The Sports Physical Therapy Academy Podcast · Dr. Chris Garcia

EP178: "Transitioning Athletes To Wellness Programs"

·23 min·1 clip

Physical therapists get patients back to equilibrium, but going beyond it into sport and wellness is not covered by insurance.

1. The Sports Physical Therapy Academy Podcast EP178, "Transitioning Athletes To Wellness Programs," covers why patients decline strength programs offered at the 12th-visit discharge. 2. Host Chris Garcia, a physical therapist, business owner and residency-trained sports specialist, has worked in professional sports and runs a cash-based company with three locations and 15 staff after 10 years. 3. His thesis is that PTs fail to convert patients because they present the program late, rarely, and in one format, not because the program is weak. 4. He describes the worst case as presenting a lower-body, push-pull, core and linear-acceleration program to a 16-year-old soccer player or a 35-year-old CrossFitter at the 12th visit, with no handout or landing page, and hearing "not right now." 5. His first fix is to offer early, on visits 1 and 2, by describing the journey as stage one (pain relief, range of motion, activation) and stage two (resilience through strength), and giving a handout at the second visit. 6. His second fix is to offer consistently, reminding patients at visits such as the 6th that "we're gonna bring you back to equilibrium but we're also gonna get you that next stage," because patients are, in his words, "just gonna go and do their thing" once they leave. 7. His third fix is multiple mediums (flyer, email, verbal, text, website), since Garcia calls himself an audio-visual learner who must read a book several times to retain it while other patients absorb written material best. 8. He says insurance moves patients from below equilibrium back to baseline, while moving them beyond it into fitness and sport is typically paid out of network, so in-network PTs must introduce that value themselves. 9. He asks listeners to ask a parent or roommate what physical therapy means, predicting answers like "stretch you and hurt you," and notes that APTA direct-access messaging covers geriatrics and pediatrics, not sports PT specifically. 10. Suited to sports PTs struggling to keep athletes after discharge.

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