The Millennial Body Breakdown: A PT's Guide to Staying Pain-Free
Written by Julie Woon, MSJ
Dr. Elizabeth Rudd, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, is the founder of Well Equipt, a physical therapy practice in Atlanta. A Columbia University graduate and board-certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist, she specializes in helping active adults overcome pain to continue playing the sports and hobbies they love. Dr. Rudd is also a certified Titleist Performance Institute Instructor with experience treating professional and recreational athletes. She resides in Atlanta with her husband and two boys.
Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to start Well EquiPT?
Dr. Rudd: I graduated from physical therapy school in 2016 in New York and came back to Atlanta for my first job. I had dreamed of being a PT since I was 13 - I loved that it wasn't a desk job, you get to be active, work with athletes, use your brain, and practice medicine. But within a year and a half, I was completely burned out - crying myself to sleep, working weekends, feeling trapped in a rat race.
In outpatient orthopedics, once you become a practicing PT, you're essentially at the ceiling of your profession with nowhere else to climb. I knew I wanted to be a mom someday and continue practicing PT, so I thought there had to be a better way. That's how Well EquiPT was born - with the goal of helping active adults and athletes while maintaining balanced wellness as our core value.
Why should physical therapy be part of a proactive wellness routine for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s?
Dr. Rudd: There are two main groups I see. First, there are people actively training for peak performance - like golfers who need specific mobility, stability, strength, and power. As PTs, we understand biomechanics and can help athletes know exactly which muscles to work and when, plus provide strategic approaches to recovery.
Then there are people who just want to stay healthy - they want to go to Barry's Bootcamp or Pilates, work out, and get through their workday without aches and pains. That's totally normal, too. The reality is, whenever I tell people I'm a PT at social events, it takes less than 60 seconds for them to ask about their shoulder or some other issue. Everyone has questions we can help answer.
How does physical therapy help with issues related to desk jobs and modern lifestyles?
Dr. Rudd: The biggest issue we're seeing is static positioning - sitting at desks, computers, driving in traffic, just not moving throughout the day. This places enormous demand on your body and muscles, causing fatigue and repetitive strain. You're literally straining your muscles just by sitting, plus locking up your joints so they don't get the movement and lubrication they need.
When you sit all day, your glutes are lengthened, which means when you try to work them out later, they have a harder time contracting. We teach people how to find their glutes, understand their core, and breathe properly. There are so many simple things we can incorporate into daily life that make a huge difference for longevity and fitness.
What daily or weekly movements do you recommend?
Dr. Rudd: Movement is medicine - truly. I always ask people: What do you enjoy? What will you actually do? What sounds good to you? Then let's focus there. Just don't sit around and do nothing all day.
If we get specific about desk posture - you're hunched forward with forward shoulders - we need extension and rotation-based stretches. Even just one to two minutes a day will give you significant benefits. There are all kinds of little tricks depending on your goals and what you enjoy.
For posture and aging well, what's your approach?
Dr. Rudd: Posture always comes down to mobility and strength. It's about decreasing all the "forward, down, and in" positioning. I tell people to work in the opposite direction - open up, stretch the shoulders and mid-back, get your head back because we all hold our heads forward and gravity pulls on our spine.
You need one or two stretches for mobility to get you open, then one or two strengthening exercises to help maintain that opening - usually some kind of scapular squeeze with resistance. The biggest misconception is that people think they need to stretch more, but most of the time, their mobility is decent, and their strength is terrible. They don't know how to activate their core or postural muscles. Strengthening needs to be just as important as stretching.
What signs or symptoms suggest someone should see a physical therapist?
Dr. Rudd: In orthopedics (muscles, joints, bones), really anytime something aches for more than a couple of days and doesn't go away, that's your cue to at least see a PT. We're trained to triage - we can ask the right questions and do assessments to determine if it's a musculoskeletal problem we can help with, or if it looks concerning and you need to see a different type of doctor.
At Well EquiPT, I pride myself on being easily accessible. I always tell people to come in for an evaluation. If it's a PT issue, we'll keep you. If not, we refer you out. But anything that's an ache or pain that doesn't subside in four to six days - I want to see you.
How does remote physical therapy work?
