SPOONER BLOG
How to Stay Healthy as a Paddler
Whether you’re powering through a dragon boat race, gliding across the water in a kayak, or enjoying a peaceful morning on a paddleboard, preparing your body before you hit the water is key to performance and injury prevention. Paddling demands strength, endurance, and mobility, making a proper warm-up essential for loosening up muscles, increasing circulation,[…]
Quick 5 Minute Warm-Up for Climbers
By: Elli West, OTD,OTR/L and Derrick DeBenedetto, PT, DPT, CAFS
Climbing pushes both your body and mind to new limits, whether you’re bouldering, sport climbing, or speed climbing. Each discipline comes with its own unique challenges, but one thing every climber can agree on is the importance of a solid warm-up.
Unlike other sports, climbing demands both strength and precision—especially[…]
A Week in the Life of a Phoenix Rising Athletic Trainer
By: Rafael Lopez, MS, LAT, ATC
“Throughout my career, athletic trainers have had a big impact in preventing injury. (It’s important) for athletic trainers to really get across the importance of doing the preventative things: the exercises, the rest, the ice, the stretching. But also from a standpoint of once the injury takes place, making sure you’re[…]
What is the Difference Between Headaches and Migraines?
By: Ben Kelto, PT, DPT, CSCS, OCS
Head pain can range from annoying to completely debilitating. They can be a minor inconvenience throughout your day, or they can be so extreme that you have to lay down in a dark room for hours and hours. At any level, no one wants to experience it. So, what do we do?
According to[…]
Hypermobility in Athletes: Strength Over Stretching
For gymnasts, dancers, and cheerleaders, flexibility is often seen as the ultimate advantage. Being able to hit 180-degree splits, have beautiful lines, and contort the body to flip and jump in the air can make all the difference in performance. But what if that extreme flexibility is actually working against them? Hypermobility, a condition where[…]
Train Smarter, Not Harder
By: Alix Sigrist, PT, DPT, CSCS
No Pain, No Gain! Right? When looking for direction on how to train for a sport or what exercises you should do to enhance strength, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of guidance on just how much you should train (especially in terms of reps and sets), and TikTok videos and Instagram Reels[…]
How Physical Therapy Empowers Firefighters
As kids, we imagine firefighters as heroes rushing into burning buildings to save lives, ending with cheers of gratitude. What we rarely consider is the immense strength, stamina, and mental focus required to dedicate oneself to this high-risk, public service profession. Just as professional athletes need to keep themselves healthy to win a championship, public[…]
Why The Huddle is the Must-Attend Event of the Year for Sports Professionals
When was the last time a conference truly transformed how you approach your work? The Huddle Sports Medicine Conference isn’t just about sitting in lectures, it’s about immersing yourself at the leading edge of sports medicine, where collaboration and actionable learning takes center stage.
Attendees describe it as a one-of-a-kind experience:
“Everyone here is so open to learning,[…]
How Sports Residencies Can Advance Your Career
By: Kaitlyn Keyser, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS
PT Students or PTs looking to elevate your practice, have you considered residency? Don’t know how or where to start?
We have advice to help you. We spoke with Kaitlyn Keyser, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC, CSCS, to learn about her decision to pursue a Sports Residency and how that experience led her from[…]
Caring for the Competitive Dancer Who Never Stops
By: Kimberly Wolf King, PT, DPT
If you’re a competitive dancer, you know there’s no such thing as an off-season. Competitions, classes, conventions, company rehearsals, master classes—it’s a constant, year-round cycle. And while you might love every moment of it, that non-stop grind can take a serious toll on your body.
Unlike other athletes, dancers don’t just play one “position.” You[…]
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