Performance Therapy (ALTIS) - Course & Reflection

What I’ve written below is neither review nor summary. 

It is a reflection of both a weekend at ALTIS and Performance Therapy in general. 

The official title of the course was Performance Therapy - Lower Limb, with Dr. Gerry Ramogida, Andy Burke, Dan Pfaff and Dr. Brian Murer.

My relationship with ALTIS goes back over a decade, and yes, I have learned from Gerry, Dan and Brian multiple times over. I have taken many iterations of Performance Therapy courses, as well as several courses on joint pumping from various instructors. But this is my bread and butter, my wheelhouse. So continuing to learn, seek mentorship, and learn collaboratively is important to me.

Coaches have coaches. Psychologists have psychologists. This is no different.

Going into the weekend, a comprehensive digital package of written and course material was provided. Coming out of the weekend, however, many if not most of my biggest takeaways weren’t necessarily individual techniques or pieces of information.

My biggest takeaways were connections (cross-pollinations).

Connections between how we learn and how we practice. Between how we as practitioners develop and how athletes develop. Between what we learn about performance therapy and the room dynamics while we were learning it. And connections with each other.

This weekend didn’t merely teach us about Performance Therapy. The learning environment expressed many of its same principles.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.


The Transient Window

Performance Therapy: 
A transient window exists following an input where there may be increased receptivity to afferent information. This is an observed physiologic response interval where/when the athlete gets off the table and “stamps” in an active stimulus in a higher receptive state.


Learning: 
There is also a transient window after a course. The first few days after. Monday morning. Maybe even the week after. The information is fresh. We’re thinking differently. Connections are being made. It is here where we need to reflect with intent and practice with purpose.


Grab the information → study it → apply it → run with it.

The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

The weekend: 
Heavy hitters in the room. Gerry, Andy, Dan, Brian. Danny, Scotty, Shane, Jas. Along with his entire staff. And of course, Saul. But way too many to mention. Different backgrounds and expertise interacting.


The Performance Therapist: 
Multidimensional. More than one realm. Able to speak multiple languages— sports science, sports medicine, S&C, therapy. Endless skillsets.


Performance Therapy: 
Athlete + coach + therapist + s&c + environment + life stresses + training.

The individual pieces alone are incomplete. But the sum…it’s beyond 1+1.


“Sometimes we get so myopic and so rigid to the model that we lose the plot.” - Dan


The more we zoom out from our individual rabbit holes, the more we effectively see the big picture.


Upstream drivers. Downstream expressions: 
I write about this all the time. Look upstream with your assessment. Think down stream with you interventions. But also….The individual parts. The whole.


Currencies of communication

Learning:
Instructors with varied expertise. Attendees of varied backgrounds and environments. Different ways of explaining, demonstrating, questioning and learning.


Performance Therapy:
The athlete also communicates in different currencies.

Mechanics. Lifestyle. Words.
Nutrition. Sleep. Behaviour.


Then there is also communication amongst therapist, coach, s&c and everyone else involved.

Wear multiple hats. Speak multiple languages.

Sports science. Sports medicine. Strength and conditioning.


The performance therapist is often the “glue guy” and who can understand the different currencies.

Communication systems dictate tone. Pun intended.

Afferent → Efferent

If the athlete and his/her system isn’t in a receptive state, the output will have no chance. If we’re not bringing our best, how are we going to help the athlete?


For the athlete:

Quality of input → interpretation → output.


For the practitioner:

Quality of what we’re taking in → how we interpret it → what we give back to the athlete.


What we’re thinking about, focusing on, open to and the general tone of our thought, dictate how we receive what our athletes are showing and telling us.


Receptivity of the athletes’ system, both locally and globally, isn’t the only thing we’re trying to influence. Receptivity of ourselves, the practitioner, is also required.


Afferentability.


Mechanical efficiency + technical proficiency 

For the athlete:
We know this.


For the Performance Therapist:
One course attended and one certification earned does not an expert make.


Continuous usage. Practice with intent. In the trenches, the arena. Doing the work.

Mentorship. Guidance. Live, in person. With giants. And their shoulders to stand on.


Hands taught by hand. Not by computers.


Digital education is great. But it’s insufficient. Largely isolative. Often assumptive…that the skills you do possess are proficient.

We have the information. We’ve been collecting the manuals. We understand the principles.


Joint pumping is quite powerful when done well. Just ask the athletes. They’ll tell you whose hands have it.

But proficiency still requires practice, feedback and mentorship.


Coaches have coaches. Psychologists have psychologists. This is not different.

Techniques are variations. Principles are paramount.

In Performance Therapy:
Different therapists bring different expertise. Different techniques. Different backgrounds.

This is the best part. Bring your expertise to the table. It doesn’t matter what it is…as long as it falls in line with the principles. 

Team. Athlete centered. Communication. Dynamic, progressive, growth.


At this course, in this room was no different:

Different people. Different backgrounds. Different expertise.


What would the value be if everyone knew or did exactly the same thing? 

Bland and boring at minimum. Incestual intellect no doubt.


But when you have the exact replica of what we see on the track, on the field, in the gym (the performance trinity) together in one learning environment, organized around similar principles with one common goal, that’s truly what makes a course such as this so special.


The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.


Hats off to ALTIS.



Iteration

Like I said above, I’ve taken many iterations of Performance Therapy education. I’ve learned pumping and other similar techniques on many different occasions, from several different instructors. And I’ve studied under Gerry, Brian and Dan over the years.

With all of the above adapting and evolving over time. 

Yet that’s what true Performance Therapy is.


Iterative.


The athlete presents (directly/indirectly) → We assess → We intervene → We observe a response → We adapt → (hopefully) They improve → Cycle repeats.

The OODA loop.


Not only are we observing undulation, oscillation, rhythm, etc in the athlete, but we too are experiencing the same through learning experiences such as this. 


And when we “lock in” and study and practice with true intent…
→ AUXETIC EXPANSION! 


But it’s up to us, as Dan says:

“I don’t know how you speed learn wisdom.”


The weekend itself was an expression of Performance Therapy.