PODCAST · health
Athletes First Performance Podcast
by Athletes First Performance
The Athletes First Performance Podcast is focused on improving the knowledge of athletes and healthcare professionals in the topics of sports performance and rehabilitation. The co-hosts, James Zotto, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS and Josh Fischer, PT, DPT, OCS, are both residency trained Physical Therapists who attended PT school together at the Medical University of South Carolina. We are by no means experts, but we do enjoy digging into the research in order to better our practice and improve patient outcomes. We are hoping this will be a great learning opportunity for all.
Episodes
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Ep. 29: Injury Risk Profiling
In this episode, we dive into injury risk profiling—a critical tool for assessing and mitigating injuries in athletes and tactical professionals. We break down how injury profiles, assessments, and biomechanics can identify potential risk factors for injury. You'll learn: ✅ Why human performance...
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Ep. 28: Rehab vs Reconditioning for Athletic Injury
Ep. 28: Discussing the importance of taking a reconditioning approach to athletic injury to get athletes ready for return to competition What You'll Learn: ✅ The key differences between rehab and reconditioning ✅ Why traditional rehab falls short for athletes ✅ How to train around injuries and...
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Ep. 27: Improving PT Outcomes in 2025
Improving PT Outcomes in 2025 1. Improving diagnostic ultrasound skills 2. Becoming certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) 3. Dialing in muscle force testing to become more objective during the rehab and reconditioning process The Musculoskeletal Imperative Enhancing Combat…
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Ep. 26: Implementing Human Performance Teams within the Military
In this week's podcast we talked about the barriers and facilitators to implementing injury prevention and human performance programs within the military. The podcast is based off the paper: Perceived barriers and facilitators to implementation of injury prevention programs in the military:...
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EP. 25: 5 Benefits of Working as a H2F PT
5 Benefits of Working as a PT for the Army H2F Program Direct Access Physical Therapists as Primary Care Practitioners No Insurance Limitations Working Within a Human Performance Team Education, Teaching, Training Thanks for listening! Message me @Athletes_First_Physio if you have any further...
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Ep. 24: Psychological Readiness for ACL Return to Sport
Griffin Zink, PT, DPT, CSCS joined the podcast to discuss psychological readiness for athletes returning to sport following ACL reconstruction. We reviewed his residency research project as well as his recently published article in Sports Health: The Influence of Strength and Sport Exposure on...
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Ep. 23: Navy Submariner to Human Performance Professional
Javy Ramirez, CSCS joined the podcast to discuss his journey from enlisting as a Navy Submariner, to making the rounds as a D1 football strength and conditioning coach, and ultimately finding his way back into the military setting to become a tactical strength and conditioning coach Topics…
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Ep. 22: ACL Reconstruction from a Surgeon's Perspective
Orthopedic Surgeon Paul Inclan, MD joined the podcast to discuss ACL reconstruction, rehab, return to sport, and prevention programs. Topics Include: Initial evaluation for athletes with an acute knee injury ACL graft type selection ACL rehab considerations for meniscus pathology Best ways that...
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Ep. 21: Performance Nutrition for Injury Recovery
Trevor Lomax joined the podcast to discuss performance nutrition for the injured athlete and soldier. Topics Include: Key concepts that every athlete or soldier should know about nutrition and injury recovery The nutrition pyramid by Eric Helms Supplementation to enhance performance and recovery...
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Ep. 20: Tactical Strength and Conditioning
Matt Matau, CSCS joined the podcast to discuss his career as a strength and conditioning coach, moving from the university setting to working with the Army as part of a H2F team. Topics Include: How to handle working with multiple teams as a college strength and conditioning coach The path to...
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Ep. 19: Finding your Niche with Nate Reynolds
We had Nate Reynolds, PT, DPT, OCS on the podcast to discuss how he has transitioned his PT career from outpatient orthopedics to home health, and now creating a cash PT practice where he specializes in treating Crossfit athletes and baseball players. Topics Include Transitioning to home health…
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Ep. 18: Improve Your Treatment of Patellofemoral Pain
In this episode we discuss the Patellofemoral Pain Clinical Practice Guidelines. Topics Include: Differential Diagnosis Objective Exam Techniques Functional Tests and Measures Classification Systems Treatment References: 1. Willy RW, Hoglund LT, Barton CJ, et al. Patellofemoral Pain: Clinical...
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Ep. 17: ACL Return to Sport Profiling
In this episode we discuss testing and profiling athletes following ALCR with Madi Franek and Brandon Surber. Topics Include Important considerations for strength testing athletes during ACLR rehab Practical applications for assessing explosiveness and reactive strength in the clinic Horizontal...
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Ep. 16: Hamstring Strain Injury in Athletes
To start off season 2 of the podcast, we broke down the new Clinical Practice Guidelines: Hamstring Strain Injury in Athletes. Topics Include Injury Incidence Pathoanatomical Features Risk Factors: Non-modifiable and Modifiable Evaluation Process Interventions Return to play References…
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Ep. 15: Bone Stress Injuries
In this episode, we discuss bone stress injuries in running athletes and military population. Topics Include What is a bone stress injury (BSI) Basic pathophysiology of BSI and healing, Epidemiology and risk factors Clinical dx and low vs high risk BSI, Overarching treatment plan mobility,...
