In this episode Craig is joined by Dr. Jesse Elis, the director of player health and performance for the Portland Trail Blazers. Jesse leads all facets of the Trail Blazers medical and performance staff to provide preventative maintenance and rehabilitative health care to Trail Blazers players. Topics from this discussion include Jesse’s story, how he positioned himself to take on a very unique and rare role in the NBA, his advice and what it takes for someone to pursue a medical career in pro sports, the origins and true definition of load management, the most common NBA injuries and how they’re managed, and understanding the demands of basketball.

Jesse Elis has an extensive history in the realm of high-performance sports model and rehab to performance integration. He is the Director of Player Health and Performance for the Portland Trail Blazers. Elis leads all facets of the Trail Blazers medical and performance staff to collaboratively provide preventative maintenance and rehabilitative health care to Trail Blazers players. In addition, he works closely with the team’s athletic trainers, physicians, strength and conditioning specialists, nutritionists, psychologists and sport performance specialists to integrate rehabilitative concepts into performance training. Prior to Trail Blazers, he was the Director of Physical Therapy for EXOS and managed the rehab teams for all EXOS legacy sites. He received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of North Dakota (2009) and a 3 year post-doctorate fellowship through Evidence in Motion. His credentials also consist of broad certifications in both sports and orthopedics along with having a CSCS designation. In addition, he is part-owner of a continuing education company, Phoenix Manual Therapy, which specializes in high-level clinical reasoning and manual therapy integration.

Enjoy!

-The Prehab Guys

Guests: Dr. Jesse Elis PT, DPT, FAAOMPT, OCS, SCS

Email: jelis313@gmail.com

Instagram: @physio_elis

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-elis-pt-dpt-ocs-scs-comt-cscs-faaompt-57b96533/

Jesse’s Resources:

Phoenix Manual Therapy: https://www.phoenixmanualtherapy.com/

Articles mentioned in the podcast:

Bittencourt NF, Meeuwisse WH, Mendonca LD, et al. Complex systems approach for sports injuries: moving from risk factor identification to injury pattern recognition-narrative review and new concept. Br J Sports Med 2016;50:1309-14

Dye SF. The pathophysiology of patellofemoral pain: a tissue homeostasis perspective. Clin Orthop Relat Res 2005;100-10.

Mueller MJ, Maluf KS. Tissue adaptation to physical stress: a proposed ”Physical Stress Theory” to guide physical therapist practice, education, and research. Phys Ther. 2002;82:383-403.

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