The Performance Rehab Authority

Dr. Roger St. Onge

Welcome to the Performance Rehab Authority podcast, where we challenge the norms of traditional physical therapy and share our journey toward elevating the traditional PT practice. We're Dr. Rog and Dr. Caitlin, the founders of Move Athletics, and we're passionate about creating a performance-based approach to physical therapy. Each week we're bringing our years of experience in performance-based physical therapy to every episode.

  1. 2D AGO

    From Burned-Out PTA To Confident Clinical Leader

    This episode is for rehab clinicians, especially PTAs and staff clinicians in busy outpatient ortho clinics who feel burned out running follow-ups off unclear evals and “treat the symptoms” plans. Justin, a PTA and clinical director, shares how he went from frustrated, doubting his career, and thinking about leaving the field to having a clear assessment and education framework that even his PTs now ask him about. PRA gave him pattern-recognition, spine reasoning, and communication skills that reignited his fulfillment, improved patient outcomes, and opened the door to in-person and online coaching on his own terms. If you’re a PTA or staff clinician stuck treating whatever’s on the script and hoping it works, this one’s for you. Justin was burned out, questioning his career, and running follow-ups on evals he didn’t fully trust… until he got a real framework for assessment and education. In this episode, you’ll see: What it’s like to be a PTA clinical director carrying the follow-ups after rushed evals How unclear evals and symptom-based plans quietly create burnout and doubt The specific assessment and education shifts that made Justin the “go-to” in his clinic How offloading the spine and pattern recognition changed his shoulder and back cases Why a clear, algorithmic framework lets you plug in all your past con-ed instead of collecting random techniques How clinical mastery can reignite your love for the profession and even open doors to your own coaching or online rehab work Justin’s honest take on joining PRA as a PTA, his hesitations, and why he’d “do it again in a second”

    22 min

  2. 4D AGO

    Clinical Reasoning That Took My Close Rate To 90%

    If you’re still “doing all the right exercises” but patients stall, flare, or only get 80–90% better, this is for you. Brett went from guessing, stressing over tough cases, and stalled business growth to using a clear testing system that boosted his confidence, referrals, and close rate. In this episode, you’ll see: What it feels like to open a practice right out of school without real clinical mentorship. The hidden cost of “pretty good” outcomes on your referrals and reputation. How Brett stopped throwing glute/core work at everyone and started using targeted testing. The exact shift from “hoping it sticks” to knowing what to test and what to do next. How a clear eval that patients understand can push your close rate toward 90%. Why better clinical reasoning reduced Brett’s stress and made raising rates feel easy. What finally pushed him to invest after being burned by previous business coaching.

    17 min

  3. APR 16

    From OCS-Track PT to Spine Expert With PRA

    If you’re in residency, OCS prep, or a performance clinic and still feel like the guidelines don’t match real patients, this is your episode. Rachel did everything “right” academically and still felt like she was missing a real clinical system, especially for spine and shoulder. In this conversation, you’ll see how she: Went from Ohio State, residency, and OCS-focused training to feeling underwhelmed clinically. Realized traditional residencies mainly prep you for a test, not for complex, real-world reasoning. Used PRA to confidently call a neck-driven shoulder case and prove it to her skeptical mentor. Became the go-to “spine person” in a performance PT clinic using a non-traditional framework that actually gets results. Stopped trying to force patients into buckets that don’t fit her neurodivergent brain. Started selling large plans of care without feeling “salesy,” just by making the problem and plan obvious to patients.

    26 min

  4. APR 14

    From Burned-Out Insurance PT to Root-Cause Clarity

    If you’re in an insurance clinic, seeing more patients in less time, and quietly wondering if you’re actually hitting root cause, this is for you. Denise has been a therapist since 1996 and hit the point where “do more with less” was killing her joy and her confidence. In this episode, you’ll learn how she: Shifted from scattered, symptom-based evals to a clear, upstream reasoning process. Uses quick, reliable testing to show patients when an “ankle” problem is really coming from the lumbar spine. Handles the “But it’s my ankle…” pushback in a way that ends with patients saying, “That makes so much sense”. Rebuilt her confidence and reduced burnout by having a map instead of guessing under time pressure. Applies PRA’s system inside a busy insurance clinic without two-hour evals. Regained genuine enjoyment of her work after decades of ups and downs in the profession.

