Claim OwnershipThe Ask Mike Reinold Show
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© 2026 Mike Reinold
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Answering all your physical therapy, fitness, strength and conditioning, sports performance, and career advice questions. Join me, Lenny Macrina, Dave Tilley, Dan Pope, Mike Scaduto, Lisa Russell, Kevin Coughlin, Diwesh Poudyal, and others from my team at Champion Physical Therapy and Performance in Boston, MA and learn how we help people feel better, move better, and perform better. Ask your questions at http://mikereinold.com/askmikereinold.
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Wouldn't it be amazing if an ACL tear can heal on its own without surgery? For sure, and there have been recent discussions about the Cross-Bracing Protocol and its impact on these injuries. But is this too good to be true? In this episode, we discuss the emerging cross-bracing protocol for non-operative ACL treatment, exploring its potential benefits and drawbacks. There is some skepticism about the protocol's effectiveness, but we discuss the importance of patient selection and quality of l...
Ten weeks to start throwing after UCL surgery sounds like a miracle timeline, until you’re the clinician staring at a stiff elbow, a deconditioned arm, and a protocol that assumes the athlete is further along than reality. We’re seeing more internal brace UCL repairs and fewer “classic” Tommy John reconstructions, and that shift is changing how baseball pitchers, gymnasts, and other overhead athletes move through rehab. We talk through what’s actually different about the internal brace proce...
We’ve all seen it: the acute ACL patient who drags their leg into the clinic, unable to squeeze their quad to save their life. We call it Arthrogenic Muscle Inhibition (AMI), and for years, we’ve treated it as a stubborn, long-term enemy. But a fascinating new study from the American Journal of Sports Medicine suggests we might be overcomplicating it. Researchers analyzed 300 acute ACL patients and found that while AMI is incredibly common (affecting over half of patients), it’s also surprisi...
We all have our favorite "go-to" exercises for patellar tendinopathy. For years, the single-leg decline squat has been the gold standard, often introduced early in rehabilitation to target the tendon. But what if I told you that this specific exercise actually places more load on the patellar tendon than running or double-leg jumping? A massive new study just analyzed 35 common rehabilitation exercises—from step-ups to plyometrics—and ranked them based on actual biomechanical load. The result...
The use of ChatGPT and other AI models has exploded in recent years, and you're starting to see this in most professions, including the medical profession. We've been using AI quite a bit at Champion for a variety of things and wanted to share our experiences. We go over some of the use cases as well as different models that we've tried with varying success We do think you should be using AI. It's an opportunity for growth. We dig into how AI actually helps us treat, teach, and stay current w...
Mike Boyle had a great discussion on Instagram several weeks ago about adults lifting to failure and using low rep schemes. It sparked a lot of arguments among people about which approach is best and whether there's always an answer to this question. We discuss whether adults should lift to failure on low-rep schemes in this week's episode. We'll go over what we do at Champion, how we mostly agree with this, and why we may work low reps for a very certain population for a specific reaso...
Surgeons are adding more lateral extra-articular procedures to ACL reconstructions, especially in young cutting and pivoting athletes. On paper, it sounds great—tighten up the anterolateral side, improve stability, protect the graft. But what does that actually mean for clinical outcomes and for how we manage rehab? A new Level 1 systematic review and meta-analysis just pulled together the randomized trials comparing isolated ACL reconstruction to ACL reconstruction plus a lateral extra-artic...
Wow, I can't believe it's been 10 years! It truly is an honor to be able to host a live episode celebrating the 10-year anniversary of our podcast. Thank you so much for listening all these years! In this episode, we'll answer live questions from an audience of listeners, reflect on some of our favorite moments of the podcast, and give out some prizes and special discounts to all the listeners! Special thanks to our amazing friends from Ancore, SmartCuffs, Suji, SportGrips, and mTrigger for d...
Quadriceps shutdown after ACL reconstruction is one of the biggest barriers we see in the clinic. Even with modern surgical techniques and “aggressive” rehab, too many athletes struggle to get their quad strength back, and that deficit shows up later in gait, loading, and confidence on the field. A new systematic review and meta-analysis just took a fresh look at neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) as an adjunct to ACL rehab. Does adding NMES actually move the needle on quad strength?...
