Alex Beltrame from F.I.T. Muscle & Joint clinic joins us to talk about their unique combination of specialists that combine to help patients do everything from walk up the stairs with groceries to finding that elusive par 4 birdie. In today’s marketing tip, is that special marketing opportunity special enough?
Transcript:
Welcome to the Small Business Miracles Podcast, I’m Jeff Randolph.
One thing I always love to point out is that’s completely individualized.
So you know, the techniques that we utilize, dry needling as you mentioned, which to kind
of elaborate on that, that’s similar to acupuncture but a little bit different.
So dry needling is where we take an acupuncture needle, thin, like a filament size and we
insert it into the muscle, kind of like trigger point therapy.
So the whole goal of that is to rejuvenate blood flow to the area that, you know, I’m
a larger person and I can apply a lot of pressure for soft tissue release, but dry needling is
a really concise and accurate way for us to get blood flow in that specific spot.
Literally pinpoint.
You’re literally pinpointing.
Yes, exactly.
So my kind of running joke about dry needling is that it’s not so pleasant, right?
Like it is a needle, which some people are, you know, verdicts out on that one.
But overall, it is really profound in the results because, you know, you might be sore
for a day or two, but after that it’s kind of like, oh wow, I can really move.
I have so much more range of motion.
And that’s a great segue because, you know, we do a lot of corrective exercises.
One that is quite the acronym is what’s called DNS.
It stands for dynamic neuromuscular stabilization.
And to kind of summarize that long term there, it’s developmental kinesiology.
So as we grow and develop as individuals, we’re taught and innately know how to move
in the most efficient ways possible.
And then, you know, as we come to work, as we sit down for a long time, as we exercise
aggressively, we kind of get out of that norm and we don’t know how to move.
So we’ll actually put you in specific positions, which may seem awkward at the time.
Like they are essentially what can a baby do, but it’s really specific in what muscle
group it targets because we’re trying to get you to move efficiently and effectively in
one specific area, not just, for example, like to engage your lower body, right?
Well, a squat’s a great way to do that, but the DNS maneuvers that we can do for that
is really targeted to, okay, let’s talk about your quad.
Let’s work your calf, the bottom of your foot, et cetera.
So like Jeff said, it’s not necessarily that we do things that other people don’t.
It’s that you probably won’t find the combination of our entire approach in one specific location.
And that could be described as like we work alongside with physical therapists because
I’m a chiropractor.
So that collaborative effort is really good that we bounce ideas off each other a lot.
And a lot of times, just getting another set of eyes like, hey, Ryan and Kenzie both work
at the Crossroads location is, hey, guys, I need some help.
I was going here, it didn’t work.
Any ideas like how can we collaborate on this?
And I would say a lot of times it’s like you just need to get out of your own head and
kind of zoom out.
Yeah, yeah.
And that’s really beneficial because they each of us have a different approach for A,
why we got into this type of field or B, just like their own personal experiences.
So that’s always good to get kind of a broader approach.
So dry needling is one thing we do.
We do something that’s called, the technical term for it is IASTM.
It stands for instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization.
And layman’s terms, grasped in or scraping is another way we can talk about that.
So that’s where we take a piece of medical grade steel and we kind of rub it along the
muscle to improve blood flow.
Oh, gosh.
As well as like the understanding, which is called proprioception of where your body is
in space.
So the way that I like to utilize that is not just solely scraping the tissue, but you
can actually combine that with movement as a person goes through the range of motion
that you’re trying to achieve.
It just gives more information to the body to try to process that of, oh, wait, that’s
where my shoulder should be.
Just more stimulus to a degree.
So dry needling, scraping, we do like the KT tape.
That’s a little bit more seldom than other things.
We do cupping every so again, you know, often, but like the corrective exercise and stuff
that we use, like our space, if you walked in, you would think it as a gym, especially
with me screaming around and playing the music loud.
So yeah, our approach is really integrated and truly that’s like my favorite part of
the job is I have so many, we as providers, if it have so many tools in our toolbox to
you know, kind of address, oh, well, dry needling might be good.
Maybe it’s just exercise, all that type of stuff.
So yeah, if only the human body came with an owner’s manual, we would, we may not need
all of this.
Yeah, no kidding.
But thanks goodness, there’s that expertise there.
Tell me about your, in marketing, we would talk about a target audience.
Talk about your ideal patient for a moment and who you’re targeting as a customer.
Is it, you know, everybody who wants to carry their groceries up the stairs or is it somebody
who’s training for a specific events?
Like you work with elite level athletes to, you know, people who are definitely not elite
level athletes.
What, who are you targeting?
That’s a huge range.
What’s the ideal client?
Yeah, so ideal is completely subjective based on the provider, right?
So you know, we’re going to talk in a minute about kind of a golf specialty that we do
at some of the clinics.
Yeah, I definitely am going to ask about that golf specialty.
But with that, like, you know, that, that might be someone who’s kind of has that niche,
right?
Like they, that’s their demographic that they like to work with.
So to answer the question, ideal is whoever is motivated to get better, right?
Like it doesn’t need to be an elite level athlete who’s preparing for the Olympics and
it doesn’t to downplay, like it’s not just Gloria who’s trying to play with her kids
or grandkids or whatever.
So however, if I were to break that down a little bit, historically, if it’s been around
for almost years at this point, we have tended to work with people that are more of
like the weekend warrior active population.
And truly, I would say that’s because all the stuff we just mentioned has the capacity
to go into super in depth, like elevated function, right?
So if you take somebody who one is not motivated to do that, or two can’t physically do that
well, that doesn’t really serve a greater purpose for them.
So we want to make sure that the people that we’re working with one really want to get
better.
So you know, a lot of times with those weekend warriors, as we call them, are just people
that are active in the daily life.
A lot of that stuff, we can start to integrate and get them to elevate whatever performance
they want.
And, and you know, as far as like that goes, it just like we, we do an hour evaluation
the first time and what makes fit a little bit different than other places in the healthcare
space, especially on the conservative side is we’re always one on one, you know, especially
right now, like Kenzie is a newer provider at our location.
Well, in some cases, we have two providers to one patient.
So that that’s like four eyes on one person.
That’s that is not the kind of balance you get at a lot of places.
Yeah, exactly.
So when it comes to that, like we really take time to understand like, Hey, Jeff, what do
you want?
And then from there, we can go into that because at the end of the day, like my goal, every
provider’s goal at fit is to get you function like our tagline, if you will, is better than
before, right?
So and the beauty of that is it’s exceptionally vague on purpose, right?
No, that’s it.
It covers a lot of ground.
Yeah.
So better than before in a general sense would be like, Hey, I can go up the stairs to just
get to my apartment or my house without knee pain, but better than before could also be
a youth athlete who’s trying to play baseball in college, that type of thing too.
So but yeah, at the end of the day, like, you know, we meet people where they’re at,
you know, and, and when it comes to that stuff is what I want for you is it might not be
what you want and that’s the beauty of us taking a lot of time to understand, you know,
what you’ve what you’re dealing with, what your goals are and all that stuff, because
we can take that path wherever we need to.
And that’s, that’s also the best thing apart.
My job is like, it’s different every single time that a person comes in, right?
Like you have these, I’m not going to say cookie cutter things, but like certain things,
let’s use a like a shoulder or rotator cuff injury, for example, there’s a lot of things
that work really well for that type of thing, but that doesn’t mean that that’s going
to work for everybody.
So that’s kind of that gray area clinical judgment of right, well, Jeff needs this and
he responded this way.
And I love navigating that that path for people because it truly looks different for everybody,
no matter how much you know, in some days, I want it to be very clear cut.
Because I’ve got a type A personality, but a lot of that stuff is like, we have the autonomy
to get creative where we need to and that’s, that’s the beauty of our approach.
That’s good stuff.
So first, first meeting first, first, first time somebody walks in, is it a lot of listening
then and finding out, you know, you are here and you want to go here and and probing and
asking questions about, you know, let’s find out how you got here.
You’re solving mysteries too.
Yeah.
So I would say this conversation piece right now could probably take us six hours to talk
about.
Oh, wow.
Because, you know, fits been around for almost years, we have so much expertise.
