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Dr. Leada Malek, PT, DPT, SCS, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA (2026)

09/23/2026

Low back tension - esp off the the side.

📁keep this one handy.

That one spot at the side of the low back that’s hard to “stretch” it out. It may feel deep, and sometimes it’s not relieved unless you dig into it (even that can be uncomfortable).

It’s important to know low back pain is multifactorial. A lot of things can contribute to what you feel with it from actual trauma to the region, an irritated nerve root, even stress levels and beliefs about the back.

🤔Historically, the quadratus lumborum muscle has often been blamed for that muscle tension a few inches way from the spine, but we really can’t blame that muscle alone since this region works so intricately together.

✖️This muscle starts from the inside of the posterior iliac crest & attaches up to the medial half of the lower border of the 12th rib & sides of the lumbar spine. Based on its anatomy, it can assist with breathing & we think it’s capable of contributing to extending the spine and hiking up the hip - But it’s actually quite weak at doing these.

⛓We still have a lot to learn about this muscle. But for now, we think it might just be a key player to help the neighboring muscles work together (I.e. core group like lats, back, glue med, TFL, etc). So..maybe target them to reduce pain - especially if it’s just a “spasm”!

Stretching may be helpful, but so can breathing exercises to reduce tension, and focusing on its neighboring muscles can help reduce tension for longer.

Save these exercises built around that idea.

Have you felt this pain before?
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❗️none of these should hurt. always get assessed if you have pain. Everyone is different!
⁣—

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✅ Follow for more tips l 🙌🏼
👇🏼 Lmk how they go!

📚Bordoni & Varacallo (2021)

09/23/2026

HIGH HAMSTRING STRENGTH: Proximal Hamstring Tendinopathy

Pain below the glute at the top of the hamstring can be due to a few things but one possible culprit is proximal hamstring tendinopathy.

This may come on as overuse specifically with doing too much too fast with activities that involve sprinting, lunging, hurdles, or hills. Static stretching with certain yoga/Pilates poses or compression to the area (sitting) might also contribute to discomfort here.

As with other tendinopathies (Achilles patellar), monitoring training load and symptoms is key in resolving this.

We’re still learning more in how to tackle this with the evidence, but understanding hamstring anatomy and function is important in building the right rehab program, especially in an athlete.

In running hamstrings eccentrically decelerate knee extension when the leg is trailing with running. But the second highest peak force is right in early stance (when the foot hits the ground).

Tendons are the middle-man that help with energy storage and release when we move.
With greater hip & trunk flexion (running uphill, running with a forward lean, overstriding, high kicks) this tendon is undergoing a lot of stress. A strong hamstring can control loads and generate power from different knee AND hip angles and through its available range of motion.

In the gym, prone curls, deadlifts, step ups, razor curls, Nordic curls, good mornings,hip thrusts, and more are nice options - you can take these too.

Home rehab still matters. These offer mid/late stage rehab for the athlete or dancer👇🏼

1️⃣ multi angle bridge
2️⃣ SL Bridge elevated
3️⃣ kickstand RDL (progress to SL)
4️⃣ 1/2 kneel slides

⚠️ None of these should hurt. Play with positioning, tempo, volume, and load! Get an assessment by a PT to see what's right for you!
✅🎯 SHARE + Tag a friend who could use this!⁣
✅ Follow for more tips like this!⁣
👇🏼 LMK if this helped!

PMID: 27084841

09/23/2026

hip/low back wins and *hinging*

When most people think exercises with a “hip hinge,” they think of deadlifts, followed by something like squats.

During acute low back or hip pain, these things may be hard.

Hinge exercises are lower body focused movements that prioritize eccentric hip flexion and concentric hip extension. They are often paired with squat patterns.

📌WHAT:
Your posterior chain refers to the muscles on your backside, including the lumbar paraspinals/multifidi, glutes, and hamstrings, which contribute to the “core” beyond the abs.

Building endurance in the muscles doing the hinging and bolstering of the spine/hips is a must especially after an injury.

Isometric exercises can help with pain relief, low load movements are a great entry-point.

📌INJURY:
Low back pain is complex with many contributing factors. Movement habits, fear/beliefs, even stress levels play a role. But strength and progressive load are important.

Regaining glute/ham strength to help power hip extension moments is important - especially if your sport/dance requires it!

Low back pain, hamstring strains, hip pain/labral tears, SIJ, hip flexor strains are all injuries that may use these.

