Podcast
PT Pintcast - Physical Therapy
Hosted by Jimmy McKay, PT, DPT | Physical Therapy Podcast · EN
PT Pintcast is a physical therapy podcast featuring conversations with physical therapists, clinic owners, educators, and leaders shaping the future of physical therapy.
Hosted by Jimmy McKay, PT, DPT, PT Pintcast blends real talk, big ideas, and practical insight on clinical care, business, culture, and where physical therapy is headed next. If a TED Talk and a radio show had a baby and raised it in a physical therapy clinic, this would be it.
65episodes
Episodes
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Would You Do PT Again?
3d ago01:00:39Tap to summarizeWould you become a physical therapist again?That question sits underneath this episode of PT Breakfast Club with Jimmy McKay, Tony Maritato, and Dave Kittle.The conversation starts with physical therapy burnout. Tony reacts to a survey suggesting nearly half of PTs report burnout, and the crew debates what burnout actually means. Is it exhaustion? Cynicism? Reduced effectiveness? Or has the word become a catch-all for low pay, paperwork, bad bosses, student loans, long hours, and the general sensation that work has become a haunted spreadsheet?Jimmy shares a LinkedIn poll asking what clinicians really mean when they say they want fewer patients. Do they want more time with each patient? A buffer between visits? Both? Or do they simply want less work?Dave talks about hiring clinicians for a concierge/cash-pay model and why he wants people who may want a better model, but are not publicly torching their current employer or profession online.Then the conversation turns to the big career question: would Tony and Dave become PTs again? Would they recommend physical therapy to their kids? The answer is complicated. PT can still be a great career, but only if clinicians understand the game they are actually entering.The back half of the episode shifts into social media and clinic growth. Tony explains how he is using Meta AI, ChatGPT, and Gemini to analyze his Facebook content, where he generated massive reach and meaningful revenue from simple posts. Jimmy connects it to his talk with Colorado PT students: don’t create “social media.” Create media that is social.The takeaway:Attention leads to trust. Trust leads to action.In This EpisodePrior authorization as an escape room from hellWhat burnout actually meansWhy being tired is not always burnoutCan burned-out clinicians still deliver great care?What PTs really want when they ask for fewer patientsWhy some clinicians want better while others just want lessHiring for concierge and cash-pay PTWould Tony and Dave become PTs again?Whether PT is still a good careerWhat students should know about market forcesAI-assisted social media analysisWhy simple posts can outperform polished contentHow comments become communityWhy clinics should stop overthinking content creationAttention → trust → actionPull Quotes“Prior Authorization Escape Room: nobody has escaped yet.”“Burnout has become the catch-all for ‘work sucks.’”“Patients stop becoming Mrs. Smith and start becoming the ten o’clock.”“When you say you want fewer patients, what are you actually asking for?”“You don’t want the person looking for your job opportunity to fix their life.”“Know the game before choosing the career.”“Don’t create social media. Create media that is social.”“People love to talk about themselves.”“Attention leads to trust. Trust leads to action.”“Don’t spend a dollar on anything until you do 100 repetitions.”“If you’re staying the same, you’re left behind.”
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Stop Making the EMR Suck Less
4d ago00:54:50Tap to summarizeThis episode of PT Breakfast Club starts with a simple question:What should an EMR actually do?Tony Maritato and Jimmy McKay discuss the divide between the clinical and administrative sides of EMRs, why AI should be more than ambient documentation, and how the future of physical therapy technology should make clinicians better instead of turning them into data-entry horses with name badges.Jimmy introduces the idea of the centaur vs reverse centaur: good technology combines human reasoning with machine horsepower. Bad technology makes the human serve the machine.From there, the conversation expands into wearable data, RTM, patient apps, Peloton, video games, hospitality, software, and why PT may need to steal ideas from outside healthcare to build something patients and clinicians actually want to use.The crew also talks about Sean Pastuch and Active Life, the space between physical therapy and fitness, trainers “stepping on toes,” UnitedHealthcare reimbursement, the reality of $60 visits, price anchoring, and why Dick’s Sporting Goods may have a better patient engagement lesson than most healthcare conferences.The final message:Understand what game you’re playing.In This EpisodeWhat EMRs should do in an AI worldWhy clinical and administrative workflows are two sides of the same coinThe “centaur vs reverse centaur” model for AI and cliniciansWhy wearable data needs synthesis, not just captureWhy RTM often feels like homeworkWhat PT can learn from video games, Peloton, software, and hotelsWhy Active Life found the space between PT and fitnessScope creep, trainers, and PT defensivenessThe UnitedHealthcare $60 visit problemWhy some clinics can make low reimbursement work and others can’tPrice anchoring and the PACE BIKES shoe exampleWhat clinics can learn from Dick’s Sporting GoodsWhy attention leads to trust and trust leads to actionPull Quotes“The EMR should work for me. I shouldn’t work for the EMR.”“We want to be centaurs, not reverse centaurs.”“We don’t need more data. We need useful data at the moment of care.”“RTM fails when it feels like homework.”“We keep trying to make the EMR incrementally suck less.”“The answer is not coming from inside healthcare.”“Are you mad they’re doing it, or are you mad they’re doing it better than you?”“Attention leads to trust. Trust leads to action.”“Understand what game you’re playing.”
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Understand What Game You’re Playing
1w ago00:55:53Tap to summarizeToday on PT Breakfast Club, we’re talking physical therapy business, cash PT positioning, fall recovery, and the uncomfortable question: are trainers reaching patients better than physical therapists?Jimmy McKay, Tony Meritato, and Dave Kittle dig into whether PTs are defending the wrong thing: the license, the title, the visit, the referral, the insurance model, or the certification.The conversation starts with concierge/activity-based PT, including the idea of a physical therapist joining an older adult on the golf course to help them safely return to something they love. Then Tony brings up an Instagram trainer teaching older adults fall recovery and big movement strategies. Is that physical therapy? Occupational therapy? Personal training? Practicing without a license? Or just useful?From there, the crew gets into cash-based physical therapy, premium patient experience, why “1-on-1 care” is not enough as a value proposition, and how concierge PT can position itself around fewer handoffs, less confusion, and more continuity.Plus: Tony explains why he sells an experience instead of physical therapy, Dave shares early results from his direct mail/postcard campaign, and Jimmy closes with the bigger lesson: understand what game you’re playing.In this episode:• Concierge golf PT and activity-based care• Trainer-led fall recovery and the PT license debate• Cash PT vs insurance-based PT positioning• Patient experience, handoffs, and continuity• Why small clinics can create magic• Direct mail, postcards, and analog marketing• Understanding the game you’re actually playingChapters:00:00 PT Breakfast Club intro00:56 Concierge golf PT and activity-based care03:52 How to price premium PT experiences10:52 Trainer-led fall recovery: PT, OT, or just useful?14:29 Is the PT license really the moat?17:45 Are trainers doing it better?18:04 Uber, Airbnb, and PT disruption21:30 Why cash PT needs better positioning24:44 You’re buying fewer handoffs30:08 “I don’t sell physical therapy. I sell an experience.”31:40 Why small clinics can create magic33:52 Hiring the right PT for premium care42:55 Dave’s postcard campaign results49:01 Is analog marketing coming back?53:37 Understand what game you’re playingFollow:Tony Meritato: Total Therapy SolutionDave Kittle: Concierge Pain Relief / The Dave Kittle ShowJimmy McKay: PT PintcastThis livestream is for conversation and entertainment only, not medical, legal, billing, or business advice.#PhysicalTherapy #PTBusiness #CashPT
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The Messy Middle Between Physical Therapy and Fitness | Sean Pastuch
1w ago00:42:45Tap to summarizeBeing medically cleared does not always mean someone feels capable of returning to the life they actually want.In this episode of PT Pintcast, Jimmy McKay sits down with Dr. Sean Pastuch, founder of Active Life and author of Live More, Hurt Less, to explore the “messy middle” between physical therapy and fitness.A patient may be able to work, drive, sleep, and complete every activity of daily living. But can they run competitively? Lift heavy weights? Play with their children? Trust their body again?Sean argues that temporary restrictions can quietly become permanent beliefs. A diagnosis may provide relief and clarity, but without the right conversation, it can also become an identity and a permission slip to live smaller.Jimmy and Sean discuss:• The difference between being cleared and being capable• Why discharge is not always the end of recovery• How healthcare language can unintentionally make people feel fragile• Why chronic pain has physical, psychological, and social dimensions• How PTs can find fitness professionals they trust• Why patients need to clearly communicate the life they want to return to• The problem with telling someone their pain is “all in their head”• How PTs and fitness coaches can collaborate without competing• Why Sean believes people are both the cause and solution to many of their problems• The ideas behind Sean’s book, Live More, Hurt LessABOUT SEAN PASTUCHDr. Sean Pastuch has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of healthcare and fitness. He began his career as a personal trainer, became a clinician, founded Active Life, and built his work around helping people move from medically cleared to genuinely capable.CONNECT WITH SEANWebsite: https://www.drseanpastuch.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drseanpastuchLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-pastuch-02ba88109Learn more about Active Life professionals and the coach network discussed in the episode at ActiveLifeProfessional.com.Find Live More, Hurt Less through Sean’s website or wherever books are sold.ABOUT PT PINTCASTPT Pintcast is where smart people in healthcare come to make noise. Hosted by Jimmy McKay, PT, DPT, the show delivers conversations, not presentations, about the people, ideas, and uncomfortable questions shaping physical therapy.Follow PT Pintcast and share this episode with a physical therapist, coach, or healthcare professional who works with people trying to return to the activities that make life feel like theirs.
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The Golden Mile Problem: Money, PR, and Why AI Still Needs You
2w ago00:52:21Tap to summarizeDave Kittle and Tony Maritato open with a prediction: Sophie Cunningham becomes the WNBA's first billionaire — not from basketball, but from the same social-media gravity that's already reshaping how physical therapists build wealth outside patient care. Jimmy joins mid-scooter-commute to Hoboken and the conversation turns practical fast: why PR only works as a growth lever when you're the underdog, why "dumbing down" clinical education is the wrong frame (scaling it down is the right one), and why a Career Connection candidate's real question is never "what's the salary" — it's "what's the floor, and how high is the ceiling."The back half digs into hiring and retention: why money alone rarely explains why a PT leaves, the concept of "career cuffing season" (staying somewhere out of convenience, not conviction), and a "baseball card" framework for evaluating a job the way you'd evaluate a player — caseload, culture, mentorship, not just take-home pay. Jimmy also walks through the AI prompt he's been running against clinics' Google reviews to surface hidden strengths (and hidden problems), and the crew closes on the "golden mile problem" — the case for why AI can automate the diagnosis but will never replace the person who shows up, adjusts the plan, and gets someone back to their life.Topics covered: PR and personal brand in healthcare, cash-pay retention economics, clinician compensation structure, hiring and recruiting friction, documentation compliance pitfalls, AI-assisted marketing, and the limits of AI in hands-on care.
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Burnout, Better Jobs, and the PT Social Media Game
3w ago01:00:39Tap to summarizeOn this episode of PT Breakfast Club, Jimmy McKay, Tony Maritato, and Dave Kittle unpack one of the profession’s loudest conversations: burnout.But instead of stopping at “PTs are burned out,” they push into the more useful question: what are clinicians actually asking for when they say they want fewer patients?More time? A buffer between visits? Better systems? Less emotional carryover? A job that matches the version of the profession they thought they were entering?The crew also asks the dangerous dinner-party question: would you become a PT again? Tony and Dave both say yes, but with caveats. They’d understand market forces sooner, think differently about ownership, and build earlier.In the second half, the conversation pivots to social media, AI, and clinic growth. Tony shares how he’s using Meta AI, ChatGPT, and Gemini to analyze what is actually working across his content. Dave explains how TikTok is already creating real patient conversations for Concierge Pain Relief. Jimmy ties it together with a lesson from his talk to PT students in Colorado:Attention leads to trust. Trust leads to action.And the big takeaway for clinics?Stop trying to create “social media.”Create media that is social. Big IdeasBurnout needs a clearer definition before PT can solve it.“Fewer patients” may actually mean more time, recovery, documentation space, or emotional reset.Better pay might help, but it does not automatically fix workplace dissatisfaction.PT students are still fired up about the profession, and that matters.Future clinicians need to understand market forces, not just anatomy and interventions.Social media is not just marketing fluff. It is attention, trust, and patient behavior.Clinics should stop overproducing and start documenting real moments.AI can help clinicians and clinic owners understand what their audience is telling them.The FITT-VP principle works for exercise, communication, business, and content.Best Line“Don’t try to create social media. Try to create media that is social.”
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How Physical Therapists Can Turn Content Into Patients, Income and Opportunity
3w ago00:26:45Tap to summarizePhysical therapists spend years learning how to help people—but almost no time learning how to reach them.Jimmy McKay is joined by Tony Maritato and Dave Kittle to unpack what actually works on social media for physical therapists, clinic owners and students. Tony shares how simple Facebook posts generated more than a million views and approximately $2,000 in ad revenue over 28 days. Dave explains how clinicians can turn their online presence into local patients, professional leverage and a stronger career.The crew also debates whether creators should optimize for algorithms, audiences or actual business results—and why polished production may be less effective than simply pulling out your phone and hitting record.This episode covers:Why PT students should build a personal brand before graduationHow simple clinical content can outperform polished videosThe rise of micro-influencers and performance-based clippingWhy reach and relevance are differentFacebook monetization versus selling services directlyHow content can help clinicians attract patients and negotiate raisesWhy communication may become one of a clinician’s most valuable skillsFeaturing Tony Maritato, Dave Kittle and Jimmy McKay.
