Trent Salo is a widely respected physical therapist, strength & conditioning coach, and high-performance strategist and consultant.

He is the founder of The Tendon Lab, located in Traverse City, MI, where he leverages advanced tendon imaging to monitor Achilles and patellar tendon health, and then drawing up customized rehabilitation solutions for his athletes and clients.

Prior to The Tendon Lab, Trent served as the Senior Director of Performance for the Detroit Pistons, and later as Vice President of Player Health & Performance for the Charlotte Hornets.

Currently, Trent is pursuing a PhD focused on tendon health learning from the world’s leading researchers in human tendon health and adaptation.

In this episode we chat about all things tendons - the assessment tools available and adapting the current research frameworks into practical management strategies.

Be sure to look up Trent's work:

• Personal work: www.trentsalo.com
• The Tendon Lab: www.thetendonlab.com
• Traverse City Tendon Summit: https://www.traversecitytendonsummit.com/

00:12 Career Background and Tendon Health Insights

02:14 Current Focus on Tendon Science

04:30 The Tendon Lab: Bringing Professional Service to the Public

06:25 Diagnosing Tendinopathy: Imaging and Symptoms

10:58 Tools for Examining Tendon Health

15:28 Mechanical Properties and Function of Tendons

24:08 Metabolic Health and Tendon Pathology

26:19 Loading Interventions for Tendon Adaptation

28:14 Understanding Tendon Load Responses

28:44 Feedback Loops and Models in Tendon Training

30:44 Practical Applications and Proxies

33:12 Pain Monitoring and Tendon Adaptation

36:35 Loading Prescriptions and Methods

43:05 Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) in Tendon Health

45:35 Off-Season and In-Season Tendon Management

51:25 Upcoming Tendon Summit and Final Thoughts