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Garrett Salpeter, NeuFit
19 Plays2 months ago
In this episode, Steven sits down with Garrett Salpeter, Founder and CEO of NeuFit
Learn more about SaRA Health:
https://www.sarahealth.com/
Check out NeuFit:
https://www.neu.fit/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'The Disruptors'
00:00:00
Speaker
you Welcome to another episode of The Disruptors, where we're arming you with the tools you need to innovate within the physical therapy space by highlighting those who have come before you.
00:00:12
Speaker
I'm your host, Stephen Cohen. Now, let's get into it. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of The Disruptors, where we're highlighting innovators within the PT industry today.
Meet Garrett Salpeter
00:00:23
Speaker
Ah, I'm excited about this one. So I'm joined by Garrett Salpeter, known as the health engineer, Garrett has taken his training in engineering and neuroscience and used it to create NewFit and the patented newbie device.
00:00:37
Speaker
He trains doctors, therapists, professional sports teams, and universities in how to apply NewFit with their patients and athletes, helping them to recover faster from injury and optimize performance.
Garrett's Multifaceted Roles
00:00:49
Speaker
He's the best-selling author of the book, The NewFit Method, and the host of the Undercurrent podcast, And also, sounds like if not to a coach and at least a fan to a so some middle school ah dance girls dancing teams.
00:01:05
Speaker
So a man of many talents. Garrett, welcome to to the Disruptors. That's right. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. I like that um little unscripted addition to the to the bio there. I love it.
00:01:17
Speaker
ah We can always take it out if if it that's not true, but it sounds like you actually do. um And so with that, we're going to move into staying on, I guess, a little bit of that emotional
Garrett's 'Why' in PT Industry
00:01:28
Speaker
piece. Right. And so give me your your why behind getting into this industry. You know, like what what is your personal why behind behind P.T.?
00:01:38
Speaker
Well, I may love it as much as my 13 year old daughter loves to dance, which is cool. I'm obviously we're talking about that, hence what you just mentioned there. But you know, when she's on stage, she comes to life. i mean, when I'm sharing this work with people or getting to talk about it or do it, I mean, it just really brings me that life and energy.
00:01:56
Speaker
And a lot of that is because of the contrast that I have and in in my own experience. And I had been an athlete growing up. I played hockey, including in college. And had several injuries along the way, as many of us do.
00:02:08
Speaker
and I was just so disappointed, disenfranchised, disempowered. by my experiences with traditional orthopedic medicine, traditional physical therapy.
Academic Journey and Insights
00:02:18
Speaker
At one point I thought about actually going pre-med in my academic track and because of those experiences, I just thought, yeah, it's just not really for me and and decided instead to just, you kind of pursue my my love of science.
00:02:33
Speaker
And you know I ended up becoming a physics major in college. I was in a pre-engineering track for engineering graduate school. and And I just kind of thought, that would be that. But but along the way, i had really gotten passionate about the human body and and training, trying to turn myself into an athlete, you know, and trying to improve my own performance.
00:02:50
Speaker
And, you know, really got got fascinated that side of
Recovery and Functional Neurology
00:02:53
Speaker
it. And then I had this amazing experience at the end of my time in college where I had an injury, I had some torn ligaments, I was told I would have to get surgery. Based on my previous experiences, I figured that would be true.
00:03:03
Speaker
But I met a doctor, I met a chiropractor who was doing doing functional neurology, and using older versions of direct current. So functional neurology, what does that mean? Well, it's instead of just looking at the injured bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, et cetera, it's looking at the neurological response to injury, looking at how the muscles that support support or don't support that injured area as it heals, you know, how that influences the healing process. It's looking at how the autonomic nervous system, whether we're more sympathetic dominant or parasympathetic dominant, how that influences the healing process from everything from vasodilation and constriction and
00:03:39
Speaker
and blood flow to how we you know break down and digest and assimilate and absorb food and nutrients, right? All these different de factors play into it. so So one piece of it was the nervous system and and that really kind of resonated with me made a lot of sense.
00:03:51
Speaker
And then the other piece of it was yeah these older versions of direct current. you this machine, analog machine with a bunch of dials on it and stuff like that.
Birth of NewFit
00:03:58
Speaker
But I saw firsthand how this combination and and then adding in that direct current piece, these electric fields, how that influenced the healing process, the regenerative processes in the body.
00:04:08
Speaker
And long story short, i ended up healing my ligaments with, without surgery, i was able to avoid surgery. I was excited as a hockey player, you know, be back out on the ice in three weeks instead of three months and avoid the, you the ordeal of surgery. But as a, as a, you know, a pre-engineering student to find something that actually made sense scientifically from first principles, that's the part that really just, you know, really spoke to me, really created this calling within me to share that work with as many people as I could.
00:04:35
Speaker
And so I still, you know, Now this is, as we're standing here recording this today, or ah yeah, we're both at a standing desk. We are literally you literally standing here. right We're 17, 18 years removed from that experience.
00:04:51
Speaker
And that that experience, you know that that really that having that that aha moment, that realizing the importance of the nervous system, realizing how if we give the body the right push, the right impetus, it can heal and adapt and recover so much more than than most people think is possible.
