Smith Performance Center Blog
Your Trusted Physical Therapy and Strength Training Blog for Injury Rehab and Pain Management
Welcome to the physical therapy blog from Smith Performance Center—your source for expert guidance on injury recovery, pain management, strength training, and sustainable health habits. Whether you’re managing chronic pain, recovering from surgery, or building long-term fitness, our team shares actionable strategies backed by clinical experience and real-world success. Stay up to date with new posts on rehab phases, movement progression, exercise programming, and the science behind making healthcare work for you.
How Much Protein Should I Eat? Why the Answer Depends on More Than a Number
Protein is important for resistance training, recovery, and muscle growth, but eating more protein does not solve every nutrition problem. This article explains why consistency, energy intake, meal structure, and overall fueling have to come before obsessing over protein numbers or supplements. If you are training hard but still feeling tired, sore, under-recovered, or stuck, the issue may not be protein itself but a mismatch between your nutrition, recovery, and training demands.
Dietitian vs Nutritionist vs Sports Dietitian: What’s the Difference (and Who Do You Actually Need?)
Most people looking for nutrition help face the same issue: too much information and no clear way to choose the right professional. The terms nutritionist, dietitian, and sports dietitian are often used interchangeably, but they represent very different levels of training and expertise. Choosing the wrong one can slow progress, especially with fatigue, injury, or performance issues. This article breaks down the differences and shows how nutrition fits into a larger system of recovery and performance.
Why Runners Keep Getting Shin Pain and Stress Fractures
Shin pain from running often returns when physical capacity rises faster than tissue and energy capacity. This mismatch drives shin splints and stress fractures.
The Myth of “Muscle Tightness” And What Actually Is
Past Your Prime Podcast – Episode 53 Listen on:Spotify | Apple | Youtube “Tightness” is one of the most common complaints people describe after pain or injury. But tightness is a description, not a diagnosis. When someone is thinking about tightness vs stretching, there is an assumption that symptoms of tightness mean you need to stretch. In this episode of Past Your Prime, Craig and Alex discuss why the term “tightness” often causes confusion and why stretching is not always the solution people think it is. Using examples like hamstring tightness, the conversation breaks down what may actually be happening in the body. Instead of assuming muscles are simply short or inflexible, this episode explores the different systems that influence mobility and movement. Topics include: If you have ever
Returning to Sports as an Adult: Why It Keeps Falling Apart
Past Your Prime Podcast – Episode 52 Listen on:Spotify | Apple | Youtube Returning to sports as an adult often feels harder than it should. You finally get back into basketball, volleyball, running, or lifting. Things go well for a few weeks or months. Then something breaks down. A knee flares up. The calf tightens. The shoulder starts barking. Eventually you stop again. Then the cycle repeats. Most people assume this happens because they are getting older or because their body is fragile. But the reality is usually much simpler. Most people restart their sport without adjusting the standard they use for returning. They return using the same assumptions they had when they were 21. This episode of Past Your Prime breaks down why this happens and how to
Why Rehab Feels Like Chasing Injuries
Why does one thing finally start to feel better… and then something else decides to hurt?
It can feel like you’re chasing injuries. Like you calm one fire down and another pops up.
Is that bad rehab? Or is that actually how complex systems work?
In this episode of Past Your Prime, Craig introduces the concept of Layered Pathology, the idea that injuries build in layers, and when one layer improves, the next one becomes visible.
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