Why Strength Athletes Can Benefit From Physical Therapy Before They're Injured

Most lifters only think about physical therapy when something hurts. But waiting for pain before you address movement inefficiencies or mobility issues is like waiting for your check engine light before doing maintenance — you’re already behind.

At Function Reforged, we see PT as part of your training system, not just injury rehab. The goal isn’t to fix broken athletes — it’s to build resilient ones.

Why PT Before Injury?

• Physical therapy helps you find weak links before they become problems.

• Regular movement screens identify compensations, asymmetries, or mobility restrictions that limit performance.

• The body is good at creating compensations, some of which are beneficial and some that aren't.

• Making sure that your mechanics are being optimized for your own body structure and the demands of your sport will help you keep injuries at bay and perform to the best of your ability.

Here is an example:

Let's say that you aren't setting your shoulder blades well for a bench press. Though this may not cause any pain right now, it can have potential negative effects down the road.

1. It can limit your pressing power or cause early plateaus.

2. It can put you at a higher risk for things like shoulder or pec injuries at heavier weights down the road.

Load Management and Longevity

• Lifters often equate “more” with “better,” but strength is built by managing stress and recovery, not just adding load.

• Constantly adding more weight or more reps without managing the outside factors that actually contribute to our improvements in strength and hypertrophy can lead to a higher risk for injuries. We want GAINS not PAINS.

• PTs understand the interplay between tissue capacity and training demand.

• Learning to autoregulate (via RPE, fatigue tracking, etc.) is a skill - one that is necessary to make consistent improvements over time.

Here is an example:

Let's say you are training for a powerlifting meet and have sixteen weeks (about four months) until the competition. If you aren't pushing your accessory movements, constantly overshooting your RPE, or maybe you aren't getting enough protein or sleep, you can be at a higher risk for injury.

Quick tip: Pushing accessory movements is one of they key ways to make sure tissues are adapting appropriately to have the strength response you want when you get to competition. They can also help build tissue resilience. Don't slack on your accessories!

Common Lifting Injuries and How We Can Try to Prevent Them

• Shoulder Pain on Bench Press

  • Maintaining adequate shoulder extension, horizontal abduction, internal rotation, and external rotation strength and range of motion.

  • Keeping the rotator cuff and scapular muscles strong.

• Elbow Pain on Squats

  • Maintaining shoulder external rotation and horizontal abduction range of motion.

  • Finding a grip that allows for both adequate lat activation AND some comfort.

  • Learning how to appropriately brace under the bar.

• Low Back Pain on Squats and Deadlifts

  • Making sure to have good spine flexion range of motion and strength through that range.

  • Make sure to have good ankle dorsiflexion and hip extension range of motion.

  • Learning how to brace and keeping the trunk and hips strong.

Although there are more common injuries, these are just some examples of common areas that are easily addressed during training to help reduce your risk of these problems occurring.

How to Integrate PT Into Your Training

• Schedule a movement screen once or twice a year - it's a great way to keep yourself accountable and have a consistent check-in with another set of eyes.

• Use PT guidance for warm-up and/or accessory work tailored to your weaknesses.

• Treat your physical therapist like part of your coaching team — they’re there to help you keep training hard, not slow you down.

• Make sure your PT is communicating with your coach and the entire team sees eye-to-eye!

You don’t have to be injured to see a PT. Function Reforged offers performance-based physical therapy designed for athletes who want to lift for life. Book a movement screen and build your foundation before pain forces you to stop.