00:05:09
Speaker
you know that That experience, that realization, That's something that I just feel so passionate about, excited about. And I still feel called to share that with as many people as possible. And of course it looks a lot different now than it did along, along the way. That was
From Curiosity to Company
00:05:23
Speaker
a long journey. And I never really imagined until, you know,
00:05:28
Speaker
eight to 10 years into that journey that I would ever create a device or launch a company that's going to, going to create and sell a product. You know, it was not on my mind at the time, but you know, that's how the journey's evolved. of course Of course.
00:05:41
Speaker
i actually want to stay on that for, for a second.
The Long Game of Entrepreneurship
00:05:44
Speaker
Right. And, and so as, uh, As you you know, this is the goal is to to give folks some really good insight into and and tactical pieces of advice for for how to spark innovation in their own lives and careers. And um I think the timing of your story is really important to highlight, right? So you had this experience 17, 18 years ago.
00:06:09
Speaker
Then there was we're not going to say Gap's the wrong word, but a period of lead up, right? And which I'd imagine, if I had to guess and fill in some gaps, right? You finished your education, went on and got more. ah You know, finished one part of your education, went got more.
00:06:26
Speaker
And then likely all leading to that spot about 10 years ago when you launched NuFit and started to create the device and and do all that, right? um I may not be perfect in the timing, but I think it's important for people to see that you grabbed onto something that you had a passion for and didn't let it go. And now, you know, it's a, you know, 10 year overnight success story, right. Or like a 17 year, right. And, and to, to be more accurate from, know, call it impetus of, of idea or your grain of a, of a germ of an idea. um You know, how,
00:07:06
Speaker
how did you How did you
Challenges and Growth
00:07:08
Speaker
keep that passion? Or did you even feel like you had to keep stroking the passion? like was it it Was that always there and it was just fighting through some of the business things that you have to do? like ah where Where did you find yourself having to supplement to to get through the tougher times?
00:07:23
Speaker
there's there's There's a lot there. there's a few different directions I want to go. I mean, one one part of that is just to fill in some of the gaps. I mean, you're absolutely right on the shape of the journey. you know i had this experience that I just described And so so I really felt that calling to share the work. And so the way that looked for me initially was as I was finishing my master's degree in engineering here at the University of Texas, which is how I got to Austin, which is where I live and where we're based and all that.
00:07:50
Speaker
you know As I was finishing that and trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I was like, well, you know I can still be an engineer, but I want to get i love to do this thing. and Maybe just as a hobby, I'll open up a business, get some business experience. and so I ended up opening a clinic within a clinic. so I was an engineer, right not not a clinician, but I...
00:08:07
Speaker
I met the guy who was also a chiropractor. He was the chiropractor for University of Texas Longhorns football team. Then he had a private practice in town. And so I rented 120 square foot room in his practice.
00:08:20
Speaker
I was using one of those older, ah yeah one of those older analog direct current devices with the dials, you like like that initial guy had used with me and started working out of you a practice within a practice.
00:08:33
Speaker
And I started working with people and i just got so into it because even as a non-clinician, I was working under this other person's license and all and all that stuff. but But I was able to you know eventually help people get results that were just amazing and equally as compelling and eye-opening as the experience I had.
00:08:53
Speaker
you know back when I was recovering from my hockey injury and avoided surgery. And so for me, that just became that became so exciting and gratifying. And I initially just wanted to continue doing that and you eventually hire clinicians and have more clinics around Austin.
00:09:09
Speaker
And I thought that was sort of how it would how and would go, how the path would go for me. And so it wasn't... It wasn't so much. I mean, I never really lost motivation. I've been excited to do this.
00:09:24
Speaker
was really all I've essentially done in my career since since I got my master's degree. right this you know i I've always been excited about this. Never really had to ah you know, work on the motivation piece. there are There are times though, you know, when it got tough and I really, you know, you there's times where I question, is this going to work out? i mean there's certainly those parts of the story.
00:09:45
Speaker
ah But, you know, for me, the the biggest thing was sort of that pivot where i I had that first seven or eight year period where I was i was in that in the clinic, you know, that business was was growing. Eventually we hired some clinicians.
00:10:01
Speaker
I was still working with people and really getting that sort of high and you know develop that sense of getting my own sense of self-worth from creating those results with clients, helping people overcome their own challenges and things like that.
00:10:17
Speaker
And so the the the biggest kind of pivot for me was finally deciding, okay, I think I'm actually going to, you I'm waiting around for someone else to come out with something that sort of brings this this category of technology into the future, at least even into the present, and no one's doing it. So I'm going to, I finally decided I'm enough to to myself. But one of the interesting things about this, I think i think a big part of ah entrepreneurship is playing
Persistence in Entrepreneurship
00:10:44
Speaker
the long game. you know there's there's A lot of it is probabilities and odds and luck. you know I have to admit, luck plays a role in things and some of it is timing.
00:10:53
Speaker
But one interesting thing that we can control is our own longevity. The longer we stay around, the more we do the right things, the more we create opportunities for for probability to fall in our favor. the you know The more hands of blackjack you play, the more likely you are to finally hit one. right and so you Some really cool things happened in that first, you know towards the end of that initial seven eight year period. you know I put in my 10,000 hours.