We I mean, we’ve probably got, I’m just going to shoot off the cuff, maybe over years
of experience in the field.
So how we have cultivated and trained a lot of our, you know, staff members or providers
is to integrate all that stuff.
So you know, what’s the first visit look like?
Like I mentioned, it’s always one on one, we got you for a minimum of minutes.
If you’re working with me, I apologize in advance, we’re definitely going to go over
time because I can’t shut up.
But you know, a lot of that is kind of like to give the framework for the for the evaluation
is yeah, it’s a lot of listening.
I’d say I personally, if I were to give it a time, probably minutes of that minute
session is just just talking, right?
Like you know, where’s it hurt?
What do you do on a daily basis?
What type of exercise do you do?
And a lot of that like knowing what you do is a very quick barley into well, what do
you want to do?
Because you know, you might be doing % of what you want to do already.
But that helps us as providers guide like, well, perfect, we only need to improve %.
We’re not trying to completely revamp, but I say this conversation could be a longer
one because at the end of the day, in conservative healthcare, maybe just in healthcare in general,
there’s a term called biopsychosocial.
So essentially, that means a person is a person and their musculoskeletal condition may not
just be truly musculoskeletal.
So a lot of that is like the biopsychosocial approach is, you know, kind of taking serve
with the healthcare community because I’d say go back years, it was just more of
like, well, Jeff has knee pain.
Boom, that’s this, right?
You know, it’s more of like, well, what we didn’t talk about is the fact that Jeff has
three kids and he can’t kneel down to play with his kids.
Well, that is innately going to impact how you receive or approach therapy.
So a lot of that stuff is that’s why an hour truly like one, because I can’t stop talking,
but two is like minutes to really understand your six years of knee pain.
Yeah, it’s really hard to do because, you know, we’ll get on a tangent and a lot of
that stuff is like, we don’t just want to blow by the fact that you fell off your bicycle
when you were and the knee never felt the same.
Not saying that was the issue, but like that’s really important to understand as a provider
because we can take that and be like, you know, hey, this is, and a lot of times, you
know, I think not to kind of dog on the typical medical community, but a lot of that time
is like, you’re not getting those questions answered in five minutes.
No, no, no, no.
I was just thinking as you’re talking, I had a dentist appointment yesterday and I learned
something from my hygienist.
Like I love learning from like, especially about me because it’s a great topic.
Me is a great topic for me.
You know, nobody else cares, but I care a lot and having somebody who listens and takes
time that’s a competitive differentiator in the market.
And the more we talk about it, the more, you know, that just some someone who is looking
for that level of specificity and that level of care and understanding will benefit from
that.
Whereas, you know, if you’re just kind of churning it, there are people who want that
too and you just, you customers can self-select and get where they need to go, but put that
brand differentiator out there and you know, everything you’re saying is spectacular.
Let me move us on to the, you teased golf just a little bit and we have to talk about
that because you are certified in TPI and that’s, I looked that up, that’s the Titleist
Performance Institute.
of the top players in the world are advised by a TPI certified expert.
Tell me about the certification and kind of what that means for a client’s golf game.
Yeah, so TPI as it exists has multiple different tracks.
So you have like a medical provider, which would be myself and others within fit.
There’s like a fitness track, there’s a coaching track.
So I love to make that delineation because I’m not your swing coach and there’s a big
difference there because I can’t even figure out my own golf game.
I had to go do a professional to figure that out, right?
Sure.
So as far as within kind of that medical track, what we do and how we integrate TPI is it
is a assessment that’s specific to what your body needs to be capable of in and through
the golf swing.
So how the evaluation goes is it’s a set of exercises.
They’re gauged kind of on a stoplight perspective.
So green means no issues, no pain.
Yellow means there was a limitation in the movement, but not necessarily pain is present.
And then red would be like, can’t do the exercise and it hurts.
So as far as how that operates, we take that data.
There is also a kind of swing analysis there.
So you know, a swing coach might look at you on video and say, hey, I need you to rotate
here or not rotate there.
Well, from the medical perspective, it’s can you rotate or can’t you rotate?
So it’s more of like, you know, what are called biomechanics, how the body moves.
It’s integrating that into a specific manner.
So no different than in our typical, you know, day in, day out evaluation.
TPI is just ultra specific to what motions can you do for golf or can’t you do for golf.
And quite frankly, like I’ve taken that certification information because there’s three levels.
I have my level one right now working on my level two and I’ve integrated that into like
my daily practice and it’s actually seen better outcomes because that framework of what to
assess golf is very specific in what you need to be able to do.
But also like it has, it’s a very synonymous motion to baseball.
So you know, it’s a lot of rotation based things.
So really if you break it down to athletic activity, you can, you can assess a golf swing,
but you can still use that information for other things.
So as far as what that certification looks like is it’s an online course for level one
that used to be in person and then, you know, happened.
But it’s, it’s understanding how to assess the body.
And then from there it’s given you like specific avenues to pursue of, you know, if this, then
that type of thing.
And I mean, I did that after I had already completed my doctorate level program.
So it just kind of elevated my experience and some of those exercises or rehab motions
were really beneficial because you can actually kind of, you know, not to swear on the podcast
here, but like you can bastardize those exercises to get better results for something different.
So you know, I’ve mentioned creativity a lot.
You can blend a lot of that stuff.
And the beauty is like the body’s capable of a whole lot.
So it doesn’t need to be super clear cut all the time.
You know, clinical practices as gray as it gets as it is in other professions.
But when it comes to that, you can integrate that into somebody’s care in different ways.
So yeah, like you mentioned, out of the top professionals get some TPI advisement.
I would say for a lot of those people, it’s, you know, one of every track, right?
Like they have a medical professional, an instructor, a fitness, all that stuff.
But kind of on that note, we, you can take that information and parlay that into what’s
called d motion capture.
So no different than like, you know, I always think of like the movies, right?
Where they put the green suit on and all the dots around.
We have something that’s located at our Overland Park location, but I’ve gone down there to
work on people.
It’s a d motion capture through K motion.
So we’ve got, you know, it’s like a hip belt, a chest belt, all this other stuff.
And then you’ll actually go through kind of an additional assessment to see, well, it
gives so much data, like you can read at nauseam.
But a lot of that stuff, we can take that into say like, Hey, you know, Jeff, you have
a shoulder issue and that’s backed up by the assessment as well as our d motion capture.
And then you can integrate that d motion capture into, you know, when you come in for
your next visit, you’re going to get strapped up and you’re going to do exercises with this
on, you know, you bring in your golf shoes, your golf club, all that stuff.
So it’s, it’s really specific into that.
And you know, anybody out there that’s looking to advance their golf game, this is a great
place to start.
In terms of understanding, you know, swing lessons and all that stuff are great, but
you can’t physically complete those things.
Well, you’re going to be guided through a swing that isn’t maybe necessarily the most
efficient.
So we take like the very specific body lens, not the, you know, your club face was closed
or that type of thing, which happens to be my problem.
But nonetheless, well, even, I mean, even on that note, the golf simulators that you
can go to now where you’re seeing all of the data come in, like data nerd brain like me,
I stare at that and my game improved, like just by looking at those numbers, I can’t
even imagine what, what would happen if, you know, you put me in the green suit with all
the white dots on it?
That would be amazing.
We need to get a green suit.
We really put it on.
Just really do.
It’s not necessary.
You only need these belts, but for us, could you please put this green suit on?
Yeah.
Alex, you ready to go into the lightning round?
Let’s do it.
Let’s continue on because I, you don’t know what I’m, any, any kind of topic that I might
ask about, but I’m definitely going to stay on this golf game.
Cause you mentioned your game is, is not, you’re not a swing person.
That’s, that’s not your specialty area.
Because as you work with these, these, um, athletes and golfers and you’re trying to
improve their game, how does that make you feel deep down when, when you’re improving
their game daily and your game may not be getting better?
What does that do to you?
Well, I can tell you first and foremost, like we live in the Midwest.
So especially as we get into winter, like if I’m working with somebody on golf, I’m
like, man, if only I could have a tea time right now.
So no, it’s, it’s awesome.
I love it.
Like I’m similar to you.
I’m in the ones where like the data and kind of like the, I would say I’m a clinical nerd.