📌THE SERIES:
This reverse ext/hyper progression targets the core, glutes/hammies, back, and hips in an open chain position without the use of a reverse hyper machine.

☝️The limitation: you can’t load it much, so I prefer this as a warm up or earlier phase rehab option progressing to/with heavier and closed chain positions.

Fun adds: add a miniband around the ankles or knees, or tie a long band under the table -> around the ankles for added resistance.

⚡️Cues:
-The low back may want to help with hip ext if the glute strength/hip flexibility doesn’t allow it. Try to stay stable in the trunk and core to maintain quality
-If you don’t have a lot of hip extension ROM, use what you have
-Reach your heel back to maximize hip & knee ext. Move with control

No table? Try a bench/ball!

Have you done these?
✅ Send to yourself to try!
Follow & nerd out with me on more rehab tips!

09/23/2026

official BTS of the ultimate stretching book!!!!

COMMENT “BOOK” FOR THE LINK IN YOUR MESSAGES!

Context: In Feb ’22 I got an email from asking if I’d author the next book in their successful practical fitness titles. 18 months later, the Science of Stretch has made GLOBAL release and I couldn’t be more proud (hasn’t sunk in yet).⁣

I often get asked if I have any advice for aspiring authors, and questions about this beautifully illustrated book.⁣

Starting with: How the heck did you make the book?
To which I say…LOL what part?

I can’t speak to ALL writing processes, but I can speak to my own.

Here are some fun facts:
-I started with an outline and put EVERY important topic I could think about. This was obviously overkill, but I had to try.
-I actually surveyed YOU all for your favorite stretches before finalizing the list!!!
-The list ended up missing my favorite “scorpion” :’( but that’s okay
-Every single exercise was born from a photo/video of MYSELF (lmao) and later anatomized by the INCREDIBLE science illustrators behind the “science of” books.
-I had to name every single muscle, what was happening, even if it felt like nothing was happening. My brain: “idk the toe is just there during Childs pose. Why does it matter?” The book: are pointed away facing south (lol jk)
-I came across a love/hate relationship with words we use in science and wha they mean in English when it came to word counts. “ANGIOGENESIS” is *precious word space!* but no. too much. Pls explain simply for this book.
-I was brewing coffee at midnight during peak deadlines and I’m not proud about it
-It would never have finished in 18 months without t my team at DK books. They really are incredible.

This book includes:

-The latest research on stretching⁣
-An overview of anatomy and physiology, nervous system and pain science⁣
-Tips on managing a lifestyle catered toward healthy aging and injury reduction with exercise ⁣
-What happens to the body when we stretch⁣
-How to perform >100 essential mobility exercises at home or the gym⁣

—
I cannot be more grateful of the process and wouldn’t have changed a thing, except for maybe tried to get more sleep lol⁣
⁣
💕I hope this book encourages people to explore movement with less fear and supplement the active lifestyle we try to get the world to adopt.⁣
⁣
📖 Buy it, use it, gift it - I hope this book earns a space on your bookshelf!🥹⁣
⁣
The ‘Science of Stretch’ is available now!⁣

COMMENT “BOOK” FOR THE LINK IN YOUR MESSAGES!

09/16/2026

The ball can feel fab but…⁣
⁣
it’s lower on my list for(non-painful) prevention! Bc addressing the calf, ankle, and tensile integrity of the plantar fascia itself is key.
⁣
Pain under the foot can vary as to why it’s happening, but plantar fasciitis/fasciopathy is a common culprit for 1 in 10 people. ⁣it’s often characterized by pain near the heel or arch first thing in the morning and worsens with impact or activity. ⁣
⁣
We’ve moved towards calling it “fasciopathy” because thickening and degenerative findings seem to be more prevalent than inflammatory ones. Other sources of heel pain should be ruled out like fractures and there may be heel spurs, although heel spurs don’t always correlate with pain. ⁣
⁣
KEYS TO REMEMBER:⁣
✖️ The plantar fascia extends the entire length of the foot⁣
✖️ 1st toe mobility can impact ankle mobility; both can impact plantar fascia health⁣
✖️ The calf has direct influence on it. A tight/weak/inflexible calf can be a risk factor and can limit dorsiflexion⁣.
⁣
🏹Think of a cable going from the heel to the balls of the feet. When the ankle dorsiflexes during walking, the cable winds around the ball of the toe. This winding shortens the distance between the two points to help lift the arch. The big toe extending up is a main driver for this. ⁣
⁣
Lack of mobility, calf strength or a combo of these for whatever reason (injury, pain, poor shoes, mechanics, etc) + overload/excessive stress on the plantar fascia or lead to issues in the foot and ankle. ⁣
⁣
Address these to minimize risk of this pesky issue:⁣
⁣
☑️Supportive or adequate shoewear or adequate prep (!) for shoewear of choice⁣
☑️Intrinsic foot strength ⁣
☑️Toe extension range of motion⁣
☑️Ankle dorsiflexion range/calf strength/flexibility - do this with the toes extended or start without it!⁣
☑️Dynamic foot stability⁣
⁣
After YEARS of ankle instability/ankle sprains (and treating plenty of people who’ve lived through it too) there’s some things that just set you up better with your feet. These are some of them.
⁣
Have you had foot pain?
⁣
— ⁣
👏🏼 LIKE • SHARE🎯 Tag a friend!⁣
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09/13/2026

OOP are you okay?😳

Okay jokes aside..Reproducing symptoms is one of the most important parts of an eval for me, especially when someone’s coming in for a symptom they felt but only once and they really can’t pinpoint it.

Why is it borderline unhinged to helping someone hurt less usually by carefully making them hurt a little more, on purpose, VERY briefly? 😅 While this isn’t always necessary every visit, it is sometimes to zone in on the mystery symptom!

I’m trying to gather some data here!
-Does this bring back YOUR symptom that caused you to come here in the first place? Is it consistent?
-Does it change with position or load or reps?
How is your previously aggravating motion doing TODAY? Any better?

All this helps dictate where we go next!

🚩More importantly, it’s a way of telling me if this is indeed a musculoskeletal concern or something that required a different health care professional’s eyes.

It’s not often, but when something isn’t adding up in the PT clinic with the tests and measures I have, I flag it and refer out because the body can refer pain in all kinds of ways, sometimes due to more sinister pathologies that need urgent medical attention.

What movements are provocative, what your body’s been doing to avoid or work around the pain, where a good starting point actually is.

I promise I’m not trying to hurt you and I’m not out here claiming I found THE cause (because it’s always a lot of things that influence what we feel!).

But I AM trying to understand your pain well enough to build a plan that actually works.

Making you feel it, briefly, is part of how I help you stop feeling it long term, or helping you de-code the pain signal in the future!

Did any else have an injury as a kid and used to “test” HOW injured it still was before playing 😂 or were you normal 💀💀

09/13/2026

Hi, I’m Dr. Leada! I’m a physical therapist with an advanced board specialty in sports and certified strength and conditioning specialist. I’ve been practicing for over 10 years and have worked with the NFL player to the professional ballerina, and everyone in-between. I built this page for exactly that person.

I’m not here to tell you to stop moving. I’m here to help you keep doing what you love, smarter. INFORMED gym choices make for more effective gym choices.

Follow along if you’re rehabbing, coming back from something, or just trying to stay ahead of an injury before it happens 🤍

05/25/2026

So you tweaked your shoulder…⁣
⁣
Ask and you shall receive! A swipe-thru of my favorite “i just tweaked my shoulder” exercises…⁣
⁣
AKA low-load shoulder exercises that focus on restoring range of motion, scapular stability & rotator cuff control when other motions are suddenly out-of-reach due to pain.⁣
⁣
—⁣
RTC injuries can affect people of all ages and from the weekend warriors to the pro athlete. Overuse and age are one reason, but acute injury is another. Asymptomatic tears are common! This may happen from direct trauma to the shoulder, poor overhead mechanics in sport, or falls. ⁣
⁣
Theories vary when it comes to chronic issues (i.e. age-related changes), but we do know that a healthier & more efficient shoulder can help counter any changes going on within the tendon to contribute to injury and even reduce the need for surgical intervention. ⁣
⁣
Shoulder impingement & rotator cuff tendinitis are old terms we’re moving away from as well learn more. “Rotator cuff syndrome” (RCS) is now being describe injury or age-related changes affecting this group of 4 muscles AND any impingement-like symptoms.⁣
⁣
Fire up the scapular stabilizers & rotator cuff muscles! I recommend dialing into this every now and then, especially if you lift weights, do overhead sports, or work with your arm overhead.⁣
⁣
By targeting muscles that control these region, you can improve capacity of the shoulder is better prepared to sustain loads thru and generate power from it.⁣
⁣
These are some exercises I often prescribe and had to do myself to address rotator cuff/scapular muscles, while slowly regaining range of motion AND strength in certain positions.⁣
⁣
-Prone ER⁣
-Prone Hover⁣
-Prone ER to Press⁣
-Serratus Walk Out⁣
-Floor press⁣
-Eccentric ER⁣
-Eccentric flexion⁣
-Lat Raises⁣
-Sidelying Trio Series⁣
⁣
PT TIPS:⁣
-some positions will call for a lighter weight, some not⁣
-keep it challenging⁣
-keep discomfort LOW, if it lingers into the next AM, it was too much⁣
-consistency and gradual progressions challenging different shoulder positions are IMPERATIVE to return to activity⁣
-pain-free does not mean healed and ready for activity!!