00:11:16
Speaker
I had this, you know i call it kind of my laboratory period. But towards the end of that time, I had two really interesting things happen that helped me transition to that next stage. So one is I had a client who owned...
00:11:30
Speaker
a bunch of commercial real estate around town. And he had a great result. And he said, you know, I've got a tenant in one of my buildings who makes these like really cool tech prototypes. If you ever want to make a version of your own, you know, technology like this, you know, they' they'd be they'd be awesome. They'd be just the people to do it.
00:11:46
Speaker
And I just filed that away like, oh, that's interesting, but I'm not really ready to do that, at least not yet. And then I had another another one where I had ah another client who is a patent attorney. And he came in with knee pain. You know, he was supposed to to withdraw from a marathon. He was going to run that next weekend. I worked with him on Monday, worked with him on Wednesday, got him out of pain. He ran the marathon.
00:12:05
Speaker
The next week he comes back in and he says, ah tell me more about, you know, this technology and the category and stuff like that. And so I told him, you know, some of my ideas and some of what I thought when I was kind of waiting for someone else to do. But, you know,
00:12:19
Speaker
hadn't really seen. And he said, you know, you probably could do that yourself and get some, get some of your own patents on that. And so having both of those things that were, and they, they happened similar, you know, close in time to each other. And I was like, huh, I feel like,
00:12:35
Speaker
this might be what I'm supposed to do next. And, you know, those they wouldn't have happened had I not been in there doing the work and getting, you know, both of these were people who were referred by other people who I'd helped who were referred in over the years.
00:12:50
Speaker
And it was so as a matter of timing and being around long enough for cool opportunities to happen. And then now in this next stage of having the device business, I see sort of the same thing. So I think you you need to have, you know, the interesting thing about that sort of motivation and passion is, you know you need to have that for the endurance to wait out for the for the good things that happen, to wait out the leaner periods, because there certainly have been those and the challenges, you know, all the entrepreneurial challenges that, you listening to this, if you're on a practice, of course, you have your own versions of those of dealing with cash flow, dealing with you know people issues, dealing with you know big strategic decisions where you don't necessarily know what's the right thing to do. And it's kind of daunting and intimidating. I mean, all these different things we deal with as entrepreneurs.
00:13:35
Speaker
Oh, ah it's there's so much so much there. And yeah, the they' just got to laugh about the leaner period. It's like, they're going to happen. Just know it. um yeah I think there's two really important pieces of advice there. um One is you stick around. And and there's ah a mentor that told me to to be a cockroach.
00:13:56
Speaker
Right. Because that's the only animal that is going to survive in a nuclear war. ah So like be the cockroach that can survive the nuclear war of ah that is entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship can be. But I also think like there's there's there's
The Cockroach Metaphor
00:14:13
Speaker
that.
00:14:13
Speaker
But then it's almost like the string of things that that you said. Right. So you got stay alive. But you need to, and during that process, you're going to get to your 10,000 hours, right? Of being a master of your your craft.
00:14:28
Speaker
ah But you have to be doing great work during those 10,000 hours and then also be putting yourself out there to be able to get the you know the the lucky breaks that you got. right and And I know exactly a very similar, at least I would say similar, and see if you agree, is when things were were very lean with with Sarah, we got a break from an introduction to a one of the ATI co-found of physical therapy, one of those one of the co-founders.
00:15:03
Speaker
who end up investing now has been a big advisor, right? But if I wasn't putting myself out there like, hey, I'm doing this thing, here's what I'm doing, the person who made the introduction would have never felt comfortable to do it.
00:15:16
Speaker
ah If we didn't have our all of our stuff ready, like hey, i want to send affordable to this this guy, boom. ah you if If it had taken me a week to put it together, right? or not just like, okay, here it is, boom, let's go.
00:15:29
Speaker
um you know the the the chance happening, doesn't happen. um Right. And, and, and then it's, you never get that lucky break. um So I, I, I like that, you know, almost like string of of advice there, right. Of, ah of be the cockroach stage, stay alive, right. And get as many reps as you possibly can during that time, get your 10,000 hours of doing great work. And then,
00:15:56
Speaker
you know, be putting yourself out there and and but be willing to be told no or look silly. Right. I think the some of the but my favorite quotes about that is pessimists are right most often, but optimists make money.
00:16:14
Speaker
So you get to pick which one which one you are. That's right. And there's a, reminds that reminds me of this this poster that, so I'm in a mastermind group called Genius Network hosted by a guy named Joe Polish.
00:16:30
Speaker
And there's this great poster in his office there in the the conference room, meeting room where where we all meet. And it says, it's basically a ah comic that says entrepreneurship.
00:16:42
Speaker
And it's it's a series of pictures. It says part of my language, but says, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. so And that's good it says, heck yeah. And then it says, oh, fuck. And then another, heck yeah.
00:16:55
Speaker
ah Oh, sounds about right. That sounds about right. And then whenever you, yeah, whenever you see the the heck yeahs start to get more numerous, right now I think we might be on to something.
00:17:08
Speaker
Thank you for listening to this episode. This would not be possible without sponsorship of Sarah Help. Sarah is the relationship operating system for physical therapy practices, driving better patient outcomes, improved arrival rate, and improved financial margins.
