Ben Shatto, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
Hello, my name is Ben Shatto! I am a physical therapist and entrepreneur. With the cost of healthcare on the rise, I help proactive adults of all ages to understand how to safely self-treat and manage common musculoskeletal, neurological, and mobility related conditions in a timely manner so they can reach their optimal health.
I was born and raised in Idaho, USA. My professional education includes an Associate of Arts degree from Lake Tahoe Community College in Natural Science; a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a minor in Gerontology from Boise State University; a Master of Physical Therapy Degree and a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree, both from Idaho State University. I am a board certified Orthopaedic Certified Specialist in Physical Therapy and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist from the National Strength and Conditioning Associations (NSCA).
My physical therapy practice is primarily dedicated to helping clients learn how to self-treat orthopaedic conditions and how to manage chronic health issues. I work with people of all ages and abilities ranging from office workers to runners, CrossFitters, to those with fibromyalgia or severe arthritis. My passion is to empower people with education, guidance, and motivation, so that they may achieve optimal health.
I am the Executive Director of Bluebird Home Health. I assist in caring for and directing the care of individuals, who are either temporarily or permanently home bound, to recover from surgery, illness, and debilitation.
In addition, I am a care management consultant. I help clients as they navigate an overly complex health care system that is designed more to maximize profits than good health. My goal is to insure clients receive the best possible care from his/her clinicians.
I have always enjoyed participating in athletics and sporting activities. I have spent most of my adolescence and adulthood participating in martial arts, including Tang So Do, Ninjutsu, Dan Zan Ryu Jujistu, and Gracie Brazilian jujitsu. I have spent most of my life as an avid outdoors man and continue to participate in the outdoors in Idaho’s beautiful back country.
I run recreationally and occasionally compete (as time allows) in races ranging from the 10k to the marathon. I am always experimenting with different training protocols and training methods. I also regularly participate in CrossFit and weightlifting.
If you have a question that you would like featured in an upcoming blog post, please submit your question to contact@thePhysicalTherapyAdvisor.com. Be sure to join our growing community on on Facebook at The Physical Therapy Advisor as well as on YouTube at The Physical Therapy Advisor.
Nice Bio. You and Will do very professional work. Keep it up!
Thank you!
Ben,
I am a deployed Air Force person that uses the “extra time” to get back to the gym. I have a continuous problem where after a period of time once the weight gets heavier my wrists tend to get insured. The injury kind of feels like a sprain where if I do curls with a straight bar with something over 70 pounds it hurts. The pain is located on top where the hand meets the wrist starting where the bone bump is. The exercises I like to do makes it hard to progress with this injury.
I tried wrist wraps, gloves, and a combination of both. Using wraps seem to make it worse. I try to keep the wrist straight during lifts, but some exercises it is difficult.
My question is what are some things I can do to strengthen the wrist and/or rehab it to get it to heal… faster?
Thank you,
Seth
Hi Seth,
Thank you for the question! It’s always difficult to give advice without seeing you firsthand (no pun intended), but I’m assuming that since you are doing curls that they are a standard curl and that by the top the hand you mean the palmer side or front of the hand, not the back of the hand.
I have had clients who have experienced this type of pain before. It’s typically from a combination of limited mobility within the bones of the wrist which causes other bones of the wrist to have to compensate and move inappropriately which leads to pain. I have found that in combination with the mobility issues, there will be imbalances in strength of wrist flexion versus wrist extension as well as an imbalance of strength between pronation and supination of the wrist.
My advice would be to look at how the wrist/hand is moving. Does one direction feel more tight or restricted than the other? If so, then slowly work on stretching into the restricted direction. In addition, palpate the small bones in the wrist and wiggle them back and forth. They should wiggle easily. If you feel that one feels tighter than the others or won’t wiggle as easy, then spend time wiggling that one bone back and forth. I would also search YouTube for wrist extension, wrist pronation, and wrist supination exercises. Start working on those as part of your typical exercise routine.
Let me know how it goes, and if I can help you with anything else! Take care!