    19 min

  5. APR 9

    How Jared 3x’d His Clinic After PRA

    You’ve done the residency, the fellowship, the certs… and you’re still guessing. Jared was a special operations Army PT and clinic owner who felt exactly like that. In this episode, you’ll see how he: Went from “rack and stack” events with 15–20 screens and almost zero conversions. Turned the PRA screen into 8 out of 9 event attendees signing up. 3x’d his monthly revenue (4k → 11–12k) without changing his manual skills. Finally found the “missing puzzle piece” that made all his training click. Stopped over-explaining anatomy and started talking in a way patients actually understand. Rebuilt his confidence after leaving a stable Army Major career to bet on his own clinic. Decided PRA was the single best investment of his career, even after six figures of courses and fellowship.

    22 min

  6. APR 7

    How This PT Became “The Spine Guy” In 12 Weeks

    If you see spine evals on your schedule and think, “Great… not another one,” this is your episode. Corey was 3–4 years out, doing travel contracts, inheriting complex cases that weren’t improving, and feeling like an imposter every time chronic pain patients cried on his table. In this interview, you’ll learn how he: Went from hating cervical and lumbar cases to being the go-to “spine guy” in multiple clinics. Stopped repeating the same cookie-cutter disc/nerve-glide plans and built a real spine algorithm. Used simple modifications and mapping to calm pain, set 3+ month expectations, and share responsibility with patients. Stepped into other clinicians’ failed plans of care, found missed spinal drivers, and finally moved “stuck” patients forward. Dealt with the emotional weight of patients not improving and the late-night “am I even good enough for this job?” thoughts. Overcame time/energy fears about a 12-week course, chose PRA over the OCS, and now confidently walks into every eval knowing he can help.

    26 min

  7. APR 2

    From Residency To Real Results: How PRA Changed My Evals

    If you’ve done a residency, crushed the boards, and still feel like you’re chasing pain in the clinic, this one is for you. Jonathan is a DPT and OCS-level clinician who realized he didn’t have a true algorithm, was constantly changing interventions, and couldn’t reliably get to the root cause on Day 1. In this episode, you’ll see how he: Went from “three hypotheses and a scattered eval” to a clear, algorithmic system he can run every time. Stopped chasing symptoms and started finding root drivers faster, especially in cervical, lumbar, and chronic pain cases. Used simple, non-threatening analogies (like picking a scab) to make patients instantly understand why their habits were flaring symptoms. Built trust and authority so patients see him as their rehab doctor, not just “the person my MD sent me to”. Leveraged PRA’s testing framework to show people their ankle pain was actually coming from the back and get buy-in without arguing. Overcame price hesitation, invested in his skill set, and used it to grow both his outpatient role and his own private practice.

    20 min

  8. MAR 31

    Why Performance PTs Need A Real Clinical Framework

    If you’re an experienced PT or chiro who’s done every CEU and still feels stuck, this is your episode. Ken has been a clinician for ~20 years, was told he’d always be income‑capped, and nearly tapped out of PT before rebuilding his practice around a real clinical framework. In this conversation you’ll see how he: Stopped chasing “the one missing technique” and finally organized his tools inside a simple, repeatable system. Built a clear continuum for performance athletes from Day 1 eval to full return to sport. Moved from “what do you want to do?” to giving real, authoritative plan-of-care prescriptions. Fixed his package structure so patients stopped buying on budget and failing on results. Used coaching and community to collapse years of trial-and-error into one year of focused implementation. Doubled his revenue in 2025 while feeling more confident, less resentful, and more aligned with why he became a PT in the first place.

    22 min
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About

Welcome to the Performance Rehab Authority podcast, where we challenge the norms of traditional physical therapy and share our journey toward elevating the traditional PT practice. We're Dr. Rog and Dr. Caitlin, the founders of Move Athletics, and we're passionate about creating a performance-based approach to physical therapy. Each week we're bringing our years of experience in performance-based physical therapy to every episode.

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