00:17:24
Speaker
you'd like to learn more, check them out at Sarah, S-A-R-A health.com, Sarah health.com. And if you'd be interested in advertising with us and helping us produce even more great stories, please let us know at Stephen at Sarah health.com. Now back to the episode.
00:17:44
Speaker
you know you're You're building this out, or like now so then you get into the the prototype phase. right ah yeah Talk to me a little bit about how how you were exploring or what you were finding out between, I'm going to use software, you know tech terms, because it's it's easier for me being a non-clinician, the hardware and the software of the body.
00:18:06
Speaker
Right. So you're in your journey. You're getting a prototyping phase. It sounds like. And what are you finding out? Like what's what's what are you finding out about the the differences or maybe even the you the interconnectivity between the hardware and software of of the body?
Influencing the Nervous System
00:18:23
Speaker
So there's a few parts few parts to this. One is, you know i based on this initial experience I had, that was that was really my my big entry point into my big wow moment of like, wow, the the nervous system is really important and really worth paying attention to and really has a profound effect on so many things.
00:18:44
Speaker
And lot people listening to this will say, duh, you know, but, but then the question is, okay, well, if you know that, then how do you actually impact the nervous system in a meaningful way? Right. And so that's, that's part of it. And so, you know, one of the things that you mentioned, you know, when you were, you were guessing and you were correct, of course, your journey is probably where, you know, you telling me, I probably, you know, finished my school, started something, probably went back for more school.
00:19:05
Speaker
I did. And so, so the the more school that I went back to, you and I did a lot of self-study, if you're watching this, you can see, know, I got a lot of books behind me and I'm, I went to ah several workshops, did a lot of certifications with with clinicians and people in the kind of strength coaching and performance world.
00:19:21
Speaker
also went back for additional graduate school in neuroscience. And along the way, I really kept seeing ah my most meaningful experience. kind of you workshops and trainings and and readings and self studies, most impactful mentors.
00:19:37
Speaker
And then, you know, the the couple of years worth of classes I did also at UT in neuroscience, specifically focusing in motor control and and kinesiology, ah but i was in the motor control lab there.
00:19:51
Speaker
You know, that really, really clarified for me, the importance of the nervous system helped me make connections with between the concepts and how we can actually influence the nervous system in practice in the clinic.
00:20:06
Speaker
And it really increased my conviction around this is an approach that's that's so important and so missing from the general dialogue in physical therapy and generally in physical medicine.
00:20:19
Speaker
And so, you know, it sort of increased within me that conviction and motivation to to pursue the work and was part of the the background motivation for saying, okay, I need to create this device because we need to make the take this this type of technology and this approach and this methodology that we had been evolving in the clinic and make this more accessible to more people.
00:20:40
Speaker
So it was it was, you know, sort of a culmination of the experiences and learnings from that stage of of my career. I love it. And I love the mission of making it more accessible, right? Because technically, ah yeah at that point, someone... And it's yeah i mean it's kind of funny. like Yeah, technically, if you wanted to put 10 years of your life towards it, like you could do this too. Right.
00:21:08
Speaker
a pretty big moat, pretty big moat, given that think most attention spans are less than 10 seconds. So I think we're we're both safe on on on that account. um But I really love that, ah ah your goal of making it more accessible.
00:21:27
Speaker
And i I think too many people put... a like ah i guess a high bar of like, oh, like you know it's got to it's got to be Tesla to be successful.
Practical Innovations
00:21:42
Speaker
it's like, no, it really doesn't. right like If you make something more accessible, if you make it easier to to use, to do, if you make it easier to have an impact, right that there's going to be a market for that.
00:21:56
Speaker
Because not everyone is as passionate or as knowledgeable as as you and or your team are And so it doesn't need to be redefining the way that vehicle production is is done in the world, right?
00:22:10
Speaker
um It can be, hey, I have this passion about this area. I've seen some great patient stories and some great outcomes data. And I just simply want to make it easier for others to achieve the same thing.
00:22:24
Speaker
Done, right? i think I think the ah bar that I would, sort of the way I would phrase that is the bar of whether you would pursue it or not, or, or you know, it's, you know, I guess version of what a mentor told me, maybe not as catchy as, you know, be the cockroach, but, you know, it would be to, to you know, find a problem that you want solved in your own life, solve that problem and then do it for others. You know, it's a way if you can, if you can do that, you have the foundation of a business.
00:22:55
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. i mean, that was Sarah is Sarah health is a ah culmination of my own experiences. Right. And what I've experienced as a a an injured athlete, as a patient. um And so, yeah, I couldn't agree. i couldn't agree with that.
00:23:13
Speaker
with that more. um And so as someone who has been on the, ah you know, under the knife a couple of times myself, and now also, you know, I've done a couple of the the resets at conferences that, you know, typically Kara is so nice to administer ah for for me. i Walk through let's for those that have never heard of, of, of new fit or the newbie, you know, walk me through what it does, uh, or if you'd rather focus on patient outcomes, like take it wherever you want to, but you'll give our, our listeners, uh, uh, the essence of it. And then some specific highlights.
