Hercules Performance and Physical Therapy

03/24/2025

03/11/2025

What is Prehab & Why Do You Need It? 🤔

Do you actively work to avoid injuries in your sport? Or are you just hoping for the best?

Prehab isn’t just some extra stretching—it’s a proactive plan to keep you strong, mobile, and injury-free so you can stay in the game longer.

Just like blood pressure and blood sugar have healthy norms, your joints and muscles have baseline strength & mobility levels they need to function at their best.

🔹 Functional movement = better performance & fewer injuries
🔹 Better ROM & strength = more power & resilience in your sport
🔹 Hercules Prehab = targeting common injury spots BEFORE they happen

The key? Prehab needs to be specific to YOU and YOUR sport. Stop guessing—start training smarter. Test your mobility & strength monthly and keep yourself at the top of your game.

1x a month of a through diagnostic of your joints and muscles + 2-3x a week of 20-30 min of prehab work= avoiding sidelines and surgery....sounds like a solid deal to us!

🚨 Don’t wait until you’re sidelined by an injury you could’ve prevented. Click link below to set up a FREE Discovery Call and let’s build your plan!

https://hubs.ly/Q03bhzFJ0

03/06/2025

🚨 15-30% of Youth Athletes Reinjure Their ACL—Here’s Why:

If your athlete is recovering from ACL surgery, don’t assume all PT is the same. The truth is, most traditional rehab stops at strength & jogging. But here’s the problem…

⚠️ Football, lacrosse, and soccer aren’t played in straight lines.
⚠️ Cutting, pivoting, and reacting at game speed are CRITICAL.
⚠️ If their rehab isn’t preparing them for that, they’re at HIGH risk for re-injury.

This is why 15-30% of young athletes re-tear their ACL—often because their rehab wasn’t sports-specific enough and definitely not objective enough (topic for another day). Too many return underprepared… and end up back in surgery.

At Hercules PPT, we train ACL recovery like a sport—because that’s exactly what it is. Your athlete needs:

- Game-speed agility & cutting drills
- Explosive strength & power work
- Confidence in their movement to return 100% ready

If your athlete is rehabbing an ACL injury, make sure they’re getting the right training and rehab to return STRONGER & SAFER.

📲 Follow us for expert ACL rehab tips & schedule a 15 min discovery call by clicking link below to learn how we can help!

https://hubs.ly/Q039GJcr0

03/03/2025

🏃‍♀️ Low Back Pain Keeping You from Running & Playing with Your Kids? Let’s Fix That!

For two years, this active mom struggled with low back pain while running—making it tough to train and even harder to keep up with her kids (who are competitive soccer and lacrosse players). She didn’t want to sit on the sidelines—she wanted to be in the action.

After a discovery call and intial assessment, we found:
🔹 Spinal stenosis causing irritation with extension & rotation
🔹 Weak glute control on the right side, leading to poor back mechanics
🔹 Compensations that were driving pain with every run

So here’s the plan for her 1st of 6 sessions over a 3 month Plan of Care:
✅ Dry needling to activate glutes & calm the pain
✅ Glute-focused strength work (single-leg hip abductions & glute bridges)
✅ Progressive rehab to rebuild control & get her back to running pain-free

If pain is holding you back from the sports & activities you love—your kids want you out there with them. Don’t let another season pass you by.

📲 Book a FREE 15 min Discovery Call today! Your kids want you out there with them. Use the link below to get started.

https://hubs.ly/Q0390r110

02/28/2025

🏄‍♂️🏋️‍♂️⚾ Is Your Shoulder Mobility Holding You Back?

If you’re a surfer, lifter, baseball player, or volleyball athlete, your shoulders NEED full range of motion to perform at your best. Missing mobility = lost power, poor mechanics, and increased injury risk.

Here’s a quick test to check your overhead mobility:
1. Find a wall and lean into a mini wall sit
2. Raise both arms overhead
PASS = Flat back, hands touch the wall, elbows straight
BONUS = Hands reach your ears

❌ Struggling to pass? You’re likely missing key mobility—which could be limiting your performance AND causing pain or injuries. Let’s fix that.

👇 Click the link below to schedule a free 15 min Discovery Call to begin your journey toward a stronger and pain free shoulder for your sport!

https://hubs.ly/Q038L26K0

02/27/2025

STOP waiting for pain and injury to just resolve on its own!

We had a lady the other day tell us, that she does rehab by scrolling through social media and doing random exercises from a bunch of accounts! I can guarantee you, that won't work!

That is like grab parts from multiple brands of cars and jig sawing them into one Frankenstein of a car... we will not be buying that car.

Heres the problem- you are an individual with a sport history, with previous injuries, with different nutrition needs, with different starting level of exercise knowledge, etc

Pain and injury require a personalized approach to solve.

Professional athletes and the most successful people on the planet know this...thats why they have mentors and coaches. Even PTs have PTs to help.

No more guessing and delaying. Let's be honest, how many saved rehab videos do you have that you haven't watched or taken action on anyway.

🔥 If this is you, comment "LET’S GET STRONG" below to hop on a call with a doc of PT so you can get back into the gym and your favorite sports.

