The 3 Biggest Rehab Mistakes Keeping Hoopers in Pain
The rehab and performance industry is full of quick fixes—programs that promise rapid results, rehab exercises that offer immediate (although temporary) relief, and mobility drills that make you feel better for a few minutes but do nothing to fix the underlying problem.
I know this because I fell for all of it. I spent years doing all the "right things"—stretching, foam rolling, hitting the weight room—only to feel tighter, more restricted, and stuck in chronic pain.
How are we stretching all the time and never feeling ‘loose’?? Make it make sense.
In this post, I’ll break down the three biggest training mistakes I see hoopers make (and mistakes I made myself) that lead to stiffness, pain, and breakdowns. If you’re constantly dealing with pain, it’s time to switch things up.
Why Imbalance Creates Pain in Hoopers
The human body is meant to distribute force efficiently. When you run, cut, jump, or land, your muscles should absorb and transfer force seamlessly.
But when muscle imbalances develop, force gets stuck in joints instead of being properly handled by muscle systems. Think of it like a car with unaligned wheels—eventually, something’s going to break down.
With these muscle imbalances, two things happen:
1️⃣ Overworked muscles become tight, shortened, and high-strung. They’re constantly compensating and taking on too much load.
2️⃣ Underworked muscles become weak, inactive, and lose their connection to the nervous system. If you don’t use it, you lose it.
Because you can feel the overworked muscles (tight hamstrings, sore lower back, achy knees), you focus on stretching and foam rolling them to relieve tension. But that’s like giving someone in the desert a cup of water instead of driving them home—a temporary fix that doesn’t solve the root problem.
So what happens? You chase relief without fixing the imbalance.
That’s why most hoopers get stuck in the same pain cycle.
Mistake #1: Doing Long Static Stretches Before Workouts
Why It’s a Problem:
Stretching a muscle that’s already overworked and high-strung is a biomechanical nightmare. It’s passive, shuts down your nervous system, and leaves you weaker.
Think of your nervous system like an engine. Before a workout, you want it in “high-performance” mode. Static stretching puts it into “rest mode.” That’s the opposite of what you need before training.
📌 What to do instead:
✅ Breathwork & posture resets to get your body aligned before loading it
✅ Active drills that increase circulation and fires up your nervous system
✅ Dynamic warm-ups that prime your movement patterns
(And if you think stretching, aka elongating a muscle is the answer, that’s another blog post for another time - drop a comment if you’d like to know more)
Mistake #2: Foam Rolling Doesn’t Fix Dysfunction
Why It’s a Problem:
Foam rolling feels good temporarily, but it doesn’t create any lasting changes to your muscle tissue or myofascial network.
A peer-reviewed study (Cheatham et al., 2015) found that the effects of foam rolling last about 20 minutes—which is why you feel better right after, but the tightness always comes back.
You’re not fixing anything.
Rolling over a muscle that’s overworked and compensating might give it some relief, but if you don’t activate the muscles that aren’t working, you’re just reinforcing dysfunction.
📌 What to do instead:
✅ Identify the muscles that aren’t doing their job (glutes, deep core, feet)
✅ Activate those muscles with targeted drills
✅ If you need a trigger point release, use the lacrosse ball. [Playlist here]
Mistake #3: Strength Training Isolated Muscles Instead of Movement Patterns
Why It’s a Problem:
Most hoopers train like bodybuilders. We chase PRs, lift heavy, get stronger, and… feel worse on the court.
How does that make sense?
Because isolated strength doesn’t always translate to better movement. If a muscle gets bigger and stronger in isolation, it might actually start working against your kinetic chain, not with it.
It’s like giving a new driver a Ferrari without teaching them how to control the horsepower. If your nervous system can’t efficiently coordinate all that strength, you’ll move slower, feel stiffer, and increase your injury risk.
📌 What to do instead:
✅ Focus on posture, breath, and movement integration before loading up
✅ Train movements, not just muscles
✅ Prioritize force absorption & energy transfer in your training
Pain Is a Signal. Stop Ignoring It.
Pain isn’t random. It’s your body telling you something is wrong. If you’re always dealing with pain, tightness, or stiffness, this is your sign to switch things up.
Our new Pain-Free Performance System is built to restore balance, correct movement dysfunction, and bulletproof your body.
📌 Stop making these mistakes—get the full system here.
Final Thoughts
✅ Hoopers don’t need more static stretching, foam rolling, or bodybuilding programs.
✅ They need a system that builds movement efficiency and pain-free performance.
✅ If your training isn’t making you feel better on the court, it’s time to change it.
P.S. Don’t wait until pain forces you to fix your body. Fix it now—before you have no choice.
