There’s a reason we’re called Sandbox Fitness & Therapy and not just Sandbox Fitness or Sandbox Therapy. It’s not only because we have both personal trainers and manual therapists in our studio. No, we are called Sandbox Fitness & Therapy because our personal trainers ARE manual therapists. We believe that true health comes from a multimodal approach to physical well-being. In English? True physical health comes from combining manual therapy WITH exercise.

So, when we think ‘Manual Therapy’ we usually think of rehabilitation and pain management. It’s a limiting thought that probably does more harm than good. Everyone can benefit from manual therapy, even if you haven’t sustained an injury, undergone surgery or experience chronic pain.

Likewise, when we think of ‘Personal Training’ we usually think of weight loss, muscle building and blasting muffin tops. Exercise is about so much more than aesthetics, even if you’re working one on one with a Personal Trainer.

 

So rarely do we think of the two together. Big mistake.

Most gyms (particularly Big Box gyms) hire trainers right off the street. Few of them come into the role with a well-established understanding of anatomy. Fewer still understand the complexities of how our muscles work together in an intricate series of nets, none ever working in true isolation.

Connections in our body run from the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes. Knowing how one net functions, and can impact a whole host of muscle groups, can mean the difference between facilitating an injury and preventing it altogether.

Yet, it’s not just about the knowledge that physical therapists bring to the training floor. It’s also about how they see things. The bigger picture, as it were. When a personal trainer watches a client squat, for example, they see and coach their client’s form if it’s off. A physical therapist doesn’t just see poor form but reads it as a series of cues. The same physical therapist can then get the client onto a table, treat inhibitions in the musculature immediately and instantly improve form.

Blending these two modalities is part of our DNA at Sandbox. When you come into our studio you won’t just find therapy rooms separate from our training floor. You’ll also find therapy tables smack in the middle of everything. They play a prominent role in what we do and here’s why:

Increased Range of Motion leads to better workouts and more calories burned

Even a client whose sole goal is weight loss or muscle building can benefit from working with a physical therapist/personal trainer. If your movements are inhibited by tight muscles or joint capsules, you are not taking your muscles through their full range. This means they aren’t working as long or as hard as they should. So, you’re missing out.

In this case, a personal trainer with a physical therapy background can immediately address any issues immediately, allowing you to get the most out of subsequent sets. Those benefits are achieved in that very workout. It doesn’t require you to leave, have the issue addressed and return to your next session ready to roll–saving time, saving money and giving you better results faster.

Proper form puts load on the correct muscles

There are a number of things that cause improper form. Lack of education when it comes to exercise, muscle imbalances, injury, joint issues and more. When we workout with improper form, we’re not only more likely to suffer an injury, but we’re also not working our muscles as optimally as we could be (if we’re working them at all).

Personal trainers can absolutely correct form, particularly when the issue is related to a lack of awareness or education on the client’s part. Sometimes people are new to exercising and they just don’t know how they should move or what they should feel.

However, if the issue is something deeper or more complicated, a trainer will likely need to refer out for help.

A personal trainer with a manual therapy background is not only better able to spot the cause of improper form, but they are able to treat it. This means you’ll get the right muscles firing much faster.

Immediate treatment and feedback lead to balanced movement patterns and more effective workouts, overall

Our bodies were mean to function in balance. However, because of sports, lifestyle and more, our musculoskeletal systems are often out of whack. (If you’ve worked out before, you likely noticed that one side of your body is stronger than the other.)

While this asymmetry isn’t inherently bad, initially, over time it can lead to pain, injury and mobility issues.

Best to get on top of it sooner rather than later.

Preventing future injury means spending more time crushing goals

This one speaks for itself. If you find yourself on the DL at any point in your training that’s not great for your goals.

Taking time off from your physical fitness is great when you’re sunbathing in the Maldives and getting the rest you need. However, prolonged periods of inactivity can have adverse effects on not just physical, but mental health as well.

Work with professionals who know exactly what they’re doing and you’ll prevent injuries long term. You’ll also be able to take care of potential injuries before they pose a real problem.

If you have an injury or pain, physical therapy combined with personal training will provide you with better rehabilitation rates that happen quicker and last longer

It’s true. Blind studies done for chronic lower back pain (with no identifiable cause) and knee pain (resulting from Osteoarthritis) found that subjects who received a combination of physical therapy AND exercise were more likely to experience lower levels of pain after their 8 weeks of treatment than those receiving physical therapy alone. Additionally, those who received both physical therapy and exercise as part of their treatment experienced less pain one year following the study and were less likely to require surgery overall.

So don’t waste a minute. Make your time count and make sure you get the most out of what you’re paying for.

Final Thoughts 

Ultimately, we believe that the best way to reach any physical goal is through the integration of physical therapy with personal training. It’s like buying a car and getting a free mechanic to go with it. Not only will a mechanic look and listen for signs that things are running optimally, but they’ll make tweaks along the way to prevent any major issues and fix any of the big stuff that does, inevitably, come along. It’s also nice just to have some company on a long journey.

One of our favourite physical therapy modalities is Fascial Stretch Therapy. It’s a pain-free, table based form of assisted stretching that helps improve range of motion. joint health, athletic performance, helps improve chronic pain, reduces anxiety and a plethora of other positives. To learn more about FST, check out one of our past blog posts on the subject. We regularly use it with our clients to help them get the most out of their workout.

If you’re interested in booking an assessment with any one of our personal trainers you can check them out here or book with us here.

You can also follow along with us on Instagram.

___________

References:

Deyle, G. D., Henderson, N. E., Matekel, R. L., Ryder, M. G., Garber, M. B., & Allison, S. C. (2000). Effectiveness of manual physical therapy and exercise in osteoarthritis of the knee. Annals of Internal Medicine, 132(3), 173.

Hando, B. R., Gill, N. W., Walker, M. J., & Garber, M. (2012). Short- and long-term clinical outcomes following a standardized protocol of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy and exercise in individuals with osteoarthritis of the hip: A case series. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, 20(4), 192–200.

Rachel MacPherson, B. A. (2022, February 22). What is range of motion and how does it improve your workouts? Verywell Fit. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-range-of-motion-and-how-does-it-improve-your-workouts-5215498

Şahin, N., Karahan, A. Y., & Albayrak, İ. (2017, August 9). Effectiveness of physical therapy and exercise on pain and functional status in patients with chronic low back pain: A randomized-controlled trial. Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6709610/