PT Corner: Dr. Craig Lindell

Dr. Craig Lindell, Co-Founder of [P]rehab, shares his journey into physical therapy and why VECTOR is a game-changing tool for PTs everywhere.

By: The Kayezen Editors

 

At Kayezen, we know that fitness and health professionals use the VECTOR for many reasons and in a variety of settings. We’re spotlighting one expert each month on our blog and in our newsletter to show how they leverage the full system as well as provide insights into their background, top tips, and mindset. 

First up: Dr. Craig Lindell, physical therapist and Co-Founder of [P]rehab. Here, Lindell talks about how he and his team use the VECTOR with clients of all abilities, whether they’re working through an injury or are chasing a marathon post rehab.

“WE'RE REDEFINING ACCESS TO  PHYSICAL THERAPY.”

Growing up with a grandfather who was a medical doctor, Lindell always thought he’d become one as well. But after experiencing physical therapy, he realized that the connection between a physical therapist and client tended to be more personal than with a doctor or surgeon. “There's more substance to the experience of working with a physical therapist,” he says, adding that this is why he decided to pursue the profession himself. 

However, once Lindell got to PT school, he realized that there were significant ways he could improve how the average PT organization was set up. Moreover, clients don’t realize just how much physical therapists have to offer. 

These are the issues The [P]rehab Guys were born to solve. “Ultimately, the reason  we started [P]rehab and why we're still doing it today is we're redefining access to physical therapy,” he says. “We’re doing this through free content on social media, our website, and app.”

“VECTOR IS A TOOL THAT CAN HELP YOU ACCOMPLISH AND ACHIEVE ANY GOAL.”  

“VECTOR is a tool that can help you accomplish and achieve virtually any goal,” says Lindell. “You can get really creative with the VECTOR and do a ton of different movements and exercises, from low-level basic movements to high-level performance-focused exercises.” He continues: “It fits in at a physical therapy clinic, but it’s also a great functional strength trainer that clients can carry anywhere.”  

“I think the biggest benefit with the Kayezen VECTOR system is having three different levels of resistance we can access instantly, as well as being able to reconfigure the internal tubes and put in heavy or light resistance, depending on the needs of our clients,” he says.

“FOR OUR TEAM, IT'S LIKE HAVING AN EXTRA SET OF HANDS.”

In particular, Lindell explains that the VECTOR’s tubes makes it easier to facilitate isometric time under tension. “I think that's why it's very popular in the rehab, prehab, and the sports medicine space,” he says. “There are times when you want that constant time under tension, or you want to train the muscle in a longer or shorter range of motion, or an easier versus more challenging position.” And as the client gets stronger, the VECTOR grows with them: “All I have to do is turn a dial and then choose from the attachments,” says Lindell. “For our team It’s like having an extra set of hands.”

“KAYEZEN HAS DONE A VERY GOOD JOB OF BUILDING A COMPLETE MOBILE SOLUTION THAT  CAN TAKE PHYSICAL THERAPISTS A VERY LONG WAY WITH TRAINING THEIR  CLIENTS.”

Versatility is a key word Lindell uses to describe the VECTOR: “As a professional, you're looking for versatility and that can lead to the need to maintain or carry  different pieces of equipment or tools,” says Lindell. “Kayezen has done a very good job of building one tool that can take physical therapists a very long way with training their clients.”

 

As far as the attachments go, Lindell says the VECTOR Torso Strap is one of the best ways to get someone in the right position. “It eliminates having to say anything,” says Lindell. “All you have to do is [tell the client] ‘Hey, I want you to recreate what I'm doing.’ If you show the client the  movement as it's supposed to be performed, and how to get set up using the strap, then the resistance coming from the VECTOR is now the coach,” he explains. “There's no over-explaining. It's just a feeling.” That’s key: “There's really only so much that you can do and want to do from a queuing and instructional standpoint. As a professional, the less you have to say, the less you have to show, the more you can get the client to experience and feel the movement, the quicker the learning process is going to happen,” he says. “You're going to accelerate the learning curve for the person who is doing the movement or exercise if they can set it up, feel and experience it on their own.”

In particular, he says, it's great with teenagers, especially when growth spurts happen. “You'll see with teenage athletes all the time…they don't really have full body control or awareness, especially of their torso,” he says. “So the Torso Strap is the best! If you stay relaxed, the VECTOR is going to pull you, it's going to twist you, it's going to side bend you. So if you have someone that has sloppy movements around the upper body, the Torso Strap reduces the need to keep repositioning a client’s posture, form, and range of motion.”

 

The VECTOR Cinch Strap also provides additional versatility. “I can do lower-body exercises, I can do upper-body exercises, I can throw it around the wrist, or above the ankle,” says Lindell. “In terms of mobility, you can take advantage of any of VECTOR’s straps to help get someone into a position that they're having difficulty performing on their own, particularly if they don't have the strength or the control to do it.”  

“THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT I HAVE BENEFITED FROM IS MENTAL  TOUGHNESS AND  MENTAL  RESILIENCE.”

But building physical strength is only one piece of the puzzle—as both Kayezen and The [P]rehab Guys agree. “When it comes to mind and body, you can't really talk about one without thinking of the other,” says Lindell. “The more that we can raise awareness about psychological factors like resilience and mental toughness throughout wellness and fitness journeys, I think it leads to better outcomes or understanding why we aren’t getting the outcomes that we're trying to achieve.” 

Lindell works primarily with endurance and ultra endurance athletes, and has personally run a full marathon and half Ironman. “In order to train like that, the number one thing that I have benefited from is mental toughness and mental resilience,” he says. “That stuff is huge, especially in the recovery process, because you can talk yourself into feeling better and performing better. You can also talk yourself out of it. You are your own best salesman and also your own worst enemy.”

One piece of advice that Lindell gives to clients—and would extend to the Kayezen family—is to develop a better understanding of pain and to not be afraid of it. “It’s learning whether it’s effort pain, muscle pain, or injury pain, and why your body is telling you that in the first place,” he says. “Pain is a stimulus, it's a signal, and the better that we can understand why you're feeling what it is you're feeling and how that relates to the goals you have, I think people become less fearful of different feelings they are experiencing.”

To learn more about The [P]rehab Guys and Lindell, check out their website, Instagram, and app.