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Why Patients Quit PT After Visit 3
Jul 900:58:30Tap to summarizeThis week on PT Breakfast Club, Jimmy McKay and Dave Kittle start with a simple patient text exchange and end up inside one of the biggest problems in physical therapy:Expectation rarely matches reality.Dave shares how he responds when a prospective patient asks whether his clinic is in-network or out-of-network. Instead of dodging the question or pushing the sale, he explains the difference between choosing the lowest-cost option and choosing a higher-touch model.That opens the door to a larger conversation about why patients often disappear after visit three.Is it really because patients do not care?Is it because they will not do their home exercises?Or is the experience inconsistent enough that leaving is actually a rational consumer response?Jimmy and Dave talk about the in-network volume model, cash-pay customer acquisition costs, personal training, patient switching, the third-place concept, Equinox, Planet Fitness, Starbucks, Ironman, APTA, payment advocacy, and whether physical therapy can ever become more than a series of appointments.The episode closes with a practical reminder: the easiest growth lever is not always finding new patients. Sometimes it is serving the people who already trust you at a much higher level.In this episodeHow to respond when patients ask about in-network vs out-of-network careWhy cash practices need to explain the tradeoff, not just the priceWhy visit 3 drop-off may be an experience design problemHow inconsistent therapist switching damages trustWhat PT can learn from personal trainingWhy volume-based models create predictable consequencesThe role of customer acquisition cost in patient retentionWhat physical therapy can learn from Equinox and Planet FitnessWhy community-first businesses winWhy a package is not the same thing as a membershipWhat APTA can and cannot realistically solveWhy retention and relationship may be the most underused growth strategyBest quote“If you launched a video game where 70% of the people played it three times and never played again, would you blame the player? No. You’d blame the game.”
Transcribe →Why Most PT Ads Don’t Work
Jul 200:29:24Tap to summarizeThis week on PT Breakfast Club, Tony Maritato, Dave Kittle, and Jimmy McKay look at a real physical therapy Instagram ad and ask a simple question:Would this actually make someone take action?The answer leads to a bigger conversation about physical therapy marketing, cluttered ads, weak offers, fake scarcity, AI-generated creative, trendjacking, TikTok Shop, LinkedIn recruiting, and how clinics can earn attention without looking like everyone else.The crew talks about why “free physical therapy” may not be the irresistible offer some clinics think it is, why too many visuals and calls-to-action can make an ad feel cheap, and why AI can help create marketing but still needs a human being to check whether the final product makes sense.They also get into Dave’s orange square LinkedIn post, Tony’s AI-generated Home Depot knee replacement image, and whether viral content is worth anything if it does not connect back to revenue.The big takeaway:You cannot interrupt a pattern if you do not have a pattern. In this episodeWhy many PT ads feel cluttered or cheapThe problem with “free PT” as a marketing hookWhy scarcity needs to feel realHow AI-generated ads can fail without human reviewWhat PTs can learn from trendjacking and meme cultureWhy attention only matters if it connects to a business goalHow TikTok Shop could become an opportunity for PT creatorsWhy Dave’s orange square LinkedIn post workedHow clinic owners can create better behind-the-scenes contentWhy clear beats clever, and clear definitely beats clutterBest quote“You can’t interrupt a pattern if you don’t have a pattern.”
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Physical Therapists Need to Stop Selling Visits
Jun 2401:02:09Tap to summarizePhysical therapists keep saying they provide value — but then many clinics hand patients a confusing menu of visits, rates, packages, discounts, weekday pricing, weekend pricing, and “per visit” math.That confusion may be costing you patients.In this episode of PT Breakfast Club, Tony Meritato, Dave Kittle, and Jimmy McKay break down a real cash pay physical therapy pricing problem and ask a bigger question:Are physical therapists selling the wrong thing?Patients are not really buying “visits.”They are buying relief, confidence, access, trust, and a clear plan to get back to the life they want.This conversation covers cash based physical therapy, private practice pricing, price anchoring, simplifying your offer, patient decision-making, and why “confuse me, lose me” might be one of the most important marketing lessons for any physical therapy business.We also talk about AI coaching, business coaching, babysitter economics, roof replacement psychology, pharma advertising, digital physical therapy platforms, and why PTs need to stop talking themselves out of money.In this episode:00:00 PT Breakfast Club opens00:30 Tony’s accidental weight-loss strategy03:00 Using AI for running, fitness, and accountability07:30 AI vs human coaching12:45 Dave’s cash pay PT pricing card14:30 Why too many numbers confuse patients17:40 If price is the biggest thing, you compete on price18:40 Price anchoring and why it works21:15 Should PTs sell visits, appointments, or outcomes?24:30 The simple buying journey: call, evaluation, plan of care29:30 What cash pay physical therapists are charging36:15 Babysitter pricing as a value lesson44:30 Buying back time and unlocking value47:00 What PT can learn from pharma and insurance ads49:30 Selling hope instead of visits58:00 Sword, Kaia, and where PT investment is going01:00:15 Parting shotsHosts:Tony MaritatoDave KittleJimmy McKay
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