Untold Physio Stories

From Refund Requests to Raving Fans: Managing the Patient Experience with Donis Gil

Ever had a patient ask for a full refund after a rock-solid evaluation? 🤦‍♂️It happened to me. Even after 20+ years of clinical practice and teaching hundreds of therapists, I realized that "good clinical results" don't always equal a "satisfied patient."In this episode of Untold Physio Stories, I’m joined by my good friend Donis Gil from Professional Seminars. We dive deep into the awkward, frustrating, and eye-opening moments when patient expectations don’t align with our clinical reality.We’re breaking down:The Refund Story: Why a "perfect" lecture can still result in a disgruntled customer.The "Sandwich" Approach: Is starting with a positive always the best way to handle critiques?Love Languages in the Clinic: How the 5 Love Languages (Quality Time, Acts of Service, etc.) apply directly to your patient's recovery journey.The Power of the Pause: How to handle high-conflict patients (like the "Atlas Rotation" lady) without losing your cool.Framing the Win: Why finishing a 60-minute eval in 40 minutes should be a bonus, not a "ripoff."Stop guessing what your patients want and start mastering the Expectation Management game.Check out the links in the show notes to connect with Donis Gil and level up your patient experience!Untold Physio Stories is sponsored by⁠Comprehend PT⁠- Leave Comprehend PT running in the background or record audio when you have time. The AI based SOAP note generator does the rest! No need for accuracy or exact wording! It's a game changer and will give you more time with your patients! Use code MMT50 to save 50% off your first month. Free trial available at sign up!⁠⁠The Eclectic Approach Network⁠⁠ - Check out Dr. E's all new private, non tracking and ad free network for rehab pros! It's free to join, has chat, feed, and all the features of other social networks without the creeping tracking.Check out ⁠⁠EDGE Mobility System⁠⁠'s Best Sellers - Something for every PT, OT, DC, MT, ATC or Fitness Minded Individual https://edgemobilitysystem.com

20 Years of Graded Excellence: Origin Stories & The Cervical Vestibular Connection with Dr. Paul Vidal

Ever feel like the PT world is just one big "small world"? 🌎In this episode of Untold Physio Stories, I’m joined by a long-time peer and fellow manual therapy "survivor," Dr. Paul Vidal. We take a trip down memory lane to the late 90s and early 2000s—back when the S1 course was 5 days of pure intensity, Stanley Paris was throwing shoes out of windows for wearing jewelry on the plinth, and Mariano Rocabado’s notes were still 90% in Spanish.But it’s not just about the "glory days." Paul shares a fascinating clinical deep dive into how he stumbled into the world of Vestibular Rehab. We discuss:The Origin Stories: Comparing our paths through the University of St. Augustine and the manual therapy fellowship "challenges".The Stanley Paris Lessons: The discipline (and fear) that shaped a generation of therapists.The Cervical Vestibular Link: How Paul realized the upper cervical spine was the missing link for many of his dizzy and balance-impaired patients.Evolution of Practice: Transitioning from a solo "manual therapy guy" to scaling a multi-site practice with 9 therapists and an integrated gym.Whether you're an OMPT nerd or interested in the Cervical Vestibular crossover, Paul’s journey from "pressing and guessing" to clinical mastery is a must-listen.Untold Physio Stories is sponsored by⁠Comprehend PT⁠- Leave Comprehend PT running in the background or record audio when you have time. The AI based SOAP note generator does the rest! No need for accuracy or exact wording! It's a game changer and will give you more time with your patients! Use code MMT50 to save 50% off your first month. Free trial available at sign up!⁠⁠The Eclectic Approach Network⁠⁠ - Check out Dr. E's all new private, non tracking and ad free network for rehab pros! It's free to join, has chat, feed, and all the features of other social networks without the creeping tracking.Check out ⁠⁠EDGE Mobility System⁠⁠'s Best Sellers - Something for every PT, OT, DC, MT, ATC or Fitness Minded Individual https://edgemobilitysystem.com

