Victory Performance And Physical Therapy

If anyone needs a good PT referral, check out Victory!
Tonight, the eve of the anniversary of my hip surgery (labral tear and impingement repair), was bittersweet. It marked the final game of my «comeback» season to ice hockey. Our team has been short players a few times this season, and tonight only 6 skaters showed up. For those of you who don’t know hockey, we were short on the bench about 4 players, which means everyone is going to be skating for almost the entire game, which can get brutal. Glancing over at our opponent’s bench, we noticed their full roster, and we knew we were in for a long go at 60 minutes.
Well, The Dragons breathed some fire into our game tonight.
I had a goal and two assists, and in the waning moments of the 3^rd period, I made a ridiculous cross-​ice sprint and swan dive poke check play to stop a breakaway. I felt like Duncan Keith. After busting ass all game, I couldn’t believe how I got back there to stop an almost certain goal and a tie game. It felt so freakin good.
We dug deep and survived to win 7 – 4. It was so much fun to finally get a win after losing every game this season.
The hip is increasingly stronger as every week goes by, and I’m looking forward to the next season!
Thanks to Santo Riva for getting me back on the rink.

I heard of Victory through an acquaintance who was a student of Dr. Riva’s during his time at USC. I train in Muay Thai and had been dealing with recurring back pain for quite some time. I had seen physical therapists in the past, but Dr. Riva’s approach really stood above the rest. Personally, I liked that he focused his intervention on education and the mechanics of things. In doing so, I had a better understanding of the nature of my injuries and the importance of staying diligent with my therapy exercises. He’s got a lot of experience from teaching physical therapy to being an athlete himself… and you can definitely feel that experience come through with his approach. I had a great connection with him, he’s like no other clinician I’ve met. Ask him about his capoeira days, or even his travels in India as a yoga instructor… Dr. Riva knows what’s up!

I saw Santo for my recovery from Child Labor so I can return training, as I lead a martial arts academy in the city. I also had him look at me for some residual damage I had on my feet ever since I was a child. Not only he reassured me I can work on correcting stuff, he gave me a full asesment and exercises that had me feel a difference the next week. No other doctors have had such confidence in my recovery. I also really respected that he was honest with me enough to ad use me to wait on making new orthotics as opposed to have me tspend money with him on new ones. Great service all around.

I worked with Santo at a prior facility where he helped rehabilitate a long-​term sports-​related ankle injury. I had a fantastic experience with him. He combines a fantastic attention to detail with the right blend of motivating you to push through small obstacles in your rehab while slowing down to help lead you through larger ones. He brought the newest research to my treatment, and was always ready to consider new angles from which to look at my injury. I’d highly recommend him and his work to anyone with a long-​standing, chronic injury like mine and would quickly seek him out again if the need arises (I hope it doesn’t!).

I am so happy that I found Victory PT.
I work from home (and really dislike L.A. traffic) so it was very convenient to have a
therapist come to my house.
Santo was always on time and came with everything he needed to get my shoulder back into tip top shape.
He always made sure I was doing my exercises correctly, and also showed me other exercises that would be beneficial to my general well being and balance.
After he fixed my shoulder, he made me a custom pair of orthotics — at $ 150 less than the last place I had them made.
I totally recommend this amazing helpful and friendly therapist.
Another plus — I didn’t have to look for parking!

Santo is the absolute greatest! I injured myself skiing back in January and tore my meniscus and ACL. It was the upmost importance for me to get better and stronger as quickly as possible so I can get back to work. The PT my doctor prescribe only allotted for extremely easy exercises. I needed something more challenging and advanced. A friend of my mine recommended Victory Performance and Physical Therapy (after countless phone calls to other PT facilities who wouldn’t take my insurance). Thank God Santo worked with me! Almost immediately my muscles had started to be visible again and the exercises were fun and definitely challenging! The thing I loved most about working with Santo is his patience along with his coaching. I felt motivated but cared for. I would recommend Victory Performance and Physical Therapy to everyone!

My 92-​year old dad has always exercised his mind, and never his body. At this advanced age, his physical limitations have created major balance issues, and poor vision only complicates things. When his doctor ordered in-​home physical therapy, my dad was lucky to get Dr. Santo Riva’s prescribed twice weekly visits covered by his insurance.
Santo started by working with both my mom and dad to assess the safety of the inside and outside of their house. He recommended and then helped to move furniture and clutter, creating clearer pathways throughout the house for my dad to be able to maneuver his walker more freely. He also made sure that my dad’s bed height was appropriate for him.
Then he taught my (very stubborn) dad the proper use of his walker and positioning of it near his body as he moves with it, how to safely turn and sit, and then get up from a sitting position and start to walk.
All these things seem really basic, but at my parents’ advanced age, and with my dad’s super stubborn know-​it-​all attitude, this has all been extremely necessary.
What’s also been necessary in my parents’ case is Santo’s level of patience. My dad can be protesty, and both of my parents get overwhelmed when it comes to change, so I’ve seen them cop attitude to him over and over again. While I tend to be somewhat of a pushover with them, Santo diplomatically and respectfully sets proper boundaries.
During today’s visit, my dad actually did some simple strengthening exercises, which is totally pushing his comfort zone — emotionally and physically. Santo’s words of support seem to motivate my dad, which says A LOT considering his lifelong aversion to exercise.
Not only has he been helpful to my parents directly, but Santo has also been extremely helpful to me. His updates about my dad’s actual physical condition, and information and advice on aging-​related subjects have literally been the missing pieces of info that I’ve needed this year.
Even though they cop him attitude, I know that both my parents appreciate Santo too; his calming energy truly neutralizes some of the fear and overwhelm that’s going on for them right now.
Thank you Santo!

I used Victory PT for weight loss and marathon training.
Santo helped me correct my form on squats and KB swings.
With running, he suggested some alternative stretching routines to work out some of my sore areas.
I’ve had some great PT sessions with Santo and recommend his services to anyone who is looking to rehab from an injury, lose weight, or just improve physically.

Was referred to Victory PT by a friend for post baby hip/​back pain and to get back into my work out routine. Santo was able to come to my house for training and brought along a variety of equipment for us to use. Santo helped me rehab my back and hips — super helpful since picking up and carrying a baby exacerbated a problem I was hoping would have gone away post-​pregnancy. He also got me started on a great workout program so that I could get back into running and my pre-​pregnancy fitness level. I thought he was appropriately challenging and mixed it up every time so I didn’t get bored.