Fitness Trainers! How to Partner with Medical Professionals

This post is about your gym partnering with the medical professional to create a ‘team approach’ to better serve your members.  We’re going to be talking about why, when, who and how partnering can work.  I’ll be showing you examples of what it can look like and we'll tie the whole process together to see how it can improve your box.

The Referral Process

Referring your clients to a trusted medical provider creates options for your clients that want to avoid or treat their injuries.  Think of it as your insurance policy toward holding onto your members.  There's no quicker way for a member to freeze or cancel their membership than when they have a significant injury and can no longer work out.

Greg Joseph - Crossfit East Boca, 'The Training Pit' FL head trainer - “Not only has partnering with (a sports chiropractor) helped me tremendously in improving my surgically repaired knee, but he's also a valuable asset to our gym.  Whenever anyone is in pain or is having difficulties performing our CrossFit movements I refer to (a sports chiropractor) and we always get fantastic results.”

I'm willing to bet that every box owner or trainer reading this has been asked by a member in the past week, "when I do (insert exercise) it hurts (insert body part).  What should I do about that?  THIS IS WHEN YOU GET TO TAKE ACTION!

Send them to a medical professional!

When do You Refer your Clients?  When your clients:

1. Experience pain either during their workout or at any other time in their life. 

2. Poor technique is limiting their progress.
3. Don’t seem to be making progress the way they should.

4. When they can’t do something they should be able to do

5. When they are obviously having problems and you don’t know how you can help them.

What the conversation with your client looks like:

1) Identify the problem at hand

2) "Do you have someone you normally go to for that?"   if no

3) “I’ve got a great guy for ya, do you want his contact info?”  (And have the providers card/brochure, etc on hand)

4) ****Do you want me to call him and let him know you will be making an appt?**** (Take the initiative!)

5) Be Prepared to do this last step multiple times (People don't act when you want them to, only when they want to)

Who to refer to!
1) Chiropractor or Physical therapist- when their shoulder/back/knee/etc hurts but they’d like a conservative approach (non-surgical/non-drug)

2) Primary care- when they are sick or need medication  
3) Orthopedic doctor- when their shoulder/back/knee hurts and they’d like a non-conservative approach (drugs/surgery/injections/etc)

How else can they help you?

If you're hosting a competition or event of any kind, they can be a resource toward covering your overhead, or just by providing cool services at the event (free sample treatments, or free assessments).  Have them set up a table and have them promote their practice while providing a service to your members.

Share social media posts and newsletters

If you have a blog or other materials that you'd like to circulate, they can share them on their social media outlets.  You can also do the same for them.

Have them run Injury Prevention or Mobility Clinics on a regular basis

This provides injury prevention strategies in house, sometimes for free!  Scott Maxwell of Crossfit Coconut Creek, Fl stated - “Yes I did(get something from the clinic), I would love something like this more often, even stretches that should be done before and after. Ive (now) been using the moves you showed us to hopefully be more flexible so i can in turn use proper technique.  If I had to, I’d rate it a 10, any time you can get free information from a Dr it’s fantastic”.  It provides awesome material for your members while allowing the Doc to promote his practice.

*NOTE* I do not recommend creating 'Discount rates' for this partnership.  In the medical word, discounting services is illegal and could get the doctor into trouble.  Do not request that the doctor you partner with 'hooks up' your patients with discounted rates.  

What strategies have you used for partnering with medical professionals?  Please share on the bottom of this post.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to visit me at www.Mobility-4Life.com

Crossfit: How Manual Therapy Can Get You to Regionals Next Year (or just keep you out of pain)!

Whenever I notice Rich Froning, or Jason Khalipa, Julie Foucher or any one of the bigger named crossfitters in the middle of a competition, I always marvel at how effortless their technique looks.  They really have fantastic form and technique, which creates less stress on their body so they can perform faster and harder than....well....you.

If you find yourself doing all the corrective exercises and stretching in the world but it still doesn't make the difference, you'll want to read this.  You'll find out how you've been trying to eat your bowl of soup with a fork....it just doesn't work.

"My shoulders are just too tight".....Not anymore!

When you injure yourself, whether in a specific event (like a hamstring strain) or over a long time (like 'I've always had tight upper back muscles), your body lays down what we call 'fibroblasts' in your muscle due to the lack of oxygen deliverance.  What happens when you accumulate fibroblasts?  Instead of your muscles and soft tissue being stretchy like a rubber band, they end up being tough like a piece of leather. 


Then suddenly you find yourself saying 'I'm just not flexibile enough' or 'I'm just too tight'.  Well...you are.  The problem is that corrective exercise cannot get rid of the fibroblasts.

So what can?  Manual therapy!

The two manual therapies I'd like to highlight in particular would be Active Release Technique (ART) and Graston Technique.

Active Release Technique - a hands on technique performed by a chiropractors or physical therapist that brakes up fibroblasts through tension techniques in which you move your own body during the treatment. 

Graston Technique - a steel instrument used over the skin designed to soften up scar tissue, and re-start the inflammatory process which will normalize your muscles and other tissues.  It's perfect for tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, achilles pain, and other more tendon-based injuries.

Both of these techniques are designed not only to improve flexibility, but also too relieve your pain and decrease injuries.  Maybe it will make the difference in the depth of your squat, how far you can get your shoulder back during a kip or overhead squat.  Maybe it'll even get you into regionals!

If you are in the Boca Raton area and would like ART or Graston, please visit me at www.Mobility-4Life.com