00:23:53
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So when, when you mentioned like you've done the reset, uh, at conferences. so that, um you know, just for everyone listening, that's how we've connected. We've actually, Newfit and Sarah Health, we've been at multiple conferences together, gotten to know each other, you know, i kind have have some fun on the road and all that stuff. And then you've gotten, when you did the reset, that's one protocol that have. So, you know, Kara's our r VP of sales mentioned, she shared that with you. So that's one of what we call our core four, kind of core four applications.
00:24:21
Speaker
The reset is one of them. And that is Master Reset is our version of a vagus nerve stimulation protocol or an auto autonomic nervous system reset. So that helps ah based on heart rate variability data that we've seen helps shift the autonomic nervous system of of a patient or client from more sympathetic dominant to more parasympathetic dominant.
00:24:40
Speaker
And that can have an impact on people who are generally having difficulty handling stress or recovering you know from grueling athletic training or or stressful situations in life.
00:24:52
Speaker
It can be relevant for people who have chronic pain because a lot of times the autonomic nervous system component of that is is a big part of what keeps them locked in a cycle of chronic pain.
NewFit Mapping Process
00:25:01
Speaker
yes There's some really cool applications there, but we're probably even better known for a couple of the others that are in the core for the the best probably known for for our mapping process.
00:25:12
Speaker
where you can actually take one the electrodes around, scan around on the body and take advantage of the unique properties of direct current. So so for a little bit of backstory, you know I mentioned I had that experience with direct current, helped me heal my ligaments.
00:25:24
Speaker
And there's some interesting history where direct current, the benefits were known, a lot of the benefits were known in the 1960s, 1970s by the Soviet sports scientists. But there was always one big problem, which is when you turn it up to a high enough level to really reach that therapeutic dose and make a difference,
00:25:41
Speaker
it would literally sting and burn the skin. And so they would they would burn their they would burn their athletes and they could do it for Mother Russia. We just would not, you know, would not do that here in the West, right? And so so so it fell out of favor outside of these little niche, you know, I mentioned this older analog device that this guy had, and you couldn't turn it up very high because of that same issue with burning.
00:26:02
Speaker
but But I got to see that that one benefit, the the effect of the direct carnal electric fields on cell migration and tissue healing and things like that. There's also another benefit where because because of the the directionality of the current, you can get a lot more a lot more input, sensory, afferent input into the nervous system. You bypass an alternating current as that signal goes back and forth, alternating current, positive, negative, you tend to get more co-contraction of muscles and that becomes the limiting factor. Whereas with this, you can bypass that, get a lot more sensory and afferent input into the nervous system so we can accelerate this process of neuromuscular reeducation.
00:26:41
Speaker
And that's the part yeah that, excuse me, I'll grab just a sip of water there. Getting all excited, talking a mile a minute.
00:26:50
Speaker
So there we go. So because of the effects here, we can actually scan around on the body, sending the same sensory signals as if whatever area you're on, as if that that's being loaded or that muscle's being loaded or that muscle's being used, that muscle, that tissue's being challenged.
00:27:08
Speaker
And so as we scan around, we can identify which areas are working well because when you scan over that, it just feels like a ah ah pleasant buzzing. There's no issue there. But if scan around, you can stimulate some areas where The nervous system might be actively guarding in response to injury or inhibiting areas because that recent injury or bad habits developed over time where you're unloading and not using those areas.
00:27:30
Speaker
If we stimulate any of those, all of a sudden the brain and nervous system see that and say, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's new, that's different. And the brain likes what's familiar. Anything that's new, that's different, that's threatening. And we know from the modern neuroscience of pain, yeah pain is a response to perceived threat.
00:27:45
Speaker
So that basically is a long way of saying we scan around on the body till it feels like a trigger point or till the patient says, oh true you found it there. So they typically feel something. And when we find those spots, then we know where to stimulate.
00:27:59
Speaker
And so then... we can We can stimulate those areas as we go through different corrective exercises to really accelerate that process of neuromuscular reeducation, teach the patient to start incorporating those muscles, those motor units into a more holistic movement pattern.
00:28:14
Speaker
And, you know, one of the really cool things we see from that is it's 91 to 92% of patients notice functional improvements and or reductions and in pain. Whoa.
00:28:24
Speaker
First session of mapping because ah big part of the reason it takes so long to to recover from injury, a big part of the reason it might take, you know, four to six weeks to recover from a sprained ankle or or an AC separation or whatever it might be.
00:28:38
Speaker
Big part of the reason is that neurological response to injury, the guarding, the inhibition, the hypersensitivity that leads to pain. And being able to ah go right to the source of that, being able to actually correct those software patterns, those protective patterns, helps lead lead to these breakthroughs. And yes, there are times when the hardware still needs to heal, but by working on the software, to borrow your metaphor from earlier, by working on the software, that often leads to these breakthroughs where patients feel better you know Most often in their first session.
00:29:08
Speaker
So they're motivated. They want to continue on. And it leads to you know better overall outcomes, again, by accelerating that process of neuromuscular education. So there's there's applications here.
00:29:19
Speaker
like I just mentioned these responses to acute injury certainly. is there for athletes, sports medicine, acute injury, also after surgery. Because you think about surgery, what is surgery? Well, surgery is a controlled trauma.