The "One Size Fits All" Trap: Why Your Guru’s Model is Failing Your Patients

Ever meet a clinician who is so married to their "system" that they stop listening to the person in front of them? 🚩In this episode of Untold Physio Stories, Dr. Sean Wells and I dive into the murky waters of professional networking gone wrong. Sean shares a story about a virtual meet-up with a "posture guru" that went south the second the word "complexity" was uttered.We’ve all seen it:The Posture-Only extremist who thinks every disease state starts at the pelvis.The Fascia-Fixated provider who hasn't heard of central sensitization.The Three-Hour Exam trainer whose model is as un-replicable as it is exhausting.The reality? Most of these "successful" gurus are just victims of their own success. They have a high-energy personality that sells a flawed model, creating a feedback loop that convinces them they’re never wrong.As clinicians, we have to stay humble. Whether it’s VR-based rehab or manual therapy, the second you close the door to other models is the second you stop growing.In this episode, we discuss:The danger of black-and-white clinical reasoning.Why "authoritative" personalities attract certain patient types (and fail others).The balance between virtual care efficiency and the power of the therapeutic alliance.A sneak peek at what’s coming to CSM 2026 with Immergo Labs.Don’t be the "My Way or the Highway" PT. Listen in and learn why staying open-minded is the best thing you can do for your outcomes.Untold Physio Stories is sponsored by⁠Comprehend PT⁠- Leave Comprehend PT running in the background or record audio when you have time. The AI based SOAP note generator does the rest! No need for accuracy or exact wording! It's a game changer and will give you more time with your patients! Use code MMT50 to save 50% off your first month. Free trial available at sign up!⁠⁠The Eclectic Approach Network⁠⁠ - Check out Dr. E's all new private, non tracking and ad free network for rehab pros! It's free to join, has chat, feed, and all the features of other social networks without the creeping tracking.Check out ⁠⁠EDGE Mobility System⁠⁠'s Best Sellers - Something for every PT, OT, DC, MT, ATC or Fitness Minded Individual https://edgemobilitysystem.com

Don't Assess Yourself Part 2

"Don't Assess Yourself."Gray Cook told me that years ago during an SFMA course, but apparently, I needed a painful reminder.I’ve been dealing with this nagging, chronic left-sided low back pain for a while now. Being the "Modern Manual Therapy" guy, I threw the absolute kitchen sink at it:Dry Needling 📍Shockwave Therapy ⚡Specific loading & trunk rotation 🏋️‍♂️General tissue work 💆‍♂️Everything gave me transient relief—maybe a 1 to 4 out of 10 improvement—but nothing stuck.Finally, I decided to stop overcomplicating it. I went back to basics. I checked my Repeated Extension in Standing (REIS).The result?It was stiff. It was blocked. It was painful.But after 10-15 reps? The pain melted away.I was so busy looking for the "fancy" fix that I missed the huge sagittal plane block right in front of me.In this episode of Untold Physio Stories, Dr. Sean Wells and I break down why physical therapists make the worst patients. Sean shares his own recent battle with acute back pain where he had to put his ego aside, get on oral steroids, and let a colleague dry needle him to break the cycle.The Takeaway:Pain is an emotional and sensory experience. You cannot be objective about your own body. Whether you are a new grad or have been practicing for 20 years—get an outside set of eyes.Untold Physio Stories is sponsored by⁠Comprehend PT⁠- Leave Comprehend PT running in the background or record audio when you have time. The AI based SOAP note generator does the rest! No need for accuracy or exact wording! It's a game changer and will give you more time with your patients! Use code MMT50 to save 50% off your first month. Free trial available at sign up!⁠⁠The Eclectic Approach Network⁠⁠ - Check out Dr. E's all new private, non tracking and ad free network for rehab pros! It's free to join, has chat, feed, and all the features of other social networks without the creeping tracking.Check out ⁠⁠EDGE Mobility System⁠⁠'s Best Sellers - Something for every PT, OT, DC, MT, ATC or Fitness Minded Individual https://edgemobilitysystem.com

The Sacroiliac Joint Conundrum: Are Two Degrees Truly Significant?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: "The patient’s PSIS is 2 degrees higher on the right, so their pelvis is rotated and that’s why their back hurts."In this episode of Untold Physio Stories, we’re diving into the weeds of the Sacroiliac Joint. We’ve all been taught the intricate palpation models, but when we look at the actual kinematics, we’re often talking about movements so small they’re nearly impossible to reliably detect with human hands.In this episode, we discuss:The "Two-Degree" Threshold: Is a 2-degree shift a clinical "aha!" moment or just measurement error (or normal human asymmetry)?Reliability vs. Reality: Why our obsession with "alignment" might be distracting us from what actually gets the patient moving.The Untold Story: A real-world case where focusing on the "degrees" led a clinician down a rabbit hole, and how shifting to a multi-modal, loading-based approach changed the outcome.The bottom line: If your treatment plan changes based on a 2-degree palpation finding, you might be treating the map, not the territory. It’s time to stop over-complicating the SIJ and start focusing on what the evidence actually tells us.Don’t let a minor deviation in a "test" dictate a major shift in your "treatment." Sensitivity matters, but clinical relevance matters more.Untold Physio Stories is sponsored by⁠Comprehend PT⁠- Leave Comprehend PT running in the background or record audio when you have time. The AI based SOAP note generator does the rest! No need for accuracy or exact wording! It's a game changer and will give you more time with your patients! Use code MMT50 to save 50% off your first month. Free trial available at sign up!⁠⁠The Eclectic Approach Network⁠⁠ - Check out Dr. E's all new private, non tracking and ad free network for rehab pros! It's free to join, has chat, feed, and all the features of other social networks without the creeping tracking.Check out ⁠⁠EDGE Mobility System⁠⁠'s Best Sellers - Something for every PT, OT, DC, MT, ATC or Fitness Minded Individual https://edgemobilitysystem.com