October 12, 1999, the day of Wilt Chamberlian’s death, was the worst day of my life. Suddenly, without warning, a huge Wilt-sized hole opened up in my Universe. He had been the center of my world for decades. For me, he was part of my daily life, whether I saw him or spoke to him or not. He was the …
From 1980 to 1983, Bill Funderburk rowed for Yale in the heavyweight crew boat. The first seat closest to the coxswain is called “Stroke,” and it was Bill’s job in his junior year to hold that first position in one of the varsity boats and establish the rhythm of the rowers. Every year, the Yale-Harvard race was the annual highlight. …
Lynda has launched a podcast – Meet the Doctors. Head on over to MeetTheDoctorsPodcast.com to hear the very latest.
When you walk in the door of Attune Health, it’s very soothing. It stops you in your busy life. You slow down and think to yourself, “OK, I’m here, I’m safe.” That’s exactly what two top rheumatologists in Beverly Hills were aiming at when they planned Attune Health. Dr. Swamy Venuturupalli (often called “Dr. V”) and Dr. Daniel Wallace built …
“Aquatic therapy has made me more independent.” This is a quote from a former patient who had approximately twelve weeks of aquatic therapy for low back pain. She had a history of lumbar spine surgery in 2012 but continued to have significant pain and decreased activity tolerance, which eventually put her in a wheelchair. She had tried land physical therapy …
Frantz Lerebours was a linebacker at St. Anthony’s High School, a perennial sports power house football team on Long Island, New York. For three years, the team had been undefeated in the regular season only to lose the championship game to Monsignor Farrell from Staten Island, New York. Now, in his senior year, he was the starting outside linebacker. His …
I arrive at the Westridge Road Trailhead around 6:30am expecting the small parking lot to be empty as it is every Monday morning. Why there are so many cars at the trailhead? And what’s this police car doing parked at a 45-degree angle, sticking out into the street? Is someone being robbed? The dirt lot, which holds nine cars …
By Robert Klapper and Lynda Huey Hip pain can strike at any age – from fire fighters and stunt men and women in their 40s, to every day runners and tennis players, to less active people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and upward. Maybe you came home from a hike and suddenly discover a deep ache in your hip. Or …
By Lynda Huey At 5 AM on Thursday morning, March 16, 2017, spine surgeon Alex Rasouli, M.D. performed the first outpatient surgery to replace a lumbar disc with an artificial disc at levels L4/L5. Although Dr. Rasouli humbly called it “the first in this area,” a search of the internet and phone calls to leading spine centers in Los Angeles …
By Lynda Huey and Alan Silber A conversation between Lynda Huey and Alan Silber on the occasion of what would have been Wilt’s 80th birthday, August 21, 2016. LH: NBC tried something new in 1992. They called it the Triplecast – they offered three live-feed channels from every Olympic venue called the Red, White, and Blue Channels. Viewers could pay …
By Robert Klapper, M.D. and Lynda Huey Just as in the world of business, we like to talk about a win-win situation. Working to prevent hip surgery can create several wins for you. The ultimate win, of course, is that you follow the programs in this book, relieve your hip pain and dysfunction, and never need hip surgery of any …
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Klapper and aquatic rehab specialist Lynda Huey have been collaborating since 1994. That was the year NBA star Dr. Klapper arthroscoped Wilt Chamberlain’s painful hip. Dr. Klapper was one of the pioneers in doing arthroscopic surgery in the hip joint, and Wilt wanted what was then an advanced technique. Wilt told Dr. Klapper he was going to …
By Alex Rasouli, M.D. and Lynda Huey The spine is a collection of bones and ligaments that are subject to wear and tear, but if the body is injured the body’s very sophisticated healing mechanisms come into play. If a patient comes into my office with excruciating back pain, can barely move, and has been bed-ridden for even a few …
Twenty-some years ago, I helped an active woman who lived in Los Angeles stay fit during the last five months of her pregnancy. Her doctor had discovered a meniscus tear in her right knee, but didn’t want to do surgery until after the baby was born. She turned to me and the gorgeous pool in her back yard overlooking the …
The three previous times I went to South America, I changed planes or spent the night in Miami. This time I was pleased to see there was a 12-hour, non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo. I took it. Physical therapist Douglas Gil met me at the airport and as we drove into town, he explained with great pride …
I had known Wilt Chamberlain for nearly three years when I introduced him to track coach Tracy Sundlun. That introduction took place at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, the center of the track world in Southern California. It was June, 1974, and it was the California State AAU Championships for Women’s Track and Field. Tracy had coached our San Luis Obispo Track …