05/20/2026

My tiny space is a VIBE.

I just moved to San Francisco after 12 years in a 500 sq ft Oakland apartment — the one that saw me grow this entire page through the pandemic. 🤍

Mind you, my last “set up” was a basket full of resistance bands, a literal Swiffer broomstick, a foam roller, a yoga mat, a TRX I had invested in years before.. laid out in front of my bedroom door.

I still don’t have a garage gym (one day I swear). What I have now is one extra room: a bay window, a desk, two bookshelves… and a full PT + strength studio packed into 9×11 feet. With my dog very much included.

PSA: You don’t need a fancy gym, a spare bedroom, or an insane budget to rehab an injury or get genuinely strong at home. You need a few right things, chosen on purpose.

Find tools that offer more than one function. like the massage ball that lives in my freezer. Space saving things are a godsend. Stuff that folds, stacks, and disappears into a corner.

I haven’t quite named my gym yet but it is a PARTY in here when I do choose to work out (especially at night).

IMO if you build a space you actually enjoy being in.. it’s going to encourage you to be in there! Because the best equipment in the world does nothing if you avoid the room.

I made this little studio mine, down to the tiny fridge and the lamp that syncs to my music, and it’s the reason I actually show up. Yes it helps that I can confidently build out programs etc etc but this truly is my lil corner now!

Swipe through for every single piece and what each one’s really for.

Save it for the next time you catch yourself saying “I don’t have the space” because you do. And tag the friend who keeps waiting until they have a “real gym” to start. 👀

Comment LIST and I’ll DM you my faves including the ones I’d rebuy first if I had to start the whole thing over.

—

04/25/2026

“I used to be so much stronger when I was younger.”

I hear this almost every week in my clinic. And while it’s partially true, it’s rarely the whole story!

You played sports growing up. You moved more days than not in your 20s. Then career, life, and injuries happened. All of a sudden, what happened?

Training changes mean stimulus changes.

📚 WHY IT MATTERS:

Resistance training is one of the most powerful tools we have for longevity. The benefits go FAR beyond looking strong:

→ Bone density: RT loads bone, helping prevent osteoporosis and fractures (especially critical in your 30s and 40s when peak bone mass is set)
→ Muscle mass + strength: directly fights sarcopenia, which doubles your risk of falls and frailty later in life
→ Metabolic health: improves insulin sensitivity, blood sugar regulation, and cardiovascular markers, the list is LONG!
→ Lower all-cause mortality: strength is one of the most consistent predictors of how long, and how well, you live
→ Mental health: reduces depression and anxiety symptoms, improves sleep quality
→ Independence: no falls, live your life!

💪 ACSM just published their first major resistance training update in 17 years — reviewing 137 studies and 30,000+ participants.

Here’s what they landed on:
→ Train at least 2 days per week
→ Train all major muscle groups
→ 2-3 sets per exercise
→ Stop ~2-3 reps before failure

✨ What surprised researchers:
→ You don’t need a gym (bands, body weight, isometrics all count)
→ Most variables we used to obsess over don’t matter as much (strict load, tempo, rest periods, equipment type)
→ Power training is now a big pillar — velocity-based training and explosive intent matter
→ Individualizing > rigid programming
→ Consistency > perfection

IT WORKS BASICALLY ANY WAY YOU DO IT!

That should feel freeing. No more waiting for the perfect program, the right gym, etc. There isn’t one.

But it also means there’s no more excuse not to. Because the cost of doing nothing is everything I listed above.

Start simple. Train consistently. Keep going.

Send it to the friend who keeps saying they’re “getting old.”They’re prob just undertrained. 🤍

—

Dr. Leada Malek, PT, DPT, SCS

09/23/2026

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