175 | Understanding Back Pain and Physical Therapy
Welcome to Episode 175 of The Optimal Body Podcast
Understanding Back Pain and Physical Therapy
Struggling with back pain? Feel like your back pain is never getting better? Tim Reynolds and Bryan Guzksi, physical therapists, take you from PT school to clinical practice as they hone in on how their curiosity drove their career path. Then, they discuss the psychology behind back pain and how you can trust that your back pain will resolve. In the name of research and clinical experience, Tim & Bryan share how physical therapy can support back pain and the best ways in which you can address your back pain as you navigate the world of physical therapists to find your optimal one. As they provide tips in finding a physical therapist, they discuss the importance of shifting language around the medical diagnosis and how language plays a role in instilling fear in patients. As psychology plays an immense role in pain perception, they provide their best tips to navigating the fear around back pain, how to set yourself up for success at your medical appointments, and how education about pain science should be consensual and on the patient’s terms. Finally, they share the purpose behind their book and how practitioners and the general public get educated now! Let’s dive in!
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What you will learn in this interview with Tim Reynolds and Bryan Guzski
3:54 – How and why did Tim specialize in the spine?
5:08 – What is the benefit of residency?
10:58 – Did residency help imposter syndrome?
11:54 – How can you trust that your back pain will resolve
14:55 – How physical therapy supports back pain
18:05 – How to find YOUR PT?
22:46 – Shifting the language in medicine
24:50- Navigating fear around back pain vs what’s really happening
30:21 – How to get the most out of your medical appointments
40:04 – Inspiration behind the book
43:36 – Purpose behind the book
39:57 – Is there an easy method to calculating caloric needs
47:13 – Where you can find the “Movers & Mentors” book
About Tim Reynolds and Bryan Guzski
Tim Reynolds PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS is an Assistant Professor of Anatomy & Physiology at Ithaca College and a part-time physical therapist practicing at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY where he predominately treats patients with spine or lower extremity impairments. Tim earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Ithaca College in 2014 and completed both his orthopedic residency and spine fellowship through Cayuga Medical Center, and currently helps mentor and teach in both of these programs as well. Bryan Guzski PT, DPT, OCS, MBA, CSCS is an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist practicing in Rochester, NY working primarily with patients with spine-related issues and persistent pain. Bryan earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Ithaca College in 2014, completed an orthopedic residency program through Cayuga Medical Center in 2015, and received his Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist certification, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Simon Business School at the University of Rochester in 2021.
Items mentioned:
We think you’ll love:
- Create Your Flow FREE mobility challenge
- Jen’s Instagram
- Dom’s Instagram
- 175 | Understanding Back Pain and Physical TherapyYouTube Channel
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