St. Pete Physical Therapy

11/26/2025

How Stress Slows Down Injury Recovery – And What You Can Do About It

Did you know stress can significantly impact your rehab progress? Here’s why:

-Cortisol & Healing: When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol – a hormone that can slow tissue repair and reduce collagen formation, making recovery less efficient.

-Pain Perception: Stress amplifies pain signals, making injuries feel worse and discouraging movement.

-Sleep Quality: Stress often disrupts sleep, and sleep is critical for muscle repair, hormone regulation, and overall recovery. Without quality rest, your body struggles to heal.

-Motivation & Consistency: High stress can drain your mental energy, making it harder to stick to your rehab plan.

What Can You Do?

Practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques to calm your nervous system.

-Prioritize better sleep habits – consistent bedtime, limiting screens, and creating a restful environment.

-Use goal setting and mental reframing to stay positive and focused.

-Seek professional support when needed – both for stress and physical recovery.

At St Pete Physical Therapy, we understand that recovery is more than just exercises – it’s about the whole person. If stress is slowing your progress, we can help.

DM us today to learn how sports physical therapy can support your recovery journey.

rehab

11/25/2025

Unlock Your Posterior Chain Strength with Deadlift Variations
Today’s video highlights three powerful deadlift variations that every athlete should know:

✅ Barbell Deadlift – A foundational movement for building posterior chain strength and overall power. Perfect for athletes looking to improve performance and reduce injury risk.

✅ Single-Leg RDL with Barbell – Adds a proprioceptive challenge while targeting the posterior chain. This variation enhances hip and core stability, making it ideal for sports requiring balance and unilateral strength.

✅ Single-Leg RDL with 3D Pro Strap (by Whatsthatstrap )– Elevates the challenge by demanding greater core engagement and stability. A great progression for advanced athletes focused on injury prevention and functional strength.

✅ Plyometric Deceleration RDL – A dynamic variation that introduces explosive power, higher stability requirements, and greater eccentric forces to mimic sport-specific demands.

At St. Pete Physical Therapy, we specialize in helping athletes move better, recover faster, and perform at their peak.

📲 Learn more at https://stpetept.com

11/24/2025

3 Common Strength Training Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Whether you're an athlete or an active adult looking to get stronger, these mistakes can hold back your progress—or even lead to injury. Here’s how to train smarter and safer:

1️⃣ Training Without a Plan

Winging your workouts leads to inconsistent gains and poor movement progressions.
Fix: Follow a structured program with clear goals. Commit to it for 4–8 weeks, track your progress, then re-evaluate and adjust. Consistency beats randomness every time.

2️⃣ Never Getting Close to Failure

If you always stop your sets way too early, you’re leaving strength on the table.
Fix: Use Reps in Reserve (RIR) to gauge effort. Mix up your sets, tempo, and load so you’re challenging your body appropriately. Strength happens when you push close to your threshold—safely.

3️⃣ Only Training What Feels Good

Only doing your favorite lifts leads to imbalances, plateaus, and higher injury risk.
Fix: Build a balanced program including push, pull, squat, hinge, carry, plus unilateral work. Strengthen your weak links—not just your comfort zones.

Need Guidance? We’ve Got You Covered.

At St Pete Physical Therapy, we offer:
✔️ Sports rehab
✔️ Strength & conditioning
✔️ Sports performance training
✔️ Injury prevention programs

You do NOT need an injury to work with a sports physical therapist.
Training smart now = fewer injuries later.

Ready to train with intention? Reach out to St Pete Physical Therapy.

https://stpetept.com/physical-therapy-treatments/sports-injury-prevention/

rehab

11/23/2025

Knee pain? Don’t just rest it—fix it.

Our sports PT team helps runners, lifters, and athletes get stronger, move better, and train without pain.

Stop guessing. Start rehabbing like an athlete at St Pete Physical Therapy.

https://stpetept.com/empowering-your-knees-unlocking-relief-through-physical-therapy/

Physical Therapy for Knee Pain: A Sports-Focused Guide to Recovery and Performance

11/21/2025

Who has the Best Form?

A) Makayla
B) Jen
C) Patrick
D) Stacy
F) Jan

rehab

11/20/2025

Small changes in barbell placement or hip position can completely shift which muscles you’re targeting. For athletes, understanding these differences is key for building balanced strength, improving performance, and reducing injury risk.

In today’s video, our sports physical therapists break down how simple adjustments change the training focus:

• Rear Leg Elevated Squat: Adding a hip hinge moves the emphasis from the quads toward the glutes, helping athletes develop stronger posterior-chain control.

• Barbell RDL: A more bent knee position increases quad demand, while keeping the knees straighter targets the glutes and hamstrings.

• Barbell Squats: Front squats shift load forward, challenging the quads. Back squats sit the load posteriorly, increasing glute and hip recruitment.

Whether you’re trying to improve power, correct strength imbalances, or return to sport with better movement patterns, targeted strength training matters.

Contact us for sports physical therapy and individualized strength coaching:
https://stpetept.com/physical-therapy-services/knee-pain-relief/

rehab

11/19/2025

Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s part of your training.

Why Sleep = Strength Gains

-Muscle recovery: Deep sleep triggers growth hormone release, helping muscles repair and grow.

-Performance boost: Well-rested athletes show faster reaction times, better endurance, and improved power output.