Dr. Rudd: This started during COVID when everyone's life was flipped upside down. People were working from terrible home workstations, picking up running when they hadn't run before, playing golf when they were beginners - lots of issues kept popping up.
I found that through conversation and visual assessment, I could really tell what was going on about 80% of the time. By doing a quick evaluation, asking the right questions, and observing movement, I could put together a remote program to get people 80% better, if not fully better.
Nothing replaces hands-on work, but movement is medicine. We program through a platform called True Coach with videos of me and my team doing the exercises, providing verbal cues on proper form, what to look for if there's a mistake, and what you should get out of each exercise. I typically program out a month with mobility and stability work, customized to where you're at.
How did you develop your golf physical therapy specialty?
Dr. Rudd: This is kind of funny - my background was basketball and cheerleading/gymnastics in high school and college. Great sports, but not great for aging! I realized in PT school that I wouldn't be tumbling much longer or playing pickup basketball regularly.
Golf seemed interesting from a biomechanics standpoint, and lots of people play it as they age, so it was win-win. I went deep into golf swing mechanics and what your body needs for a good, pain-free swing. I got certified through Titleist and attended their seminars.
Ironically, I graduated PT school, started a business, had COVID hit, became a mom of two boys, and grew my practice - so I have zero time to actually play golf! But my husband plays, my dad plays, lots of patients play, and I have the certifications. Once you get a golfer playing pain-free and improving their swing distance and consistency, they tell their friends who want to know the secret sauce.
What are the most common physical limitations you see in amateur golfers in their 30s and 40s?
Dr. Rudd: The primary limitations are:
Hip mobility - You need tremendous hip mobility for golf, but because we sit, run, or don't work out our legs properly, our hip mobility as a society is pretty terrible.
Mid-back mobility - Same issue from sitting, being hunched over screens, and driving. Our mid-back can't extend and rotate properly.
Glute strength - Many people have trouble finding and strengthening their glutes, and they say the glutes are the king of the swing. That's your power and distance.
Think about it: a longer lever arm over a longer distance gives you more power and force. You have to have mobility to have power. Younger golfers often have the mobility but lack strength and don't know how to recruit their glutes - they're just cranking through with everything else to compensate.
Can you share a success story from your golf program?
Dr. Rudd: We have several success stories, but here's the funny thing - you'll have a success story one week, then the next week they come back saying they played terribly! I'll ask what happened, and it's often mental.
You see performance improve from a body mechanics standpoint. They'll tell you they know how to rotate better, they're finding the muscles that need to be active to hit farther. But then the next week: "I played terribly, I couldn't figure it out." We tend to see clear improvements in distance, but golf is just a tough mental game.
How do you customize programs for different fitness levels?
Dr. Rudd: The beauty of our practice is we have a full hour with patients every time, so we get a deep understanding of where they are and where they're going. Here are some examples:
Complex chronic cases: Patients who've waited a decade for PT, coming in with five different body parts hurting for 12 years. These people will see us once a week for several weeks initially to get pain managed and establish a good exercise program. Then they go do their work, come back to reevaluate and progress, then go off again.
Acute cases: Like a 12-year-old with an ankle sprain. We give them the full hour, explain what happened and what to do, see them once more to ensure they're hopping, running, and jumping appropriately, then they're good to go.
Maintenance clients: People who tweaked their necks while sleeping funny. Quick plan of care to tackle the immediate issue, then keep them on intermittently over a few weeks to prevent recurrence.
Performance clients: People who want to work out with a PT's brain and programming. There's consistency there because that's their goal - to get stronger healthily with professional guidance.
What's your most important message about physical therapy?
Dr. Rudd: Pain is not normal. It's not a normal part of aging. If you're hurting or have aches, ask a PT. We love to help and share whatever we can to help you work through it. But please understand - pain is not something you just have to live with.
Where can people find more information about Well EquiPT?
Dr. Rudd: We're most active on Instagram at @well.equipped, and I'm personally active at @elizabeth.s.rudd. You can check out our website at wellequippedpt.com for great information, and I'm always available for communication through social media or email via our website.
We're also moving to a new, bigger location in Buckhead - just about a mile up the road from our current spot, off Roswell Road, with upgraded amenities and more space.
Want to hear more from Dr. Rudd? Check out the YMyHealth podcast!