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Ep. 14: Blood Flow Restriction Training
We break down the basics regarding blood flow restriction training in the clinic. Topics Include: Proposed mechanisms of BFR Safety Determining proper limb occlusion pressure and what works best for developing muscle strength and hypertrophy Exercise volume and determining proper load What type…
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Ep. 13: Pain Neuroscience Education
This episode is the last episode of our Pain Science Series. We discuss three different case studies on how to apply pain neuroscience education in the clinic. Thanks for listening and as always, please let us know if you have any questions, recommendations, or topics you would like us to cover!...
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Ep. 12: Drivers of Persistent Pain
This episode is the second of three episodes of our Pain Science Series. This week, we break down the drivers of persistent pain. Topics Include: Cup Overflow Analogy Control of Stressors Sleep Mental Health Fear of Movement Graded Exposure Thanks for listening and as always, please let us know…
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Ep. 11: Intro to Pain Science
This episode is the first of three episodes of our Pain Science Series. This week, we break down pain biology and try to simplify the pain process. Topics Include: Defining pain Breaking down the process of pain Pain modulation What causes odd pains? Central sensitization Thanks for listening and...
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Ep. 10: Athletic Low Back Pain
In episode 10 we discuses the evaluation and management of athletic low back pain. We talk about the differences between flexion and extension sensitive athletes and then take a deep dive into evaluation and treatment of spondylolysis in youth athletes. Topics Include: Initial evaluation for...
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Ep. 9: Lateral Ankle Sprain Rehab
In this episode we introduce the new clinical practice guidelines for managing lateral ankle sprains. We break down the CPG and discuss how we will be using the evidence to help improve our treatment for athletes/patients following a lateral ankle sprain. The flow of the podcast starts with...
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Ep. 8: Principles of Rehab
In this week's episode, we discuss our principles of rehab. We start with the history and the importance of defining the situation and activity to give us a good foundation of where we need to take our objective exam. Next, we talk about our 6 principles of rehab to help develop systems based...
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Ep. 7: Femoroacetabular Impingement
During this episode we provide an overview of hip femoroacetebular impingement syndrome evaluation and treatment. Topics covered include: Classifying different hip pathologies and defining FAI The Funnel Approach to assessing the hip Guiding principles for treatment General treatment options for...
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Ep. 6: The Control-Chaos Continuum in ACL Rehab with Madi Franek
In this episode we cover the control-chaos continuum and how it relates to late stage ACLR rehabilitation with Dr. Madi Franek. twitter: madisonfranek instagram: dr.madison.franek Topics Covered Include: ° Describing the Control to Chaos Model and how we can utilize this approach in our program...
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Ep. 5: The Throwing Shoulder with Wesley Talley
For our fifth episode, we are joined by Dr. Wesley Talley to talk about the examination and treatment of the shoulder in baseball players. Wesley has a background in working with overhead athletes both during his time in the ATI Sports Residency and in his current position with ATI in…
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Ep. 4: The Shoulder Exam & Treatment
During this episode we provide a general overview of how we examine and treat the shoulder. We are planning to have more in depth discussions on the shoulder coming up, so this just lays the foundation for those conversations. Topics covered include: The history Traditional vs. Current…
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Ep. 3: Physical Therapy Residency and Specialization
During this episode we discuss our orthopedic (University of Wisconsin) and sports residency (University of North Dakota) experiences and how it has impacted our careers. If you’re interested in learning more about the residency process or taking the OCS/SCS board exams, this is the podcast for...
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Ep. 2: Pre-op and Early Stage ACLR Rehab
Our second episode covers pre-operative and early stage rehabilitation after and ACL tear/reconstruction. We start by going into the preoperative phase speaking to evaluation, treatment, and education with a patient immediately after injury and in preparation for surgery. We then move into the...
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Ep. 1: Achilles Tendinopathy
For our first episode, we talk all things Achilles Tendinopathy. We go into the anatomy and physiology of the tendon and of tendinopathies, we then cover the history/exam, and, finally, we discuss the various management strategies for this condition. We hope you are able to take something from…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
The Athletes First Performance Podcast is focused on improving the knowledge of athletes and healthcare professionals in the topics of sports performance and rehabilitation. The co-hosts, James Zotto, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS and Josh Fischer, PT, DPT, OCS, are both residency trained Physical Therapists who attended PT school together at the Medical University of South Carolina. We are by no means experts, but we do enjoy digging into the research in order to better our practice and improve patient outcomes. We are hoping this will be a great learning opportunity for all.
HOSTED BY
Athletes First Performance
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Athletes First Performance Podcast have?
Athletes First Performance Podcast currently has 29 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Athletes First Performance Podcast about?
The Athletes First Performance Podcast is focused on improving the knowledge of athletes and healthcare professionals in the topics of sports performance and rehabilitation. The co-hosts, James Zotto, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CSCS and Josh Fischer, PT, DPT, OCS, are both residency trained Physical...
How often does Athletes First Performance Podcast release new episodes?
Athletes First Performance Podcast has 29 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Athletes First Performance Podcast?
You can listen to Athletes First Performance Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Athletes First Performance Podcast?
Athletes First Performance Podcast is created and hosted by Athletes First Performance.
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