The 10 Principles Behind Every Rehab Plan We Build

Early on in the rehab process, the goal is simple: do more of what feels good, less of what hurts, and gradually reintroduce what once hurt. It doesn't need to be complicated. This allows things to calm down, lets you start to feel better, and lets us introduce higher demand slowly over time as the body adapts. Whatever hurts right now isn't off-limits forever, it can be scaled and built back up over time.

That approach comes from 10 principles we apply to every case we treat, no matter what "it" is:

1. Start with the end goal in mind. This lets us understand where you're headed and how we need to scale from #2 in order to get you there.

2. Find the highest entry point. The most you can do right now, one that may be uncomfortable but is tolerable, which lets us maintain capacity and build from there.

3. Address the functional deficits. What are the limitations caused by pain or injury, or what can we do to improve performance.

4. Graded exposure. Slowly introducing more reps, sets, intensity, and challenge, as long as it's tolerable, letting the body adapt over time and slowly raising the bar.

5. Don't poke the bear. Do less of what hurts or is too painful. Doing more to an already aggravated area will make it angrier, and even just continuing to touch or test the area can make it more sensitive.

6. Listen to pain. Use the stoplight system as information on dosage and workload, and whether a movement or activity needs to be adjusted or set aside for now.

7. Expect flare-ups. This is a conversation we have with every client when we get started, and it can't be stressed enough. Flare-ups are a normal part of the process and very rarely mean you're back at square one. Usually it just means we did a bit too much for the area, so we don't panic, we accept it, we get back to the basics, and adjust as needed. Progress is non-linear, more like a roller coaster.

8. Keep Plan B as close to Plan A as possible. If we need to pivot to reduce pain or workload and move in a different direction, it's not going to be drastically different from the plan we started with. We adjust and keep moving, and rarely abandon a plan.

9. Consistency is key. Doing the work consistently over time is what gets you the results you want. You have to invest in it and do the work, it compounds over time. Inconsistency leads to mixed results, frustration, and a never-ending cycle of pain and limitations.

10. Be patient. Things take time. When you plant a seed, you never see the roots and the network growing underground, but you still have to care for it and water it before anything shows up. The body works the same way, we're breaking down tissue in training and rehab, so it takes time, rest, recovery, and the right ecosystem for the tissue to adapt and results to show.

This is the framework behind everything we do, whatever you're dealing with, and whatever stage of rehab or training you're in.