. Cross-training for your sport in water becomes more and more appealing as the days get hotter during the summer. You can’t always train in the cool early-morning hours or evening, but you may live somewhere that there simply isn’t a cool time of morning or night. So on particularly hot days, stay cool in the pool while you …
What do you remember about your life when you were five years old? I remember running around outdoors, squealing with delight as I rolled down grassy hills, and catching dozens of frogs when it rained. What spine surgeon Dr. Alex Rasouli remembers is very different. He recalls, “I wrote my first computer program when I was five years old. It …
How many doctors do you know who have spent time with U.S. Presidents? How many are so excited about sharks that they fly around the world to scuba dive with them? And how many have been official USA team doctors at the Olympics and the World Cup? Well, you may known some that have worked at the Games or World …
Fitness doesn’t come overnight, although it can certainly disappear quickly. Ask any competitive athlete who was injured how soon they felt out of shape and they’ll tell you it happens within days. Research shows a loss of both muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness within a week of becoming inactive! From that, you can see how important it is never to …
Chances are, if you are under 50 and experience sudden, sharp hip pain, you’ll eventually hear the name Jason Snibbe. You may go to an orthopedist in New York, San Francisco, Nashville, Vail, or elsewhere, and you’ll find there’s a close-knit band of young surgeons who are all members of the same group – the International Society for Hip Arthroscopy …
When I first started a gluten-free diet eight years ago, virtually no one had heard of gluten or knew what it was. (It’s wheat, rye, barley and any oats that are processed on the same machinery as the others.) I was stuck with meats, vegetables, salads, and fruits. Entire aisles of the grocery store no longer existed for me – …
CompletePT’s Director of Finance, James Cowan, rode 525 miles for the Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic from Sep 28th – Oct 5th, 2013. The bike ride follows the coastline from San Francisco to Santa Monica. James personally raised $4,100, and as a group the riders raised over $1,000,000. Day 1 – San Francisco to Santa Cruz It’s great to be …
This starts a new series about the Top Doctors of Los Angeles. For the past thirty years, I’ve been interacting with doctors in the L.A. area and helping their patients rehabilitate. The top doctors very quickly rise into view both from what their patients say about them and from how well the patients do after treatment or surgery. This first …
An ankle sprain can happen so easily: jumping up for a rebound and coming down on another player’s foot, stepping in a hole that you didn’t see in the thick grass of a big field, twisting an ankle when stepping off a platform in the gym or an aerobics class. Collegiate and professional athletes have athletic trainers to help them …
This is 2013. Wilt would have LOVED this year – he loved all things 13. Today is his birthday and it’s time once again to honor Wilt and tell more stories of the twenty-eight years I hung out with him. From the time I met Wilt Chamberlain in 1971 until his death in 1999, he was the central reference point …
Florence Griffith Joyner is the athlete who comes to mind whenever I work with anyone in a pool with a hamstring strain. Florence was nearly sidelined prior to her huge 1988 Seoul Olympics success with a “pulled” or strained hamstring. Since she was the fastest woman in the world, she set the bar pretty high as to what was possible …
When you can’t run on land, you CAN run in the water. And you, like hundreds of skeptical world-class athletes before you, will change your mind about the pool being for sissies once you feel the power of water. Here are a few of the top runners who have benefited from my program: Mary Decker Slaney was America’s premier middle-distance …
You’re outdoors at dawn, the golf course looks beautiful in the sunrise and the grass smells great, but pain distracts you. Here are some helpful quick fixes for while you’re on the links. Back Pain: Bend your knees when retrieving your ball Considering using a putter with a longer shaft Slow down the backswing to reduce rotational stress on the …
Here’s some black sports history for you from a white woman who lived deeply entrenched inside the black sports world for over thirty years. I had the female athlete’s view from the competitive level plus I had a unique view from above, being Wilt Chamberlain’s long-time companion until his death in 1999. I was given my first lesson in “Negro” …
The Arthritis Foundation met with me and James Cowan, CompletePT’s Director of Finance and Marketing, in the middle of July, 2012. They wanted us to join them in raising money for their programs through their largest fundraiser of the year – an 8-day, 525 bike ride down the California coastline. They always have a Medical Honoree and a Corporate Honoree …
Wilton Norman Chamberlain was born on August 21, 1936. It’s been thirteen years since we lost him suddenly, and since “13” was both his and my lucky number, it seems right to remember him today on what would have been his 76thbirthday. Seventy-six doesn’t seem old anymore and yet we lost him when he was oh so young at 63. …
