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Dr. Brandon Tran | PT, DPT

@btrandpt

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I help athletes of all levels recover smarter & perform better.
👨‍⚕️DPT • AFS • TPI Certified
📍Telluride, CO | @telluridept
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Loving you feels like a blue bird day! Can’t wait for a lifetime of adventures. ❤️💍🏂🎿

Thanks for chasing us around all day @meganosorio and @vslview 📷 taken in Telluride, Colorado by @btrandpt

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6 months ago

Cracking your own neck might feel good for a few minutes but it’s not “putting anything back in place.

It’s now well accepted that spinal or joint manipulation doesn’t significantly realign bones or joints.
The real benefit comes from a neurophysiological reset your nervous system gets a quick change in sensory input, easing tension and pain by modulating afferent signaling and reducing intra-articular pressure.

That temporary relief can make things feel looser, but when you self-manipulate too often, you’re usually mobilizing the segments that are already hypermobile, not the ones that are actually stiff.
Over time, that can lead to instability and recurring discomfort.

If you find yourself needing to “crack” your neck daily, it’s your body asking for better movement, strength, and control not just another pop.

When I work with patients, I start by teaching proper breathing mechanics and mobility drills to restore natural motion through the spine helping you move better, feel better, and rely less on quick fixes. by @btrandpt

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a year ago

Most people think the answer to an ankle sprain is rest, ice, compress, and elevate. The truth? 🚨 RICE isn’t enough.

👉 Early mobilization is the key to returning to sport faster and safer.
Here’s the golden rule: sharp pain = stop (this means you may be aggravating the torn ligament). But do everything you can without sharp pain. Movement without pain or excessive swelling = healing, blood flow, mobility.

Phase 1 Goals:
✅ Reduce swelling, restore mobility
✅ Walk slow heel-to-toe without pain
✅ Perform a double-leg calf raise without pain

Phase 2 Goals:
Once swelling has gone down and you’re walking with minimal pain and better mobility, it’s time to rebuild strength and balance. Most people get stuck here because the ankle feels stiff — and have difficulty loading through the medial edge of the foot.
✅ Pain free walking with normalized gait
✅ Single leg calf raise
✅ Able to do Low volume POGOs

Phase 3 Goals:
This is where we bridge the gap between “pain-free” and “game-ready.” Most athletes stop rehab too early that’s why sprains turn into chronic instability.
✅ Single-leg calf raise with control, weighted
✅ Dynamic balance (progress to jump SL balance)
✅ Begin light impact drills (skips, pogos, jogging) taken in Telluride, Colorado by @btrandpt

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a year ago

There is a wave of functional movements being a priority but one of the main issues I see with all my athletes is not pushing strength with enough intensity. People blend stability or mobility work and call it strength…take out the noise and focus on one thing.

This was my first leg press in a couple years, which reminds me how much load the legs can tolerate without the limitations that come with compound lifts.

Thanks @miles_in_the_mountains for the 📸 taken in The Peaks Resort and Spa by @btrandpt

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2 months ago

Dr. Brandon Tran | A good friend and supporter of Reef Collective. He runs works at a Physical Therapy practice in Telluride, CO. Focused on helping athletes of all levels not only recover from injury, but train for longevity and improved performance. I’ve personally used his training program to prep for ski season. Thank you for the support Brandon!! taken in Moab, Utah by @btrandpt

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4 months ago

The Copenhagen plank is still one of the most underutilized exercises out there — especially outside of a rehab setting.

Most people think of the adductors as a muscle that just pulls the legs together. But they play a significant role in hip extension, and they're working constantly to control the pelvis and produce force through athletic movement — sprinting, cutting, changing direction. Skiers rely on them heavily when recovering from being off balance, which is one of the most demanding things you can ask of that muscle group.

When the adductors are weak or undertrained, something else has to compensate. That's usually where problems start.

Here's how I progress the Copenhagen plank:
1. Short lever (knee on bench) — This is where most people should start. The shorter lever arm reduces the demand and makes it manageable while you build the pattern and the strength.
2. Long lever (foot on bench) — Moving the contact point to the foot increases the lever arm significantly. Same position, considerably harder.
3. Full Copenhagen plank — No bench support under the body. Everything is working to maintain alignment and keep the hips up.
4. Copenhagen with abduction — Adding movement into the top leg challenges the adductor through a range rather than just an isometric hold. This is where it starts to transfer to sport.

Start where you need to. Progress when you're ready. But get these in your program. by @btrandpt

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4 months ago

It’s off-season here in Telluride 🏔️💆‍♂️

While the town takes a breather, don't let your hard earned ski legs go to waste. This is the "Golden Window" to address your limitations and prep your body for the demands of summer. Keeping with the impact demands of skiing takes more than just hiking and biking.

I specialize in keeping Telluride athletes moving better than they did the season before. Identifying limitations or weaknesses can change how you feel and how you move, but make sure to do it before it is too late.

Ready to start your spring season on the right foot? DM me "RESET" to book a performance assessment! 📩

#Telluride #OffSeason #TelluridePT by @btrandpt

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5 months ago

The cable anchored low changes the whole feel of this movement — and that's exactly why I program it.

What I love about the cable here is that it adds tension throughout the entire range of motion. You can't coast through any part of this rep. That constant load forces you to stay connected — and that connection starts at the foot.

Good foot pressure is where the loading begins. When you're grounded through the right part of the foot, you can feel the chain build up through the back of the leg and into the hip.

That's not just a cue — it's feedback. And learning to feel that is the whole point. The hip rotation I add at the top is a separate focus. That "airplane" motion is about controlling what happens at the front leg while you open the hip. Your glute has to work to manage that rotation — and your knee needs to stay in line. The second your knee caves into valgus as you open, you've lost control of the pelvis. That's what we're training against.

Pelvic control over a fixed leg is one of the most important things to develop — for rehab, for sport, for anyone moving on one leg at full speed. by @btrandpt

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5 months ago

Foam Roller Arch Activation 🦶

Wake up your arches and test your foot strength with this simple foam roller drill. I can almost guarantee your feet will cramp.

What to observe:
1. Feeling it in the tops of your feet? This is a common compensation! You want to feel the work happening underneath your foot, right in the arch.
2. Are your feet cramping? Don't panic! This is a clear sign of poor activation in your intrinsic foot muscles. Take it slow—they will get stronger as you wake them up.

Save this to your warm-up routine to start building stronger, more active arches! by @btrandpt

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5 months ago

Telluride athletes and sports are so quad dominant, make sure to do something regularly for your hamstrings for better balance.

Using this to feel the whole posterior chain. Oftentimes people cramp or show some form of neurogenic inhibition here.

The alternating variation is good to teach the posterior chain—and especially the foot—to quickly find tension and stiffness. ⛓️🦶

Save this for your next warm-up, and let me know in the comments if you caught a cramp! 👇 taken in Telluride, Colorado by @btrandpt

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5 months ago

Telluride athletes and sports are so quad dominant, make sure to do something regularly for your hamstrings for better posterior chain strength.

Using this to feel the whole posterior chain. Oftentimes people can’t load comfortably into their hip and show some form of neurogenic inhibition here. This leads to compensations and a common cause of low back pain.

I use this for everyone from foot, knee, hip, to back pain in order to learn to connect the foot to the back of the leg.

Save this for your next warm-up👇 taken in Telluride, Colorado by @btrandpt

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5 months ago

It’s officially off-season in Telluride. Let’s get you spring-ready. taken in Telluride, Colorado by @btrandpt

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6 months ago