00:29:31
Speaker
It's like an injury, but even more severe. And so the same things happen, but even more amplified. And so we can find where those inhibitions, et cetera, are happening and reduce the amount of atrophy that happens right after surgery and help you know lead to better overall outcomes.
00:29:45
Speaker
And then there's also applications for surgery.
Applications for Neurological Conditions
00:29:49
Speaker
Later stages of rehabilitation, you know, we've seen some, couple of published studies showing the effect of the newbie. The device, by the way is called the newbie for neuro bioelectric.
00:29:58
Speaker
And we've seen, you know, some published data showing the effects on muscle hypertrophy. You can, you can use it over a training cycle and get similar muscle growth, about the same amount of muscle growth as you do if you're lifting. think it was 80% of one rep max, you know, so traditional weightlifting.
00:30:11
Speaker
And then there's applications with, you know, and this probably makes sense because we're working with the nervous system. you know we're really treating, every patient as a neuro patient, but it also works with the more traditional definition of neuro patients. works with the neurodegenerative conditions, helping people recover and restore function that they've lost because of stroke or MS or you know patients who have spinal cord injuries. You're not healing the spinal cord injury, but helping restore function and and accelerate that recovery process.
00:30:38
Speaker
Yeah, that is so cool. I didn't know newbie was a bit of an acronym. So neuro bio electric. That's right. ah That's awesome. ah So I, to quote stepbrothers, like, did we just become best friends? So my, my first company I started was called myribbit.com, which stood for my resource files, my books and supplies, my teacher recommendations.
00:31:01
Speaker
And Sarah is of course the the strength and resilience assistant. So, Yeah, we are cut from the same cloth, apparently, when it comes to naming conventions, which is but you don't have to have that to be an entrepreneur for those listening. But, you know, two today.
00:31:18
Speaker
two for two today so it something too to consider. um And so now i hear you talking about the, i mean, like, especially as a patient, right? if If I've tried a couple places and then I come to a practice that's using a newbie and boom, like I am both out of pain and seen so you know some or a lot of progress within ah a session or two.
00:31:47
Speaker
That's, I mean, Goodness, that's got to be just to to quote the quote someone else, a crack in the bird feeder. So yeah it's it's got to do great, great things for patient retention.
00:32:02
Speaker
And even like I think about patient evangelist. Right. So, you know, what have you seen maybe for what you had, what you can talk about quantitatively, but even qualitatively, we'd love to hear the the feedback that you're getting from practices on more of that patient experience and and and results side.
Impact on Patient Retention and Referrals
00:32:21
Speaker
Yeah, it's been it's been really wonderful. And it's been cool to see the evolution too, because initially our messaging, when we we were talking to practice owners about bringing on the newbie, our messaging was all about getting better outcomes, giving this experience for patients.
00:32:37
Speaker
And that landed with some people, but they're also already clinicians. They know how to treat. And so you know sometimes having this other angle to be able to actually share data on how it affects the business is is another good way to ah sort of meet people where they are and help them, you know, if their business owners are trying to solve business challenges, trying to improve their business, being able to actually connect the dots on how these outcomes can lead to, you know, these is clinical patient outcomes can lead to those business outcomes is great. So I'm glad you mentioned that. And ah for everybody listening, and it's been it's been a mix. You know, we hear
00:33:10
Speaker
ah subjectively, we hear from practice owners that, yes, it does create these patient evangelists. you know I can't tell you how many times, how many thousands of times we've heard that story. you know Like you said, someone's gone to other places, they come into a clinic that has a newbie, they're just so wowed. They get that five-minute miracle, they get that amazing experience, that aha moment, and they they want to come back.
00:33:31
Speaker
ah They want to... want to complete their plan of care. Many of them want to stay on and continue training or doing other cash services after their plan of care is over. And they refer their friends and family at much higher rates than they did before.
00:33:43
Speaker
and So there's all these great things. We also have some, you know, many many practice owners tell us that One cool thing about this is ah if if you're a practice owner and you're the experienced one and you're still treating, you might be in the situation that others have told us about where and people are really coming in and requesting you.
00:34:01
Speaker
And you may you may love to treat, but you may also feel a little bit trapped because it's difficult to scale you. And so yeah one of the things that we've heard from from practice owners in that situation is that they – They've been able to you know give the newbie to their new grad therapist who you know is less experienced and allows you to not necessarily have to hire for experience, but hire more for cultural fit. If someone did a rotation there and you really like them in the past, you might have thought, but they need more patient experience.
00:34:28
Speaker
Now, and we've had practice owners tell us they've they've been able to give that at new clinician a newbie. And they've been getting these home run amazing outcomes. And now patients are coming in and requesting them, even though they're, you know, six months, a year, a year and a half out of school.
