Inform Performance

Episode 229: In this Gameplan episode, Andy McDonald is joined by High Performance Physio Travis Gaudet, the Co-Owner & Director of Rehabilitation at Orka Performance. Travis regularly consults with Pro-Athletes, Collegiate Athletes, Youth Athletes, and general population alike. He has spoken and delivered workshops Internationally, and has consulted with athletes in the NHL, MLB, Olympics, CFL, MLS, Canada Men’s National Soccer Team, USPORT, NCAA and more. 

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In this episode, Travis shares his comprehensive Gameplan framework for a High Ankle Sprain in Ice Hockey players. 
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Topics Discussed:

High ankle sprain biomechanics in hockey

Phased rehab protocols for ankle injuries

Sport-specific movement analysis

Return-to-sport criteria and testing

Role of biomechanics research in rehab

Rehab strategies for hockey skating and shooting

Conditioning and neurocognitive training in rehab

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Where you can find Travis:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Orka Performance

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Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

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Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 228: Ben Ashworth chats to Gus Morrison, BSc, MSc, ASCC. Gus earned his Bachelor's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Southampton in 2013, followed by a Master's degree in Sports Medicine at University College London. During this period, he sought mentorship from Ben, focusing on refining his expertise in data-driven shoulder assessments and rehabilitation. Together they published his Master's dissertation in the Journal of Physical Therapy in Sport, exploring the Athletic Shoulder Test's application in amateur rugby players. Alongside this, Gus achieved full accreditation as a Strength and Conditioning Coach through the UKSCA. He went on to establish the Shoulder Assessment Unit at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, delivering a data-driven assessment service for athletes recovering from shoulder injuries. Recognised for his expertise, he has spoken at webinars and conferences, and recently co-authored a publication with Ben in the Strength and Conditioning Journal on the synergy between testing and training for shoulder injuries. Gus joined Athletic Shoulder in July 2023, where he provides comprehensive testing and rehabilitation services to a diverse clientele of athletes and patients returning to sport and exercise post-injury.

Topics Discussed
- The Four Buckets: Range, Endurance, Strength and Power
- Why Capacity Is the Biggest Driver of Pain
- Outcome, Performance and Process Goals in Rehab
- Quality Assuring Tests: Spotting Compensation Before You Trust the Number
- Motor Learning, Joint Position Sense and the L and Y Holds
- RFD and the Athletic Shoulder Test as a Force Transfer Test
- From Closed Gym Skills to Chaos: Return to Contact

 
Where you can find Gus:
 
•LinkedIn
 

Sponsors

Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

BTL: BTL Industries develops advanced rehabilitation and performance technologies, including SIS DUO, Shockwave Therapy, High-Intensity Laser, TR-Therapy, Lymphastim and R-FORCE. BTL systems are designed to support recovery, pain management, functional rehabilitation and return-to-play pathways across clinical and elite sport settings.

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Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

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Our Team

Andy McDonald

Ben Ashworth

Nicola Graham

Steve Barrett 

Pete McKnight

Episode 227: In this Gameplan episode - a collaboration between Gameplan & Inform Performance, Host Andy McDonald is joined by Consultant Physiotherapist and Director of Pitch-Ready Tim McGrath. 

Tim is a Sports Physiotherapist with over 23 years professional practice & professional sport experience. Most recently returned to Australia after working as Senior Director of Player Health & Performance for the Washington Commanders NFL team in the USA, Tim completed his PhD from the Research Institute of Sports & Exercise (UCRISE) at the University of Canberra on the topic of ACL rehabilitation and return to sport following knee injury in 2016.

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In this episode, Tim shares his comprehensive Gameplan framework for PCL rehabilitation and return to play. 
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Topics Discussed:

PCL injury assessment and management

Sport-specific physical demands and rehab goals

Progressive training buckets: quad, hamstring, calf, lateral movement

Objective benchmarks for an effective return-to-play

Common pitfalls and decision making in PCL rehab

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Where you can find Tim McGrath:

LinkedIn

Instagram

 

Where you can find Pitch Ready: 

Pitch-Ready

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Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

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Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

Episode 228: In this episode of Inform Performance, host Steve Barrett is joined by Dan Ramsden — Head of Performance for Super League's Hull KR, promoted into the role after eight years as the club's Head Physiotherapist.