Um, so a lot of that stuff is I’ve mentioned, I can’t stop talking, but a lot of that is
like, I’ll go down this deep rabbit hole.
I’m like, Oh, it could be that, or how about this?
And let’s try that.
So, um, I love it.
It’s invigorating.
Like it really brings a lot of passion.
And especially with that is it’s, it’s helped, but no different than maybe knowing too much
information is that I’ve, I’ve kind of taken some of that stuff and tried to integrate
that into my own golf game, which has improved, right?
Like I would say I’m average of performance.
Um, but a lot of that is like, man, I need to, I need to go home and practice that type
of thing.
So being able to get out and do these things all the time.
Do you have a favorite course you play or like you mentioned getting a tee time?
Is there a go-to like here’s where I love to play.
So my wife and I live in Liberty, um, near cause there’s Shoal Creek up there in hodge
park.
Those are easy.
I would play there most often just out of convenience, but a course that I really love,
I just got to make the time for it is a down in Leewood iron horse.
Oh, iron horse.
I’ve been there once or twice.
Pristine man.
It is, it’s a beautiful course.
And you know, uh, if my friend Mike is listening, uh, it’s okay, you’ll play better next time.
Uh, we’ve played there like three or four times together and I, that guy just, it’s
like, he’s never played golf when we play there, especially with just us two.
So, uh, and that’s always a good confidence boost, right?
Just bring somebody that’s not as good as you.
Oh, for sure.
Yeah.
I, there’s, there’s, there’s so many great golf stories out there.
Do you have a favorite, uh, pro that you follow as a, I would say like growing up as a kid,
I was always a big fan of Rory.
Yeah.
Um, Rory McElroy for those listening at home.
Correct.
Yeah.
It’s, it’s kind of hard not to, uh, not to be a fan of his, but, uh, I’d say Justin
Thomas is who I consistently root for.
He’s, he’s kind of an underdog to some degree and just like the way that he plays is I like
watching him play.
But, uh, if you go to the opposite end of the spectrum, who’s maybe a little bit more
vibrant, like Bryson DeChambeau.
Oh, sure.
Um, that guy is involved in so many different things right now.
Like he’s kind of taken the golf world by storm, but, uh, it’s interesting.
He’s an interesting and unique character.
He is unique.
He’s, he’s not always loved, but he is unique.
Yeah, for sure.
That’s right.
Let’s do, uh, I know, I know music is important and you, you, uh, have, have music going all
the time.
Uh, you have plenty of playlists for music when you’re working with clients.
Um, if I ask you to throw out a playlist, um, that would go well with this podcast,
what would that playlist look like?
Dang, that’s a tough question.
Um, I would say as we get into the winter, right?
Like I’m trying to set you up for success here, something, uh, fairly high energy.
Like that’s kind of how I like to operate.
Um, so there’s a playlist on Spotify, whatever platform you’re using, it’s called mood booster.
It’s got a lot of hip hop.
It’s got a lot of R and B type stuff.
There might be even a couple of country songs on there, but, uh, that’s always one that’s
a go to of like, how can I get, you know, energetic today?
And that’s usually turned, you know, close to all the way up.
Um, but that’s a good one.
Mood booster.
Outstanding.
Yeah.
Um, your bio talks about having a board game hobby.
Um, are we talking about lots of different games or do you have like a game that you
are focused on and you’re going to be the best at whatever?
I would say if it’s between me and my wife, we’re going to know, um, just because big
uno rivalry.
Yeah.
I think she’s up in the series right now.
I played a couple of weeks ago, but, uh, Yahtzee is probably the second one.
Uh, like if we got a little bit, uh, yeah.
Um, we purchased banana grams.
Um, we didn’t realize how like much space you need for a game like that.
Uh, cause our, cause our coffee table is not like the largest and we just got a small apartment
and I was like, oh, uh, we can’t like fit the board or, you know, the playing field,
um, here.
But, um, one game that actually forgot, I used to play a lot in college and in my graduate
school was Catan.
Uh, man, if you want to test a relationship, start playing settlers of Catan.
Uh, my, my, my daughter introduced us to set settlers of Catan and, and I, I have always
loved her before.
And then maybe, you know, it’s not always as good after the settlers of Catan game.
Um, but we, we practiced a lot with risk where, you know, we, we, there are plenty of double
crosses and we can walk away as friends after that, but you know, we go from there.
Um, tell me about the best business advice you’ve ever received.
Is, is, is there somebody who’s given you that lesson that’s like, Hey, always, always,
or never, or something.
Yeah.
Um, I would say my biggest business advice that I received was fail fast.
Uh, so when it comes to that stuff, like think, you know, being a type A person, there’s a
phrase that, you know, sometimes comes to mind.
And this is probably for a lot of you listeners out there is a analysis or paralysis by analysis.
Right.
So think of every different option and avenue.
And at the end of the day, if, if you do that for months and you don’t implement anything,
you’re never going to know what’s going to work.
So fail fast.
Um, and, and just for a lot of people out there, like, I think mindset is really important.
So, um, Alex Hermosie is kind of a, you know, a hallmark person in the entrepreneur field
right now.
Um, I, I read a quote from him the other day that was something along the lines of, he’s
telling a story about an individual who, uh, unfortunately passed away at years old
and they wrote a maybe less than paragraph obituary.
And his comment to that was whatever you’re worrying about right now, whatever struggles
you have or successes you have is, is it probably doesn’t matter that much.
Right.
You know, and that, that was really powerful because in the sense that like, you know,
for me day to day is like, Oh man, I, Jeff should be better by now, or it should have
done this exercise or whatever.
Um, it, it shouldn’t hold that much weight over you and you know, fail fast kind of parlays
onto that is like, just make change, make positive, you know, improvements in people’s
lives and that’s kind of, you know, tied into business really closely.
Oh, for sure.
Yeah.
And, and you know, you also don’t know if Jeff has been putting in the work at home,
you know, to get better.
So don’t try not to beat yourself up over this.
Um, let’s say you, you played collegiate football, um, and you played other sports before that
in high school.
Do you have a coach or even a teacher who, um, had advice that really stuck with you
on the, the fris, especially on that coaching side of things?
Um, one that’s maybe more comedic than anything else is one that has stuck with me.
Um, I just think like the people that I had as coaches through high school and college
were, were people that invested in me.
And I know that’s usually the case, but sometimes that’s not.
And you know, playing a collegiate sport and talking to other college athletes is like
a lot of people didn’t love their coach.
You know, they just, they went there for X, Y, or Z reason.
But um, you know, they really invested in Iowa.
I played out of a smaller school in Northeast Iowa.
So a lot of that was like, you really got to know your coach and they were truly doing
it because like they wanted to invest in people.
So you know, those relationships, like I still communicate with a lot of them on a regular
basis, but, um, the, the comedic, you know, coaching that I got was, um, he, he said,
you know, he might call you a name at practice cause you mess something up or whatever.
And he said, it’s not, I’m not calling you an asshole.
I’m saying that the actions that you completed were of which an asshole would have done.
Um, and that has always stuck with me cause it’s like, you know, especially in coaching,
right?
And this could be parlayed into business as well.
You know, coaching is truly constructive criticism.
So you know, onto that mindset piece is like, you have to be open for change and all that
stuff.
And in the moment, like that kind of stung a little bit.
Like I didn’t do it on purpose.
I just happened to make a mistake, but, uh, that’s always one that comes to mind from
a coaching perspective cause I was like, okay, cool.
So I’m not the asshole.
Uh, you know, but my behavior was that which I am.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Outstanding.
Uh, with that, I’m going to take you out of the lightning round.
Well done, Alex.
Thank you.
You’ve succeeded through the lightning round and I think we’re all better for it.
I agree.
Uh, all right.
Alex Beltran, the clinical director for the crossroads at fit muscle and joint clinic.
Thanks for being with us today.
Yeah, Jeff.
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
And that is our show.
Thanks to our guest, Alex Beltran, and thank you for listening to the small business miracles
podcast.
Remember to subscribe, leave us a five star rating and review.
Drop us a line on the website at E-A-G-A-D-V dot com if you have any thoughts.
Until then, we’ll be out here helping entrepreneurs with another small business miracle.