00:34:44
Speaker
So that's been a really cool thing to sort of create these, you know patient evangelists and clinical wizards, even with, with, you know younger therapists, we've heard some really cool stories like that. And then to, to you know, if you mentioned putting some data to it. So there is some really cool objective data. you know, we did a,
00:34:59
Speaker
pilot with a big group and everyone actually gave me permission to talk about it So, KORT, K-O-R-T, the Kentucky Orthopedic
Pilot Success with KORT
00:35:05
Speaker
Rehab. yup Yep. so So, we did a pilot with them and they actually are very impressed by them. Their their leadership, you know they do a really good job of of attempting to, you know, really improve, you know continuous improvement, growth mindset, best possible practices and patient outcomes at scale. you know, a lot of times,
00:35:27
Speaker
One has to sacrifice quality in certain places in order to scale. And they ah they really really attempted to preserve that. So I was very impressed. And they were already running a very good business. And when they added the newbie in this pilot, we saw their net promoter score was already, was already an 85, which is really good.
00:35:46
Speaker
Really good. And when they added the newbie, it went up even more. It went up to 94, which if you know the mentally cow you know the math of Net Promoter Score, that's like better than an A+. plus Yes. so So it went from it went from really good to even better.
00:36:02
Speaker
And then they also saw, you know, there's this, is you know, if you practice owners listening to this, you know about this sort of dirty little secret of physical therapy about how many people drop out in their first three sessions because they think it's not you know it's not worth the time, it's not worth the copay, I can do this at home, and whatever it might be.
00:36:20
Speaker
So they had ah a a dropout rate, one, two, three rate, of about 15 to 16%. And when they used the newbie, that dropped in half, more than half, to 7%.
00:36:31
Speaker
seven percent So if you look at the the retention there, the number of patients that are actually staying around to complete their plan of care That increase in volume actually paid for the cost of the newbie in something like five or six months.
00:36:43
Speaker
So it was it was really cool to see that evolution of, yes, there's, you know. these concepts, these neurological concepts, these wow moments with patients, and now seeing how it actually affects the bottom line of the business and kind of comes full circle has been and really exciting.
00:36:58
Speaker
That's so cool. and Echoes, there's one of the senior directors at IV rehab, Dr. Tim Marshall. He and I were on a a panel together with a couple other folks at the NetHealth, their next conference earlier this year.
00:37:14
Speaker
And they they did the numbers and found that the better the patient experience was, the like almost perfect correlation to the other financial metrics.
00:37:29
Speaker
Right. So like, I mean, he was it was ridiculous. Like it was like a super tight line. And sure enough, like the, you they averaged a few metrics together, ranked them, you know,
00:37:40
Speaker
and boom and there was a pretty much a direct correlation with better patient experience equals better financial outcomes and like staff happiness like everything everything so know to hear to hear those types of results right which it sounds like you used to lead with the the outcomes piece right and then adding in that the business reason but behind it I find that i find that it's very cool and also the opposite of what we did.
00:38:14
Speaker
So we led with the business side. Okay. Here's what you can make with remote therapeutic monitoring. Here's how Sarah helps you with it. Like just hammer that for like, perfect. Like here, there's no reason you want to do this.
00:38:25
Speaker
ah And we flipped it and now it's, Hey, here's how you can increase your functional outcomes by 20%. Here's how you can drop your cancellation rate. Like here's how, and oh also like, don't worry, you're, you're going to be able to like be just fine on the financial side. And we've seen how that is the right way to discuss Sarah. So it's, it's, it's funny how we've kind of followed two separate paths, but kind of ended up in the same, like you gotta have both.
00:38:56
Speaker
Uh, you gotta, you gotta have both these days. Um, Also very cool about the new grad piece, right? So you you have a a a probably uncomfortable human being, right, that just graduated. And that's that's human. Like, let's not forget about this, right? Like, to you know, a human that now is responsible for treating people, right? And so giving them...
00:39:23
Speaker
easy button or training wheels of some sort for them to build their confidence makes all the sense in the world to me. Right. You think about the book Outliers. Right. And how it's a you know multifactorial thing of why you see some people go pro and and others don't.
00:39:42
Speaker
But if you can give that that new grad a a almost like instant boluses of confidence that, gosh, that's got to be, ah hey yeah, you want that, right? Like you pay all day for that.
00:40:00
Speaker
just Just that alone. So I think very, very cool to see some of those Auxiliary is probably not the right word, but like those ancillary benefits, right? Beyond just giving the the patient a better outcome. um that That's really cool. And yeah I know personally, I'm excited for any conference that we're at together because I know i'm going to get a a nice little master reset at least once. And I have noticed, ah so I checked my heart rate variability on my Garmin and I do see a difference in
00:40:35
Speaker
in restored restoration of of sleep, how restorative it is. um And then what I figure my body battery would be the next day without it. So i you have made a a believer of of me.
00:40:49
Speaker
As we as we come to the end and and wrap up, um I get to ask my favorite question. So here it is. If you had a magic wand and could fix one thing within physical therapy, what would it be?
00:41:08
Speaker
um
00:41:14
Speaker
I have to say that it would be making sure that Every therapist is intentionally addressing the nervous system of their patients.
Prioritizing the Nervous System
00:41:27
Speaker
And I say intentionally because you're always working with the nervous system, whether you know it or not. Most people are just not aware of it and therefore not doing a good job. So you know, I, I believe in this so strongly. I've seen how, how much of a difference it can make.
