
Episode #80
Ep. 80: Malcolm Sanderson — Pain Doesn’t Always Mean Stop
n Episode 80 of the Performance Matters Podcast, Matrixx sits down with physiotherapist Malcolm Sanderson from ProActive Health & Rehab for a conversation about where rehabilitation and performance training need to meet. With a background in powerlifting, personal training, and physiotherapy, Malcolm brings a unique perspective to the rehab world — one that isn’t afraid of appropriately loading people and challenging the idea that injured athletes need to be treated as fragile. We get into the relationship between pain and injury, when athletes need protection versus when they need to start loading again, fear around movement, and why simply eliminating pain shouldn’t always be the finish line. We also take a deeper dive into ACL rehabilitation, including the mistakes Malcolm commonly sees on both ends of the spectrum: doing too much too soon, but also failing to load athletes enough later in the process. Malcolm breaks down what he wants to see before an athlete returns to sport, including strength, confidence, time, and objective testing. Other topics include: • How Malcolm’s powerlifting background influences his approach to rehab • Why rehab needs progressive overload too • The gap between physiotherapy and strength & conditioning • Pain, movement fear, and athlete confidence • ACL rehab and return-to-sport testing • Building tissue tolerance instead of constantly avoiding stress • Why adding more reps isn’t always a real progression • Using force plates and objective data in rehabilitation • What performance coaches and clinicians can learn from each other Whether you’re an athlete, parent, coach, or clinician, this episode is a great look at how we can move beyond simply getting someone “out of pain” and start preparing them to actually perform again. ️ Performance Matters Podcast — Episode 80 Guest: Malcolm Sanderson, Physiotherapist — ProActive Health & Rehab This episode is powered by Coachology. Coachology is an AI coaching platform designed to help coaches and athletes collaborate more effectively through video analysis, personalized feedback, and AI coaching assistance — extending the coach’s expertise beyond in-person sessions and giving athletes ongoing, individualized guidance. Learn more at: https://coachology.ai If you enjoyed the episode, make sure to subscribe to Performance Matters on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, and share the episode with someone who would get value from the conversation.