Ben
Hi Dr. Shatto,
I enjoyed hearing you talk with Trevor on the “Marathon Training Academy” podcast. My question is related to the abdominal section. It seems I put quite a strain on my abs recently. I have lost approx. 80 lbs since Jan 2015 doing simple exercises at home. I do push-ups, ab crunches, and marathon training. I ran my first marathon last April. The pain in the abdominal didn’t occur until towards the end of this summer so I had already backed off from the long runs leading up to the marathon in April. I still run 5 to 6 miles at a time and about 5 times per week. But I think I may have gotten too aggressive with the ab crunches, where I lift my legs about 45 degrees, bring my shoulders off the ground and crunch several repetitions. Kind of like a C-sit crunch. After getting the pain which felt simply like a muscle strain, I backed off the ab crunching. Currently I have not done ANY ab crunching in several weeks. But I can’t get the pain to go away. I’ve even taken 2 weeks completely off from exercise as I went on vacation. But, immediately upon return and getting back into push-ups and running (no ab crunch), the pain in the abdominal returned. I recently had a physical and told the MD about the pain. She did a physical check for hernia (the humiliating probe to the genital area) and found no evidence of hernia. She said it takes a long time for abdominal strain to heal. But I wanted to get your opinion on this as well. Just something that will pass in time or is there another way I can check if this is more of a serious injury? I’m a 52 yr old male. Thanks!
Wow! An 80 pound weight loss is truly impressive. Keep up the good work!
My question is about location of pain. If the pain is lower in the abdominals, then the hernia check completed should be adequate. If the pain is higher in the abdominals, then a physical palpation may need to be performed to assess for a hernia up higher.
Other possible diagnoses that need to be ruled out include: abdominal strain; psoas (deep hip flexor strain); and more seriously, a screening of the abdominal aorta. I don’t know if these were performed as part of your physical, but since the pain is persistent even after an extended rest break, you should probably have it investigated further.
Either start with a physical therapist whose specialty is more myofascial and hands-on work or consult with your medical physician to insure that there isn’t anything more serious prior to seeing a physical therapist.
The goal is to ensure that you continue your health and fitness journey by addressing these lingering aches and pains. Good luck!
Ben Shatto, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
Read your article on Baker’s Cyst, which I have incurred after arthroscopic knee surgery.
I am excited to start your exercise program to help alleviate the pain and possible rupture of the cyst, which has happened once already and was the most excruciating pain ever! My question is, I am low income and don’t have access to a gym. However, I do have 2 pieces of quality exercise equipment at my home – a treadmill and a elliptical. Can I use either or both? And with regards to Mt. Capra joint supplement, reviews look great, but here again I am on a limited income. Are there other products you can recommend that are not so expensive?
Thank you!
Thanks for the question! Limited or unlimited income, this is definitely a condition you can recover from. I prefer a stationary bike more than the elliptical or treadmill. For now, I would probably opt for the type of exercise you like best, and then work on the other strengthening exercises mentioned in the post, How to Self-Treat a Baker’s Cyst. Supplementation is not necessary to recover from this type of condition. I always recommend that a person take a strong look at his/her diet and try to eliminate as many inflammatory type foods as possible. This includes anything that is highly processed. I would include dairy in this grouping as well. In general, reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing the quantities of whole foods (primarily plants and vegetables) will improve one’s health status. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!
Hello! Could you recommend a shoulder pulley. I checked your resource list (Wow!), but a recommended shoulder pulley wasn’t list. Thank you for your help!
Hi! It’s there, just hard to find! You can purchase a shoulder pulley online at Amazon rather inexpensively. Here is what I recommend: http://amzn.to/1nvS5KT
I just purchased your book on treating ankle sprains and strains and am going to be working with the exercises outlined in it.
A question about my situation: unfortunately, the cartilage was damaged in addition to ligament tears and now the plan is to undergo microfracturing surgery on the Talus shoulder and build up strength again after that. The decision to do surgery was made after no significant improvement for many months of just physical therapy (there is still swelling and I’m unable to jog). I was wondering if you have seen such cases and whether you have specific advice. From what I understand, the recovery will take a very long time again.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Marty,
I’m so sorry to hear about your ankle injury. It sounds like the damage was quite extensive. Yes, I have worked with clients recovering from microfracture surgery of the talus as well as filamentous repair. I’m assuming they will repair the ligaments as well as the cartilage. It will be a lengthy recovery and likely a period of non-weight bearing followed by a slow rehabilitation process. It will be possible to run some again assuming the repair works. Before you return to any impact sports, such as running, you will want to make sure you have a complete recovery and that you have optimized not only the strength, range of motion and balance within the ankle and foot but also that the entire kinetic chain is strong and in balance to insure optimal efficiency and that you don’t over stress the ankle/foot complex. I would highly recommend you work with a physical therapist that specializes in foot rehab and return to running. The book can give some good suggestions but this type of rehab needs to be guided in person to insure nothing is missed and that you do in fact have a complete recovery.
Don’t rush the recovery; follow the advice of the MD and his/her time lines; and be sure to not only address the injury site, but the entire lower leg to insure your body will be ready for the return to some impact. When you do trial back into running, you need to stick to softer surfaces like a running track or bark avoid concrete and taper very slowly.
Best of luck!
Ben
Hi Ben
i’ve had foot tendonosis/tendonitis for 8 months based on mri and podiatrist/radiologist diagnosis. my issue has improved but it has slight tingling now every now and then, but 85% of time feels normal, but darn thing won’t go away. I no longer do physical activity other than walk/bike. Suggestions on treatment? ice/spikey ball to roll foot on? if so, how much per day? Or this issue-foot tendonitis- has a mind of its own and i need to , possibly,live with this forever?
Hi,
Thanks for the question! Without knowing your specific history, I cannot tell you which tip or treatment will work best for you. Can you be more specific as to where exactly the tingling is occurring in your foot?
Ben
Hi Ben, Is there a exercise routine, in home, you recommend for ankle instability?
Hi Sophie,
I would recommend getting a copy of my book on ankle sprains and working through the exercise protocols in there. Here is the link:
http://amzn.to/2yhHEE6
Make sure you focus on the balancing drills (particularly, on unstable and softer surfaces as you are able).
Best of luck!
Ben
I found this while searching on Google. Do you still recommend these exercises for Metatarsalgia?
https://www.marathontrainingacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Metatarsalgia-Rehabilitation-Exercises.pdf
Thanks!
Hi,
Yes, please see the post for more info:
https://www.marathontrainingacademy.com/how-to-self-treat-metatarsalgia
Ben
Hi Ben,
It’s Diana Packard😊 I sure wish you had your practice going. I am having problems with my back and am hoping you might be able to give me some advice or direct me to someone who could help me.
Thank You
Diana🙏
Hi Diana,
I sent you an email last night. Let me know if you have any questions. Take care!
Ben
Hi Ben,
I just listened to the podcast with you on Marathon Academy. Excellent advice.
One of the things you touched on was posterior tibia pain. After many years of on and off struggle, I figured out it was my tight and week arches. I started strengthening and lengthened the arch and my tibia pain went away.
Hi Mark,
Posterior tibialis pain can be difficult to treat. It’s fantastic you were able to recover from it. You are correct. Strengthening of the foot/ankle complex (including the intrinsic muscles of the foot that support the arches) is an important component to rehabilitation of posterior tibialis pain.
Happy running!
Ben
I read your article on Plantar plantar fasciitis and found it very helpful. I am running the Boston Marathon in April and have developed PF. I’m doing rehab protocols and have cut back both my volume and intensity. Im trying to figure out the best way to be able to still run Boston and have a solid experience. Im wondering what strategies and things to pay attention to in this process to be as safe and intelligent as I can given the context. For example. Is it better to run 3 days a week and focus in on quality and the long run and use days off for rehab and less loading. Might it be smarter to have more days but with lower intensities. Would it be smarter to try taking 2 weeks off entirely and trying to come back for the last three weeks. These are all things you cant answer specifically, yet I wonder what your thought process might be. Im willing to pay for a telehealth consultation if you offer those as well!
Hi Jonathan,
Plantar fasciitis can be very particular, and each training plan needs to be as client specific as possible. As a rule of thumb, it is always better to enter a race slightly under trained and without injury then suffer with injury during a race. Aqua jogging can be a good substitute. If you can taper down the volume and still train, that also can work well. If you want more specific treatments and thoughts on this, please check out the Resilient Runner program:
https://marathontrainingacademy.clickfunnels.com/injury1
hello! I started taking CapraFlex based on your recommendation. I haven’t been able to purchase now for a while. Have you been able to find a similar product?
Hi Carol,
Yes, I recommend this one:
https://getkion.com/products/flex
Hi, this is SPC Love and I’m a full-time army member. I’m planning to go back to school to finish my degree in physical therapy assistant. The army won’t allow me to be a full-time student because I would have to be in the class in person for my studies. So is there any degree I can get that will relate to my physical therapy assissant degree. To knock out my common courses that I wil need.
Hi. Anything in health science or kinesiology is always a good choice. Good luck!