00:41:42
Speaker
And, you know, think about the brain nervous system control, know, literally every cell. I mean, there's a feedback loop between the vagus nerve and the immune system, right? Even though the immune system is distributed through the blood and all that, right? So there's all these different things. Of course it, it controls are our, our motivations, desires, thoughts, feelings, affect, and then, you know,
00:42:04
Speaker
digestion, elimination, reproductive function, right? The nervous system control, on autonomic nervous system controls, all that blood flow, movement, pain, healing. mean, there's so, there's so much there. so you know, one of the things that we say, yeah you know, sort of one of our, our mottos and guiding principles is nervous system first, working with the nervous system,
00:42:24
Speaker
setting the state. know I feel like in in in medicine generally, you know the more the closer we can get to the root cause or root business problems, the more we can get to the root cause, the closer we get there, the the more apt we are to solve a problem effectively.
00:42:40
Speaker
And so I think a lot of the issues for which people come into physical therapy, you know pain, dysfunction, limitation, are really rooted in the nervous system. And yes, there's hardware that has to heal, but when you work with the nervous system first, you're able to help people in such a profound way and set the stage for whatever hardware healing can occur to occur as efficiently and effectively as possible too. So you end up sort of getting the best of both worlds, but...
00:43:07
Speaker
If I could wave a magic wand, that's what I would do is I would essentially change the dialogue to you know really, really focusing on the nervous system first and having having a neurological evaluation and assessment and having having that neurologically based treatment sort of be leading paradigm.
00:43:27
Speaker
ah I love it. I love it. Well, Garrett, I think you've given our listeners a lot of good advice and contextualized it within your own story, which I appreciate to make it very, very real.
00:43:38
Speaker
Right. So a few of the ones I'm going to um'm distill into a top three. um you know I'd say going to combine a couple.
00:43:48
Speaker
Yeah. getting 10,000 hours of doing great work, right? You're going to have to put in the time. and There's just no other way around it. you're You're going to have to put in the time. um And then I think putting yourself out there, be willing to to be told no, be willing to to look silly, right?
00:44:06
Speaker
That's just part of it. like And if you if you don't want that, then that's okay. But If you're going to try this this path, it's going to be a part of it. um And then the the last is, i think this was during the last piece, but I think this is really important is you got to connect the dots for your customer.
00:44:26
Speaker
Right. And so when you mentioned that, hey, we're leading with outcomes and we're really talking about the business side, I'd imagine there was a part of your mind like, well, I run this clinic like it's doing well. like how can they not make you know make connect the dots?
00:44:40
Speaker
um Because you've connected them in your head potentially 10,000 times but by that point. um I think it's really important is is don't... And your customer doesn't have to be an external party. right It could be your boss. It could be your coworkers. right Like, hey, I want to make this change to the way that we treat are vertigo patients.
00:44:59
Speaker
Like, okay, well, who is your customer? but You probably have a couple, right? You got the patient that you may or may not have to convince. They probably don't know any better. But then you definitely have your your you know your fellow staff, your boss, whoever else. And so, you know, putting it into to their terms and connecting the dots for them and and not depending upon them to do it is the way to shortcut your way to success.
00:45:24
Speaker
um And so with that, 10,000 hours of doing good work, putting yourself out there and connecting the dots for for your customers. Garrett, think you've given our listeners absolutely fantastic advice.
00:45:38
Speaker
Where can people find ah you know find you, find out more about you? Of course, we'll post you know links in the show notes and everything, but you know ah please, where where can folks find out more?
00:45:50
Speaker
So probably you know three best avenues. One is certainly our website, www.new.fit. Also, my book is called The New Fit Method. It's on Amazon. There's a written copy, of course, and an audio book.
00:46:05
Speaker
And then we're most active social media-wise on Instagram. Our business page is newfitrfp. And then I just started in the last few months a personal page also, which has been kind of a fun project for the years. My first and last name, Garrett.Saltpeter.
00:46:18
Speaker
on there. love to interact with with anyone on social media as well. And thank you all for for tuning in and listening. I really appreciate Absolutely. And when you're, you know, since you're in Austin, when you're on Rogan, we'll make sure to to push that as as well. ah You know, it's only a matter of time. great so he has some yeah he He talked about, he did, ah he talked about the newbie for a few minutes on ah on an episode ah few months ago. And I got the clip, I can share it with you if if it's worth sending the link here. But he was talking about it because he was talking about it in the context of Mike Tyson training.
00:46:48
Speaker
And he pulled up a video of Tyson using the newbie and we got some, a cool video there. I can also send you the link to that, but Oh, please do. Please do. That's, yeah I mean, to to just really drive home the point, right? Like,
00:47:01
Speaker
You put yourself out there enough and you're going to get a break, right? Is it a break? No, it's it's the culmination of a series of probabilities, right? Like, yeah, there's a one in 1,000 chance of that happening. But at some point, if it happens a thousand times, right, then the probability becomes pretty darn good.
00:47:21
Speaker
What a great example to to end on. Garrett, thank you so much for for joining us on another episode of The Disruptors. Thank you for listening to another episode of The Disruptors. I hope that you were able to take one or two things away that you can apply immediately to your own innovation journey.
00:47:39
Speaker
As always, I'm your host, Stephen Cohen, sponsored by Sarah Health. Let's keep moving.