93 | Addressing the Root Cause of Pain & Treatment with Dr. Leada Malek

You are not defined by your injury, your pain, your diagnosis, or what the MRI scan depicts. Dr. Malek emphasizes the significance of rapport and her ultimate goal of creating a brain-safe environment for all “athletes of life.” Through her unique and individualized method, Dr. Malek re-iterates how vital it is to explore novelty and optimal sensation in your body. By delving into what works for your body, Dr. Malek rediscovers the role of the brain and how the brain controls the way you perceive your circumstances, address your concerns, consider advice, and move. In her eyes, the brain directs the value and success of your physical therapy. Soon after, she dives into the realm of PT myths, dissecting common preconceptions around manual therapy and emphasizing mind-body connection. In light of her biopsychosocial approach, Dr. Malek speaks to how athleticism, as an aspect of identity, links to overtraining and the athlete trial concept. Listen in as Dr. Malek inspires you to "trust that people care about you and want you to get better!" We also mention Vivo Barefoot in this episode. Experience how you can feel something different within the body by addressing the feet. The feet remain the foundations of our body. It's time to free up those feet! To get your next wide and highly flexible footwear to free your feet, use code ‘TOB’ at checkout here: www.VivoBarefoot.com. What You Will Learn In This Interview with Dr. Leada Malek: 4:51 – What fuels Dr Malek? 6:54 – Why Dr. Malek continued to specialize. 8:20 – The importance of exploring your body. 12:49 – Why Dr. Malek steered away from diagnosing herself. 17:46 – Multiple approaches to one diagnosis. 21:10– The whole person vs their injury. 24:25 – Pain Science. 28:02 – Dissecting PT myths. 35:47 – Symptoms of overtraining. 39:10 – Advice for feelings of pain & hopelessness. 42:23 – Exploring more with Dr. Malek About Dr. Leada Malek: Dr. Leada Malek is a board-certified clinical specialist in sports physical therapy and has worked in outpatient sports & orthopaedics for the last 5 years. She recently started her own business offering virtual PT to help reach people who couldn't receive care in person due to the pandemic. While her primary patient population includes competitive athletes and dancers, she treats a wide range of orthopedic injuries. Her philosophy includes treating the whole person, not just the injury; health and fitness are a lifestyle for longevity and well-being, and mental and physical health are equally important and influence each other Items mentioned in this episode include: Dr. Malek’s Website; https://www.drmalekpt.com/ Dr. Malek’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmalekpt/ To learn more about Dr. Malek and view full show notes, please visit the full website here: https://www.docjenfit.com/podcast/episode93/ Thank you so much for checking out this episode of The Optimal Body Podcast. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute to subscribe and leave a quick rating and review of the show! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tobpodcast/message