist at ProWellness Southbay. She has been coaching at CrossFit Southbay since 2010, and also has experience doing strength and conditioning with sports teams. Although hesitant to try CrossFit at first, she is now a true believer in the varied movements and enjoys the team atmosphere that she had growing up playing soccer. At CrossFit Southbay, she currently does functional movement screenings for injury prevention and injury consulting for those trying to modify workouts while recovering from an injury. CrossFit has helped to combine her two passions: fitness and physical therapy. Her goal is to educate CrossFitters about their body in order to prevent injury and help them excel as athletes.

Stacey Hallarces

DPT, CES | Physical Therapist/Coach

Stacey graduated from University of Southern California DPT program in 2012. She has been a personal trainer since 2007 and currently coaches at CrossFit Mean Streets in Los Angeles, CA. She hopes to help others not only improve their movement, but to also not neglect taking care of their frames, as she has been guilty of in the past! Her experience with the high volume of CrossFit athletes is a valuable tool to help the community at large.

Matt Smith

ART, FMS, CPT, CES

Matt Smith is currently completing his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic West and has been working as a CrossFit Trainer and Personal Trainer since 2008. He has had the  opportunity to spend time working in many different gyms in and out of Crossfit, and currently coaches at CrossFit Palo Alto in Northern California. Says Matt:

CrossFit has had a huge impact in my life and I’ve grown so much from the experiences I have had and the people I have met in the last few years. I am incredibly excited to contribute to the efforts of this column to promote efficient, powerful, and most of all pain-free movement for CrossFitters everywhere.

Mike Chin

DPT, CSCS

Michael recently graduated from the New York University Doctor of Physical Therapy program.  Prior to PT school, he played collegiate tennis for UC Davis, was a student athletic trainer, and worked as a tennis coach and strength and conditioning coach for competitive junior tennis players.  Michael has always had a strong passion for health, wellness, and sports, and has found that CrossFit encompasses them all.  Michael hopes to lay down a framework for all systems of the body so that CrossFitters can have a long and healthy experience, as well as provide guidance with physical dysfunction along the way.

Whitney Welsch

PT, DPT, OCS

Whitney is a Physical Therapist for Select Physical Therapy’s Central Park outpatient physical therapy center.  Her clinical specialties include treatment of orthopaedic conditions, sport and spine, performance enhancement, treatment of the female athlete, and clinical mentoring. She completed a Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Regis University in 2006 and was the Chief Resident of the Evidence in Motion initial cohort of the Orthopaedic Residency prior to transitioning to a Fellowship program for Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy. In addition to having multiple CrossFit certifications, in her spare time Whitney competes in Olympic weightlifting for Coffee’s Gym in the 63kg weightclass, and is a frequent CrossFit competitor for RedBlack Gym and CrossFit Central and coaches group classes at CrossFit Central.