Dan now leads the club's strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation programmes, bringing together medical and performance functions under one department. Alongside a physiotherapy degree and a PhD focused on concussion, he holds a 5th Dan Black Belt in Aikido, and specialises in injury prevention and building athletic resilience in a collision sport.

At the centre of the conversation is Dan's transition from clinician to department lead. He discusses what changes when your remit shifts from treating individual athletes to setting the direction of an entire performance team, the skills that transfer from physiotherapy, and the ones that have to be learned on the job.

The discussion also explores the culture required to build and sustain a high-performing staff — how roles are defined, how disciplines are integrated rather than siloed, and how Dan develops the practitioners around him.

Dan then unpacks player availability and its relationship with training and match intensity, before moving into his research area: concussion, neck strength, and the role of rate of force development (RFD) as a measure that goes beyond maximal strength testing.

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Topics Discussed:

Progression from Physio to a Head of Performance role

Culture and development of a high performance team

Player availability and its link to intensity

Concussion and the use of rate of force development (RFD) within neck strength

Where you can find Dan:

LinkedIn

Instagram

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Sponsors

Axon: Performance teams spend the morning after game day stitching together six systems before the coach gets an answer. Axon Perform fixes that. Every source you already use, Catapult, StatSports, VALD, Opta, OVAL, Wyscout, WHOOP, Garmin and the rest, connects into a dedicated Snowflake warehouse.
Ask Axon, the in-platform chat, lets analysts and sports scientists query the lot in plain English. Reports that took hours now take seconds.
Used by the Springboks, England RFU, Japan RFU, Sydney Roosters and a growing list of rugby, football & cricket clubs and federations. Your data, reports, measures and AI models stay yours, fully portable.
See if your data is ready for AI at axonperform.com

BTL: BTL Industries develops advanced rehabilitation and performance technologies, including SIS DUO, Shockwave Therapy, High-Intensity Laser, TR-Therapy, Lymphastim and R-FORCE. BTL systems are designed to support recovery, pain management, functional rehabilitation and return-to-play pathways across clinical and elite sport settings.

VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training

Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport. 

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Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website

-

Our Team

Andy McDonald

Ben Ashworth

Nicola Graham

Steve Barrett 

Pete McKnight

Episode 225: In this Gameplan episode - a collaboration between Gameplan & Inform Performance, Host Andy McDonald is joined by Consultant Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull. 

Lindsay is an experienced sports physiotherapist and medical services leader working across elite professional sport and high-performance environments. His work centres on performance rehabilitation, return-to-sport decision making, and management of complex musculoskeletal injuries, particularly thigh muscle and hip/groin conditions across elite athletes. Lindsay's experience includes leading medical services within elite AFL programs across multiple programs, with responsibility for multidisciplinary team leadership, medical and rehabilitation strategy, and player availability outcomes.

In this episode, Lindsay shares unpacks his recent article collaboration with Martin Buccheit titled: The Handover Hangover: Sequential vs. Concurrent Return to Performance Models in Elite Sport.
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Topics Discussed:

The villain in suboptimal rehab: siloed approaches

Job security and its impact on collaboration

Principles of collegiality, alignment & concurrent engagement.

Common misalignments in prognosis and expectations

Practical tips for building a collaborative department

The role of facility design and communication
 

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Where you can find Lindsay Bull:

LinkedIn

Instagram

 

Where you can find the paper: 

Performance and Sport Science Reports

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Sponsors

Gameplan Is a Rehab Management System providing Medical & Performance Departments with a centralised platform to plan, track & manage the return-to-play process inside a data rich environment. Gameplan provides one platform to connect the people, process and data during rehab. 

-

Where to Find Us

Keep up to date with everything that is going on with the podcast by following Inform Performance on:

Instagram

Twitter

Our Website