The Sports Physical Therapy Academy Podcast · Dr. Chris Garcia

EP175: "It's Too Expensive"

·29 min·2 clips

"It's not the monetary value that's expensive... It's what I'm exchanging it for."

1. The Sports Physical Therapy Academy Podcast EP175, "It's Too Expensive," addresses what cash-pay physical therapists should do when athletes object to rates of $250 to $350 per session. 2. Host Chris Garcia, a physical therapist, business owner, and residency-trained sports specialist, draws on work in professional sports and on mentoring clinicians in his cash PT clinical elevation course. 3. His thesis is that price objections start with the therapist: "you're the problem and not the patient," because the therapist is not the customer and undervalues the service. 4. He compares a $1,000 price for a first home, a BMW, or a MacBook to show that cost depends on "what I'm exchanging it for," then applies it to rates like $137, $250, or $400 versus a $20 or $40 copay. 5. He uses a dentist who sees an $800 extraction as quick work and a mechanic fixing brakes for a parent with kids in the car to show that service providers undervalue what customers will pay for. 6. He describes a 50-year-old who injures their back on a deadlift after a doctor flagged high blood pressure and cholesterol, arguing that fixing the back pain alone is a "band-aid job" and the therapist should address the goal of exercising safely. 7. He lists three criteria for patients most likely to see value: pain lasting years (such as six years of sciatic symptoms), urgency (such as a deadline in five days), and a history of trying chiropractors, massage therapists, MDs and other PTs. 8. He suggests explaining value with a concrete promise, such as 5 to 10% improvement per week and "50% improvement" by the three-month mark, and charging per solution rather than per 15-minute billing unit. 9. He challenges therapists to say what patients buy beyond pain relief, asking why a $300 session differs from "a $5 bottle of ibuprofen," and answers that it is "a longterm solution." 10. Cash-pay and aspiring sports physical therapists who struggle to justify their rates will get the most from it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Sports Physical Therapy Academy Podcast