Dancers are athletes as well as artists. As they work to defy the laws of physics during practice or performance, their finely tuned bodies are constantly in danger of an accident or momentary loss of control or weakness. So like all athletes, they must work to remain strong while doing everything possible to prevent overuse injuries. Dance-specific pool workouts allow …
Zan Knudson found me in 1976. She read about my autobiography, A Running Start: An Athlete, A Woman, in Publishers Weekly magazine and decided to track me down. Zan was one of the few women writing sports novels in America at that time, so she wanted to meet me. She went to a lot of track meets at UCLA looking …
Injury often strikes suddenly and wipes out your sports plans. It happens all the time to runners who increase speed while training for races. It happens to basketball players as the season starts to heat up. And it can happen to you when you’re feeling in great shape for tennis, soccer, baseball, volleyball or any other recreational activity. Maybe you …
After a major athletic effort, your body can feel out of balance. It might feel as though you need food, drink, a hot bath, a nap, or a massage. All of those can definitely help. But here’s another thing you may not have considered: a water workout to speed your recovery. The demands placed on the body during exercise leave the …
KTLA reporter, Gayle Anderson, had a torn meniscus in her right knee. She had just gotten approval from her insurance company for a knee surgery when she came to CompletePT’s pool for the first time. She wasn’t there as a patient, but doing a news story on pool therapy. Orthopedic surgeon, Robert Klapper, M.D., was part of that segment along …
Many people with sore knees have never exercised. Others haven’t exercised in years or have exercised far too little. But a large number have damaged their weightbearing joints, especially their knees, by playing abusive sports with a passion. There is a growing epidemic of knee problems, especially in aging baby boomers who are devoted to running, skiing, basketball, volleyball, or …
This morning’s news that the world’s wealthiest countries were having an economic meeting in Bejing grabbed my attention. Whenever I hear anything about China’s new dominance as a world power, a part of me remembers what China was like in 1976 and I shake my head in disbelief. When Mao Tse-Tung took power in 1949, China became a closed …
As part of CompletePT’s Free Lecture Series to the community, rheumatologist Thomas Susko, M.D., of Santa Monica presented an engaging talk on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. More than fifty people were there, all of them paying rapt attention while learning the latest information that is available in 2011. Here are some key points made by Dr. Susko. Osteoarthritis …
Los Angeles is the sports capital of the world for many athletes both professional and recreational. Where else can people hike, mountain bike, surf, and play beach volleyball all within a few mile radius? And nearby is the elite UCLA track at Drake stadium that is known around the world. On any day of the week an array of entertainment …
If you have ever had a great coach, you know that you have heard that coach’s voice inside their head during workouts for years afterward. You’re getting ready to knock off the workout early and you hear, “This is the point where you start to get in shape,” loud and clear from the absent coach. Or as you’re running …
In the 1980s, when I first started taking some of the world’s best athletes into the pool, my long-time companion Wilt Chamberlain had elbow surgery by Frank Jobe, M.D. to repair a triceps tendon he had torn playing racquetball. Wilt wanted to speed healing and we had learned that pool workouts certainly seemed to do that. Thus I took Wilt …
Ice is life’s most under-recognized drug and it needs no prescription. It’s right there in your freezer waiting for you. It’s easy to apply to an injury and quick to start working. When an injury occurs, immediate application of ice constricts the capillaries to help prevent bleeding and swelling in the injured and creating a bruise. The use of ice …
If you want to run fast, you have to run fast. If you want to kick hard, you have to kick hard. No matter what the sport, sooner or later you must approach full speed, full strength, full distance in your training. High-speed, high-impact, or long-distance repetitions often cause injuries, so athletes and coaches walk a fine line when scheduling …
If your doctor just told you that you have a torn meniscus and you need knee arthroscopy, you may decide you want to do more research before going straight into the operating room. What to do about a meniscus tear depends on the kind of tear, the location of the tear, and the quality of the meniscus that is left. …
Let’s say your hip has been bothering you for over six months and now you realize you need to get serious about interviewing some doctors and making a choice as to whose opinion and suggestion you wish to follow. If you are still active in sports and recreational activities, you’ll probably want to save as much of your hip as …
