Hands-On Hands-Off Derek Clewley and Seth Peterson

One of our goals with our show is to highlight individuals who you don’t know but who you should. Marissa fits this category well. Marissa is fellowship trained in manual therapy through the Duke manual therapy fellowship program. And she has used this training as a launchpad to do some pretty incredible things at Duke University, including some innovative data projects. She holds a Master's in Health Administration and has used this to facilitate the implementation of many projects at Duke with a focus on improving the delivery of physical therapy services. One of these projects was a high-level guideline implementation project which we will discuss in this podcast, along with some of the other forward-thinking projects she is working on. 

 

If you are at all associated with manual therapy you probably know who Elaine is. Especially because she is the first female president of AAOMPT (elected to two terms!). She is the consummate servant leader who is also willing to push the envelope. Beyond her roles with AAOMPT she is also a chief delegate and very involved with the APTA. She is a faculty member with St Augustine University serving in very high leadership positions. But there is so much to Elaine that makes it worth getting to know her more, which we hope to do during this podcast. We unpack many topics in manual therapy and physical therapy during our podcast with Elaine. 

 

Here is another name you may not have heard of but you should. We know Elizabeth very well as she is a close friend of ours. And a close friend to many. Her journey to becoming a researcher is a fun one, especially because we were able to witness it from the sidelines. From her classic beginnings of an outpatient PT to fellowship training to PhD. Elizabeth is one of the more humble and caring individuals one could meet. She is fellowship trained in manual therapy and is a researcher at the University of Utah. She did her PhD under the mentorship of Julie Fritz. And has collaborated on a number of projects including manual therapy and pain science. What we think you will enjoy the most from this podcast is the pureness that is Elizabeth. She has a genuine curiosity about all things PT related especially manual therapy.

 

This is someone who many PTs may not know, but should. We were excited to get him on the show, especially after his AAOMPT keynote in 2022. Who is he? Well, he is a bit of everything. A chiropractor, an engineer, and a researcher. Put all of that together and you get one of the most influential mechanistic researchers in manual therapy. He has published many papers on the force application and manual therapy, especially on ways we can measure it. He is also well-funded in this area so expect more research to be developed. We talk with Greg about some of the pendulum swings from inability to assess motion so why focus on it to the likely swing back towards motion and force having some impact in our efficacy. The research is only at the tip of the iceberg but one thing Greg brings is passion and energy for the topic and we think you will really like this show!

We get it. Most of our listeners are practicing clinicians. In the trenches, dealing with all of the demands of care, yet also thriving in the joy of what calls many to this profession. Then let's get this party started right by getting one of the best clinical minds on the show. Tim Fearon is the first to inform everyone that he is not a researcher, and he doesn’t care to have a publication record. Though he values the importance of research. Yet reminds us that part of evidence-based practice is clinician experience - and patient values. We discuss the importance of implementing research while persistently pursuing the highest level of clinical reasoning. Many physical therapists who have sought manual therapy mentorship have found Tim Fearon and have paid it forward. Tim’s mentorship tree is impressive. And we were excited to discuss his growth and journey as a manual therapist.



Hosts: Derek Clewley, Seth Peterson

It would be really hard to find another PT researcher who has had more impact on the profession than Julie Fritz. If you were to construct a Mount Rushmore of PT Researchers, we are certain Julie would be on it. We could go on and on about her research impact here, but we suspect you have heard of her. If not, her role as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Health at the University of Utah should tell you how well-respected she is. While Julie is not a trained manual physical therapist, her impact on manual therapy is beyond measure. Moreover, she has trained many researchers who are also manual therapists. We discuss her journey from clinical practice to research and mentorship and how manual therapy has interfaced with that journey.



Hosts: Derek Clewley, Seth Peterson