Physical Therapy for Olympic Weightlifting

In line with our mission to cultivate resilient athletes, we must take a deeper dive to investigate how physical therapy can assist with pain and injury associated with the more technical barbell movements, such as the Snatch and Clean & Jerk. From breaking down your movement pattern, to helping you re-organize your Olympic weightlifting program for safe integration to full time participation, there are many complex considerations that take place. We are here to demonstrate how our expertise serves the Olympic weightlifting community, in addition to using scientific principles of strength and conditioning to incorporate the Olympic lifts as a rehabilitative tool for all patients. Whether you are a competitor in the sport, practice these lifts during CrossFit, utilize variations of these lifts to enhance speed and power for strength and conditioning, or have ever even touched a barbell before — this article is for you!

How can a Physical Therapist assist with injury rehabilitation and performance goals relevant to Olympic Weightlifting?

1.  We closely analyze your lifts to identify how your body optimally moves through positions of the lifts. Your form is not always the main cause of your pain. You may just need to be coached on how YOUR body optimally moves through these positions! There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Our goal is to identify where along your movement pattern your most efficient movement or your deficits lie, with the ultimate aim of resolving limitations and restoring pain-free, optimal movement. This process may involve assessing various factors such as strength, mobility, and technique, or a combination of these. For instance, if you experience shoulder pain while performing a snatch, we will not simply focus on your shoulder and provide exercises solely for that area; Instead, our approach encompasses a comprehensive evaluation of the entire movement system associated with the snatch, ensuring a holistic solution to address the underlying problem.
2.  We incorporate a #coachfirst mentality to our treatment paradigm. All physical therapists are coaches. Although the reverse is not true, we believe that as we guide an athlete through their rehabilitation process, we therefore coach them through specific movements to address their concerns. In the context of Weightlifting, this concept extends far beyond the exercises we provide — we serve as coaches to improve their positions and movement efficiency associated with their barbell technique. Sometimes, this is enough to address the pain problem altogether (when you move better, you feel better!). Other times, this opens doors to many areas where the athlete can improve, and further guide the treatment plan. Our coaching skills and extensive background knowledge with these movements optimize the restoration process. (We by no means aim to override your coach’s guidance, but serve as a supplement to their coaching strategies through the lens of rehabilitation experts). 
3.  We help establish modifications to keep you actively engaged in your program, while we address your areas of weakness during the rebuilding process. We discourage you to STOP training altogether. There are always things we can do to modify and continue achieving an effective training stimulus. If you participate in Olympic Weightlifting as a sole sport (not part of CrossFit programming), it is likely that you have a very structured program that your coach wrote for you, with progressions in line with a form of block periodization program design. However, for my CrossFitters out there, these lifts may be part of a class strength program and/or metabolic conditioning. In an effort to ensure your modifications are appropriate for your phase of injury rehabilitation, while still targeting the goals of your training cycle, we can help guide you through this process by analyzing your current programming. We may find variations of your lifts to keep you participating, with as much sport-specificity as necessary based on where you are in your training. We also aim to collaborate with your coach to ensure your care is holistic from all perspectives!
4.  We help you build strength in static positions, establish pain-free movement through these positions, then rebuild speed through these movements. If we go back to our example of shoulder pain with receiving a snatch, we will not simply provide treatment to help your shoulder feel better, then send you back off to weightlifting without restriction. Instead, we will expand your shoulder rehab to include building strength in the overhead position following improvements to your mobility as indicated, progressing to moving in and out of this motion with continued guidance. Our goal is to ensure a long-term solution for athletes who want to improve their performance in weightlifting; In that pursuit, we will use components of the lifts to build strength under load with appropriate positions and mechanics to ensure you can move pain free. 
5.  We use variations of the lifts in many exercises for the general population. Within the snatch, clean, jerk, or variations/components of these lifts, there are elements that help address deficits in strength, mobility, coordination, balance, and posture that are identified in the general population. Olympic Weightlifting is also beneficial for power development, as well as development of movements that are kinematically similar to that of movement patterns in other sports (Example: the 3rd pull of a clean or snatch requires extension through the hips, knees, and ankles, the same way a swimmer will push off from a wall or a basketball player will perform a shot). For this reason, the Olympic Weightlifting movements are incorporated into various sport performance programs, using them to develop speed and explosive power. All this to say — we as physical therapists will use our knowledge with Olympic Weightlifting to address needs identified in the general population, not just those who participate in the sport! 

Ideally, your provider will not only be familiar with the snatch and clean & jerk, but have a strong background and commitment to ongoing education in regards to the current evidence surrounding all aspects of Olympic weightlifting and sport development.