There is substantial variability in rehabilitation protocols following PCL and meniscus repair surgery. There is often a conservative period where we minimize or avoid hamstring activity. Biomechanical studies show that hamstring activity can increase posterior translation of the tibiofemoral joint and potentially put stress on a healing meniscus repair. In this episode, we discuss the science behind this and how we integrate hamstring exercises into our rehabilitation protocols for these pat...
Baseball injuries continue to rise at an alarming rate. Over the years, we have seen the development of more advanced training velocity programs and pitchers that are focused on enhancing their performance during the offseason. This has led to a variety of development programs being performed over the offseason, which takes away from downtime and allows the body to heal after a long competitive season. In this episode, we talk about some of the science behind why you should take time off from...
Blood flow restriction training is gaining popularity, and new research continues to show benefits and potential new uses. We review a brand-new randomized trial examining a brief BFR session before exercise in patients with knee pain. The question: Can a quick change before you even start your main work meaningfully alter pain during the session that follows? The results nudged us to rethink how we open visits for athletes with anterior knee pain. Want the exact setup—and when it’s worth try...
If you treat a lot of knee pain, this week’s episode is for you. We review a new best-practice guide for patellofemoral pain that pulls together research, patient voices, and expert reasoning into one playbook. But here’s the twist: when you blend the data with what patients actually want and what clinicians really do, one deceptively simple priority rises to the top - something many of us already use, but probably not the way this paper suggests. I know we are changing what we do at Champion...
Returning to sport after an injury is always a challenge. In the profession, a lot of attention has been given to objective testing to determine when and how to progress athletes. This has been a significant evolution that will definitely improve outcomes. But what do you do when an athlete passes objective testing but not psychological readiness testing? We talk about what we do in this week’s podcast episode. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/what-to-do-when-...
There is no doubt that back and hip pain are often linked and sometimes confusing to diagnose. But sometimes it's hard to differentiate the two, and what may be the underlying cause versus the symptoms. We discuss in this week’s podcast episode. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/how-to-differentiate-between-hip-and-low-back-pain/ Learn our proven system for sports PTs who want to master ACL rehab, confidently progress patients, and guide athletes safely back to...
A meta-analysis was recently published, suggesting that outcomes may be the same between nonoperative and surgical reconstruction after ACL injury. Clearly, social media has been buzzing. But are outcomes really the same? We discuss this in this episode. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/are-the-outcomes-really-the-same-between-nonoperative-and-surgical-treatment-of-acl-injuries/ Learn our proven system for sports PTs who want to master ACL ...
One of the most essential parts of ACL rehabilitation is regaining strength in the leg. Traditionally, rehab specialists have been guilty of underloading people during the rehabilitation of these injuries. Ah, the old “3 sets of 10.” In this episode, we review a recent journal article that compares the outcomes of two different set and rep schemes during ACL rehabilitation. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/periodization-of-strength-training-after-acl-reconstru...
Hamstring strains continue to rise in sports. As we continue to learn more, the evolution of our rehabilitation programs has also evolved. Here are our current thoughts on how fast to progress athletes back to sports after a hamstring strain. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/how-to-progress-rehabilitation-following-hamstring-strains/ Learn our proven system for sports PTs who want to master ACL rehab, confidently progress patients, and guide athletes saf...
Objective strength testing is always important to document progress and ensure that patients are ready for the next phase of rehabilitation. But, when do you start testing strength with a hand-held dynamometer after rotator cuff repair surgery? We discuss on this episode of the podcast. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/when-to-test-strength-after-a-rotator-cuff-repair/ Learn our proven system for sports PTs who want to master ACL rehab, confidently progress pa...
Low back pain injuries are common in athletes, and often present differently than the typical orthopedic disc-related neurogenic pain. In this episode, we discuss a recent review article on the diagnosis and management of low back pain in athletes. It was nice to see this topic applied to a specific athletic population and include recommendations on treatment as well as evidence-based lifting modifications. To see full show notes and more, head to: https://mikereinold.com/evaluation-and-treat...
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What about the fact that the knee is swollen and may be a bit hot already first 2 weeks - Ud still use the heat pad before ?