CLIENT:
Colin S., Menands
TIMEFRAME:
July – September 2024
Restoring Full-Body Stability After Ankle Injury
Colin is a volunteer firefighter with the Menands Fire Company. In 2021, he was injured while fighting a house fire. He suffered injuries to his right ankle, including torn ligaments and cartilage. After surgical repair and physical therapy, Colin still wasn’t able to move well. He relied on friends and family to help him get around. To make matters worse, he couldn’t ride his beloved Harley Davidson.
CHALLENGE
Colin had suffered a severe and traumatic ankle injury, and despite two years of physical therapy and surgery that repaired the damaged structures, he still struggled to regain full function.
When we met, he was unable to walk without a severe limp or stand for longer than a minute.
APPROACH
First Session:
Conducted an assessment of his ankle range of motion and stability.
Identified severe limitations in ROM in Dorsiflexion, Inversion, and Eversion.
Applied Myofascial Release Techniques to his Superficial Backline, restoring ankle mobility.
Designed and implemented an ankle stability exercise routine and a strength routine to build on the stability gains.
Taught Colin how to perform the most essential human movement in existence which is the Deadlift.
Next 20 Sessions:
Monitored ankle function and increased exercise difficulty as he progressed.
Conducted a comprehensive movement assessment, identifying widespread instability as the primary issue, which wasn’t surprising given his long period of inactivity and natural joint hypermobility.
Designed and implemented corrective exercise routines to restore optimal contractile quality, mobility, stability, and strength of his entire body.
Introduced light cardiovascular exercise on a treadmill to rebuild endurance and confidence.
Built confidence in his Fundamental Human Movements and dramatically increased his strength in all of them.
RESULTS
First session:
After just one movement restoration session, we achieved a 75% restoration of ankle function, marking significant progress in mobility and stability.
Despite arriving with a severe limp and significant discomfort, Colin ended his first session by deadlifting a 203-pound kettlebell – by far the quickest and quite possibly most dramatic transformation I’ve been a part of.
Next 9 sessions:
We restored stability across all articular joints through targeted interventions, improving overall function and mobility.
By the 10th session, he was able to confidently climb a steep hill to his office that his ankle weakness had previously made impossible.
Next 10 Sessions:
Having successfully mastered all kettlebell movements in the program, Colin was able to progress to barbell exercises, including the Back Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift – an achievement that would have been unthinkable before his first session.
On his first Maximum Strength test with me, Colin deadlifted 365 pounds, squatted 335 pounds, and benched 225 pounds.
By session 20, he had lost 50 pounds !!
Colin became a dedicated member of the Men’s Strength and Conditioning Class, building significant strength.