Forum Introduction and Forum Rules

First and foremost, it is an honor and a privilege to host this Q & A on the Starting Strength website. I am forever indebted to Rip and Stef for not only trusting me with administering this particular board on the forum, but for all of their professional and personal mentorship throughout the past 9 years. Historically, the Starting Strength forums have had almost an equal number of training related questions as it has had injury specific questions. I cannot thank Rip and Stef enough for believing in me enough to give me this task.

I am a lifelong gym-goer and competitive athlete through my academic years. I first pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science from Lubbock Christian University where I graduated in 2003. Shortly after graduation from Lubbock Christian University, I enlisted for service in the United States Army, where I have served since July 2003. I was commissioned as an Officer in the US Army in 2006, and in 2011, I was selected to attend the US Army – Baylor University Doctor of Physical Therapy program in San Antonio, TX. I graduated with my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2014, and I have worked exclusively in the orthopaedic and sports medicine sections of rehabilitation since graduation. I currently hold a Board Certification as a Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, and I currently hold the rank of Major in the United States Army where I continue to serve as an Active Duty US Army Physical Therapist.

I have held the Starting Strength Coaches credential since December 2012, and I have trained hundreds of clients, as well as thousands of patients. I have trained individuals who have competed and set records at the international level, as well as trained people with terminal degenerative neurological conditions. In my time training and treating clients and patients, I have found that a firm understanding of the stress-recovery-adaptation cycle is the key for rehabilitating most injuries.

My aim for this board is to use my experience as a clinician and as a strength coach, as well as my continuing education into pathological process of orthopaedic injuries to provide education to individuals seeking additional information regarding injuries sustained in training. This board is to be used STRICTLY as educational material and IT IS NOT MEANT, IN ANY WAY, TO TAKE THE PLACE OF COMPETENT MEDICAL ADVICE RENDERED BY A CLINICIAN WHO HAS PERFORMED AN EVALUATION OF YOU. I have a wide base from which my experience is gathered, so I have encountered most things in the orthopaedic world at least one time or another.

The function of this board is to share information - Rules to facilitate this:

1) I’m here to discuss your injury related questions, not to argue about what you or I know about the topic. Please post questions about your own situation and not links to abstracts, treatment options by other practitioners, or other people’s literature. I welcome discussion that is civil, thoughtful, and in good faith. Posts that fall outside of the bounds of civility, thoughtfulness in discourse, or posts not made in good faith will be deleted without explanation.

2) All advice is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to constitute medical advice. The purpose of this forum is to give you some general direction on general management and expectations of injuries and musculoskeletal conditions, so that you can make educated decisions on where to go next. Providing an individualized training and rehabilitation plan is not the purpose of this forum. Any posts rising to the level of a professional consultation will be deleted. Individuals wishing to have a personal consultation with me will soon have the ability to schedule an in-depth virtual consult with me.

3) I’m a very busy man. I have a very demanding career, a life as a husband, a life as a father, and other competing interests that may cause me to take a while to get to your post, unless it's something I delete. Verified users will always get preference, so consider this when joining this board.

4) Do not contact me about your post not being approved or the status of approval. This is a moderated forum, meaning that posts show up as they are approved.

5) Read the forums, participate in the forums, and then post here. It is almost certain that any particular problem you bring to the attention of this board has been covered elsewhere on this forum many times. I am not the only medical professional that contributes on these boards. There are many Physical Therapists (Dr. Rori Alter, Dr. Nick D’Agostino, Dr. John Petrizzo), Medical Doctors (Dr. Jonathon Sullivan, JFord, JFSully, etc) that regularly contribute to this board and make this board truly one of a kind in the breadth and depth of the knowledge base from which questions are answered.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to perform this duty. I will discharge the duties of this position faithfully.

MAJ (Dr.) Will Morris, PT, DPT, SSC
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy