Trent Salo - Assessing & Improving Tendon Health
Inform Performance
Structure, symptoms and function relationship
Trent discusses how structural changes, pain, and function are related but often dissociated, and implications for athletes.
Episode 211: In this episode, Andy McDonald is joined by Trent — founder of The Tendon Lab and a specialist in Achilles and Patellar tendon health.
Trent brings nearly a decade of professional basketball experience as a physical therapist, strength coach, and former VP of Player Health and Performance into his focused clinical and research practice in Traverse City, Michigan. A former collegiate basketball player turned tendon scientist, his work now centres exclusively on evaluating and enhancing tendon structure and function.
Alongside consulting with professional teams on high-performance systems and return-to-play processes, Trent is pursuing his PhD in tendon health under one of the world’s leading tendon researchers. His mission is clear: bridge the gap between emerging tendon science and the realities of performance environments.
Across the conversation, Trent unpacks what “tendon health” really means beyond pain or imaging alone. He explores how structure, function, and symptoms interact — and why they don’t always move in parallel. The discussion dives into the role of UTC imaging, intelligent loading strategies, and how to progress athletes toward high-level stretch–shortening cycle (SSC) demands with clarity and confidence.
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Topics Discussed:
• Defining tendon health
• The role of UTC imaging in clinical decision-making
• Structure vs. function vs. pain
• Strategies for progressive tendon loading
• Targeting tendon substructure adaptations
• End-stage / SSC tendon loading in performance settings
Where you can find Trent:
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Sponsors
Gameplan is a rehab Project Management & Data Analytics Platform that improves operational & communication efficiency during rehab. Gameplan provides a centralised tool for MDT’s to work collaboratively inside a data rich environment
VALD Performance, makers of the Nordbord, Forceframe, ForeDecks and HumanTrak. VALD Performance systems are built with the high-performance practitioner in mind, translating traditionally lab-based technologies into engaging, quick, easy-to-use tools for daily testing, monitoring and training
Hytro: The world’s leading Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearable, designed to accelerate recovery and maximise athletic potential using Hytro BFR for Professional Sport.
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