02/26/2025

STOP walking around with nerve pain!

Imagine not being able to walk without sharp, shooting pain down your leg. That was the reality for this client after a herniated disc left them struggling with severe sciatic nerve pain. Fearing surgery, they turned to Hercules PPT—and now? Pain-free, back to working out, and feeling stronger than ever! 💪

🔹 No more nerve pain
🔹 Avoided surgery
🔹 Back to a normal, active life

This is why the right rehab matters. You don’t have to live with pain, and you don’t have to stop doing what you love. If you’re dealing with back pain, sciatica, or injuries slowing you down—we can help.

📲 Book a FREE 15 min Discovery Call with Dr Alec, PT, DPT, CSCS, Cert DN today! Click the link below to get started:

https://hubs.ly/Q038qL-Y0

02/25/2025

Should You Train Through Pain? Here’s What You Need to Know!

We get this question all the time— "Should I work out if I'm in pain?" or "Will this make my injury worse?" The answer? It depends (got to love the grey area)—but in most cases, you CAN keep training as long as you're smart about it.

Here are 4 pain guidelines to follow so you can keep making progress without causing more harm:

✅ No Numbness, Tingling, or Burning
If pain is radiating down your arm or leg, it’s a sign to modify what you’re doing.

✅ Pain Under 3/10
A little discomfort is okay, especially for tendon issues—but if your pain is above a 3, we need to adjust.

✅ Pain Calms Within 24-48 Hours
If you’re still feeling worse two days later, that’s a sign you may be pushing too hard.

✅ No Changes in Movement Due to Pain
If pain is forcing you to alter form, we need to find a better way to train.

This last one is key—but it’s hard to assess on your own. That’s where a skilled PT comes in. If pain or injury is keeping you from training, let’s get you back on track.

📲 Book a FREE 15 min Discovery Call today to get back into your sport pain free! Click the link below to book:

https://hubs.ly/Q03899dT0

02/21/2025

🏋️‍♂️ Powerlifting, Pain, & Biomechanics: Lifting Smarter, Not Just Harder

Powerlifting is the ultimate test of slow strength—grinding through heavy squats, bench, and deadlifts with precision. But what happens when hip pain, aches, or stiffness start creeping in during a prep cycle? Do you push through it? Or do you work around it—smarter?

Understanding biomechanics was a game-changer in my own training. Instead of forcing through pain, I adjusted squat positioning, bracing mechanics, accessory hip imbalance training, footwear, and movement patterns to keep training heavy while allowing my hip to recover. The result? I didn’t have to back off intensity—I just had to lift differently.

Here’s how a PT who understands powerlifting can help you stay in the game:

✅ Modify stance, bar position & squat mechanics to offload painful areas
✅ Address movement inefficiencies so you’re not compensating under heavy loads
✅ Bulletproof weak links—whether it’s hip mobility, core control, or glute activation
✅ Keep you training through pain with smart adjustments, not just “rest & hope”
✅ Plus...a bit of manual therapy with dry needling to take the edge of the pain when it does pop into training

Powerlifting comes with challenges—aches, pains, failed reps, plateaus. But with the right approach, you don’t have to choose between pain or progress. You can have both. You just need a game plan.

🔥 Dealing with pain in your squat, deadlift, or bench? Let’s fix it. "Book a free 15 min discovery call today to get you back in the gym without pain! Use the link below:

https://hubs.ly/Q037KwTB0

02/19/2025

🎯 Custom Plans. Real Results.

At Hercules PPT, we don’t do cookie-cutter programs. Every session is planned with purpose—just look at today’s whiteboard!

Why???- because we actually care about getting you to your goal, not the generic goals set by insurance.

We work with people who want to get back to pickleball, golf, pilates, fitness classes, football, etc. Get off the toilet as a goal is NOT the actual goal for many of our athletes (even though insurance may say that).

So whether it’s:
🏃 Returning to fitness after an injury
⚽ Getting back to the sport you love
💪 Optimizing long-term health as a Longevity Athlete*

We build a custom plan tailored to YOUR specific goals and needs. Most places hand out generic routines—but we create strategies that get YOU back on the field.

Ready to see the difference? Book a Discovery Call Today by DM us "Lets get started"

*Longevity Athletes are adults focused on thriving for the long term—not just living longer but living better! Stay tuned for more on our longevity athletes!

02/18/2025

💪 From Injury to Comeback

Meet a 14-year-old competitive soccer player who faced an MCL injury. His parents trusted Dr. Alec Spano and the Hercules PPT team to guide his recovery—and now he’s back on the field stronger than ever!

-Personalized PT plan with in-person sessions
-Easy-to-follow custom home workouts through our app
-Real-time feedback & adjustments for faster progress

In just 5 weeks, he regained confidence and strength, proving that the right rehab plan makes all the difference!

Parents, is your youth athlete struggling to get back on the field after an injury? Let’s get them back to doing what they love—pain-free and stronger!

📲 Book a FREE 15 min Discovery Call Today with a Doc of PT, specializing in sports rehab and performance! Click the link below to set up the call.

https://hubs.ly/Q03753x30