As a competitive volleyball player for 35 years, Oral Guthrie competed for 23 years at the national level, first for Jamaica, then for USA.
After retirement from competitive volleyball, Oral opened Ozone Fitness, a gym and training facility outside of Atlanta, Ga., so demonstrating workouts and lifting with proper form is a vital part of his career.
However, as an overhead athlete for most of his life, he developed imbalances in mobility and strength, overstretching the soft tissue at the back of his shoulder and over-strengthening the muscles that bring the hand from the overhead position back across his body and toward his hips.
The years of wear and tear left the back of his shoulder weak and the front of his shoulder tight. Six years after his last season, he came to accept his mobility imbalances as, “just a part of life.”
While performing a modified front-squat, he was frustrated by his admittedly poor form and inability to lift any more weight, maxing out at about 215 pounds. His legs were strong enough but his shoulders could not get into the correct position to support the weight.
Wanting to improve and lift more weight, he spoke with a physical therapist at SetPT, ATL, and started a comprehensive treatment regimen.
His physical therapist, Alison, created a treatment plan that included a combination of trigger-point dry needling, myofascial work, neuromuscular re-education, and specific exercises to help Oral reach his goals.
Below, you can see a before and after photo of just how far Oral’s range of motion progressed after his first physical therapy session.
Before and After Trigger-Point Dry Needling:
