Interview with Julia Juliusson

The world of sports medicine is fascinating. SSL has a great relationship with Julia Juliusson, a physical therapist whose has been practicing for 22 years.

Since 1987 you’ve seen some significant changes in Sports Medicine. Please describe some of those changes.

How we train our athletes has changed dramatically. We’ve gone from basically nonfunctional types of training methods to very functional training methods.

Could you please give an example of ‘Nonfunctional Training?’

We call it ‘Open Chain Training.’ When the limb is just swinging in the air like you’d see on a traditional knee extension machine. You’re just kicking your leg up and down. [Physical therapists] figured out after a while that wasn’t helping a lot of athletes because we really don’t do that in sports.

Why doesn’t this work?

Basically, when your foot hits the ground is how your limb works. Your muscles work very differently when the foot is on the ground than when the foot is off the ground. We started changing the strategy of how were training the quads, the hams and calf, applying the foot to the ground and then using those methods.

Is this method used by all physical therapists of is it specific to sports medicine?

You find it in sports medicine, we’ve changed the way we train people. Other physical therapists still use nonfunctional training methods.

You see people with a variety of injuries. What is the most common injury that you help treat?

I see a lot of strains and sprains in the knee. I help treat tendinitis, bursitis, and ligament problems. Secondarily I see a lot of shoulder injuries, and I help treat people with back issues.

Why do you see so many knee injuries?

I see a lot of cartilage problems because of contact sports like football. I see a lot of break down in the knee joints. I also see a lot of young women with ACL and ligament problems because the girls are not being trained properly by their coaches and sports clubs.

How do help get these young women back on the road to recovery?

You have to help them change their mindset; you have to teach them a new way. Many times they’re coming from backgrounds that use nonfunctional forms of training. Then we have to change what they’re doing. Working on strength and biomechanics gets them back on track.

Please give some examples.

We have to look at their biomechanics. We have to make sure they’re playing their sport correctly. We have to check to make sure that they’re throwing correctly. If they are a swimmer then we need to make sure their swimming stroke is biomechanically correct. If they are a runner then we check their running mechanics. We find that many people need to change their biomechanics because there was something wrong before.

How would you design the perfect workout program that would prevent sports injuries?

I’d start right here at Sport Science Lab! This training is the foundation for many, many, many sports, pretty much all sports! The balance training, the proprioceptive training, the neuromuscular training and the isokinetic machine are universal for all sports. If all the athletes did this, there would be fewer injuries. The problem is that not enough athletes are using or we get them after they’ve been injured.

Why do you think so many people still use conventional weight training
methods?

It’s been that way for 30 plus years, it’s the mold. The coaches who were trained in the 50s and 60s are using the methods that they were trained with. We have to break the mold.

Do you see that mold breaking anytime soon?

If we can get more people to experience the great benefits SSL has to offer, then yes. We have to move away from Olympic-style weightlifting which is not helping people in their sports.

Let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. How do you respond to the people who say that there is no medical proof to support your claims against conventional weight lifting?

Plenty of people do make that argument. I hear, “The lower you go the better it is”, or “The more weight you put on the better it is.” You have to look at the physiology of it and then you have to look at how that person is playing their sport. If the person is getting injured with ligament and meniscal damage and they’re not excelling at their sport then something is generally wrong. It’s either with the way they’re training or their biomechanics. It comes down to cause and effect. If you’re doing squats and you’re not getting any better then squats aren’t helping you. Inherently you can become great at doing squats, but is that going to make you a good runner, a good swimmer, a good cyclist or a good football player?

Let’s get back to you. What’s the most rewarding part of your job? Is
there one patient who stands out more than the rest?

I love making people feel better. Over 22 years I’ve helped thousands of patients and each one is special. I run into people I’ve treated years ago and they’re still doing great. That is probably the most rewarding part!

What is the biggest challenge you’re facing?

Convincing people that squats are not always the best training method. It’s hard to break that mold. While people argue that there’s no proof that Olympic weightlifting hurts you, there’s no proof that it helps you either. The biggest problem is that very few people can perform a squat with perfect form. So, you see a lot of people squatting with imperfect form and putting their joints and tendons are put under too much stress.

Julia, it’s been a pleasure. Thank you for your time and good luck breaking the mold.

Thank you, have a nice day.

Click here to read another interview with another SSL athlete.