-Injury prevention: Lack of sleep increases fatigue, which can lead to poor movement patterns and higher injury risk.

-Cognitive edge: Sleep consolidates motor skills and learning—critical for improving technique and strength training efficiency.

-Hormonal balance: Adequate sleep regulates cortisol and testosterone, hormones essential for muscle growth and recovery.

Bottom line: Prioritize 7–9 hours of quality sleep—your rehab, performance, and strength depends on it!

https://stpetept.com/physical-therapy-treatments/sports-physical-therapy/

rehab

11/18/2025

Strong, stable shoulders are essential for softball and baseball athletes. Upper-extremity plyometrics aren’t just about power—they’re about building the reactive control and scapular stability that protect the arm through every throw and swing.

In today’s video, our sports physical therapists break down a progression of shoulder and scapular plyometrics designed specifically for overhead athletes:

1) Shoulder external rotation reactive stability with a medicine ball on the wall to challenge rotator cuff control through quick perturbations.

2) Medicine ball chest presses to train force production and dynamic upper-body stability.

3) Prone T ball drops and external-force ball drops for rhythmic stabilization and high-level posterior shoulder activation.

These drills help athletes improve arm speed, maintain mechanics under fatigue, and reduce injury risk during the season.

If you’re a throwing athlete looking to build a healthier, more resilient shoulder, our sports physical therapy team can help. Learn more at:

https://stpetept.com/physical-therapy-treatments/sports-physical-therapy/

11/17/2025

Cross Training for Runners: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Runners often focus solely on mileage, but the athletes who stay healthy, run faster, and perform at their peak all have one thing in common: consistent cross training.

Strength and plyometric training are two of the most effective tools for improving running performance. They directly influence running economy by improving force production, neuromuscular control, and tissue capacity. Stronger, more resilient muscles and tendons reduce the stress placed on joints with every stride, lowering injury risk and improving efficiency.

Cross training also fills the gaps that running alone cannot address. Targeted resistance training builds stability and power, while plyometric work enhances elasticity and speed. Together, they help runners move better, absorb force more effectively, and maintain form under fatigue.

When should you strength train?
Most runners benefit from 2 to 3 sessions per week, ideally scheduled on lighter run days or after quality sessions. Strength work should complement your training cycle, not compete with it, and should progress in volume and intensity just like your running.

At St Pete Physical Therapy, we specialize in running rehab and performance. We offer state-of-the-art running analysis using Runeasi , individualized strength and mobility programs, and comprehensive injury-prevention training to help you run stronger and longer.

Learn more about our running analysis packages on our website. If you are looking to improve performance or address a lingering injury, our sports physical therapy team is here to help.

DM us to get started or visit https://stpetept.com/physical-therapy-treatments/st-pete-running-analysis-packages/

11/16/2025

Knee Pain Holding You Back? We Can Help.

Knee injuries are one of the most common issues we see in athletes—whether you’re running, lifting, or playing your favorite sport. From ACL reconstruction to mild sprains, a structured, athlete-centered rehabilitation program is key to getting back stronger and safer.

At St Pete Physical Therapy, our sports physical therapists specialize in:
✅ Personalized knee injury rehab programs
✅ Strength, mobility, and movement retraining
✅ Sports-specific return-to-play plans
✅ State-of-the-art running analysis with .ai

Whether your injury requires surgery or conservative rehab, we help athletes restore strength, confidence, and performance.

Read our full blog to learn about our step-by-step approach to knee injury rehabilitation and why it’s essential for athletes:

➡️https://stpetept.com/rebuilding-strong-knees-physical-therapy-for-injury-rehabilitation/

Don’t let knee pain stop your game—schedule your sports PT evaluation today!

Are you experiencing a knee injury? Click here to learn how knee injury rehabilitation will help you on your road to recovery!

11/14/2025

Big congrats to Makayla — one of our elite sports physical therapists at St Pete Physical Therapy — as she heads to the floor tomorrow to compete at HYROX Chicago!

What’s HYROX?

HYROX is a unique fitness racing competition that combines endurance running and functional strength stations. Each athlete:

alternates 1 km runs with high-intensity workout stations (Ski Erg, Sled Pull, Sled Push, Burpee Broad Jumps, Rowing,Farmes Carry, Sandbag Lunges, wall balls) — eight rounds.

it requires strength, speed, stamina, and power — a true test of total athletic fitness.

Why this matters for YOU

When you come to St Pete Physical Therapy and choose sports physical therapy, you’re working with therapists who don’t just talk athletics — they live it. Makayla’s competing at HYROX means:

-She knows what it takes to train, compete, recover, and come back stronger.

-She brings that athlete-mindset into every rehab and performance session.

-If you’re a youth athlete, high-schooler, collegiate, runner, triathlete, or any sportsperson — you get someone who understands sport from the inside out.

Get the best sports physical therapy in St. Pete & Tampa

📍 Looking for elite rehab + performance? Contact us at St Pete Physical Therapy. Whether you’re recovering from injury or aiming to up your game, we’re here for you.
👉 Reach out and let’s get you back to sport, strong and ready.

Let’s all give Makayla a big shout-out and cheer her on in Chicago! 💪🏁

https://stpetept.com/our-team/physical-therapist/makayla-lawrence/