Introduction.

[BrentC]

Hello SomaSimplers-




My name is Brent Cordery and I am a physical therapist from Omaha, Nebraska. I currently own and operate an out-patient private practice with my wife who is a PT as well.




Like most here I was taught the biomechanical model in my schooling and through CE. However, I was lucky enough to have a clinical rotation with David Poulter, PT up in Minnesota who taught me the value of skepticism and the shortcomings of many accepted thoughts and treatments. Since then (for the past 10 years) I have been wrestling with our professions floundering and blind faith in guruism. My treatment background was more grounded in MDT although I never went beyond the 'A' course for cont ed. I like to think I practiced as a mesodermalist with an underlying understanding that the neural system played a much bigger role than I was giving it credit for. Alas, I am/was guilty of propagating a lot of the theories and nocebos prevalent in our profession. Its hard to make the change.




I came across this website by chance around 5-6 months ago by typing "critique of Postural Restoration" into Google. I live in the midwest where PRI has quite the following. Since then I have been lurking and reading as much as I can. Ive shared this site with my staff and it has jump started some great discussions during our weekly meetings.

With all I have read since discovering this site, I feel I know less than when I started. Humbling.

[zimney3pt]

Welcome to SS, Brent.

It is is humbling. But at least we don't have to live a lie and pretend we have all the answers based on false beliefs.

I practice just up north of you in Sioux City, IA.

Yea, that PRI stuff has a following in these parts. Lots of people that have drank the Kool-Aid as we say.

[Bas Asselbergs]

Brent, a warm Soma welcome to you.
Your knowing less than when you started? Doesn't go away - I still have that.

Coffee and less sleep.

I think you're the first Cornhusker here.

[Barrett Dorko]

Welcome.

What I recall most about that long PRI thread was that the founder, Hruska, was "too busy" to bother explaining himself. I find that unforgivable and inexcusable. Otherwise I'm okay with it.

Brent, can you tell us what you perceive to be the secret of his "success"? With the therapists in the region I mean.

[amacs]

Welcome Brent,

I think I know less and less as each day passes.

What a privilege to have staff around you who will discuss this kind of thing it would imply good management/staff selection.

regards

ANdy

[Diane]

Welcome to SomaSimple, Brent.

[nari]

Welcome, Brent.

You will feel you know less and less as weeks pass on this site, but don't worry, it will improve with time and study.

Nari

[joebrence9]

Welcome to the forum dude,
You learned from the inventor of my favorite neural flossing technique, retlouping!!!!!

[John W]

Brent,

It seems the Midwest U.S. has become the cradle of the latent Puritan ethos that pervades our profession. The popularity of this PRI crapola and Shirley Sahrmann's persistent status as the alignment guru out of St. Louis are tedious reminders of this.

A fellow native of the Great Midwest, spouse of a PT, former private practice owner and mesodermalist welcomes you.

[mrupe82]

Welcome to SS from Central Illinois. I have a lot of family in Omaha and the Western Iowa region (Carroll country). Beautiful country.

[BrentC]

Thank you all for the warm welcome!
I am looking forward to participating in conversations as opposed to just lurking!

Joe-- How did you become familiar with David Poulter?? Did you attend one of his courses? Just curious...

Barrett -- As far as the reason for PRI's popularity here I wish I knew. This is a question I pose to myself often. My wife and I discussed this over dinner tonight. Some thoughts were:
1. Ron Hruska has a reputation of being a very smart man. He very well may be. This reputation alone brings followers. Ive had fellow PTs state how smart Ron is as defense for PRI theories in general.
2. I believe a lot of therapists in this region enjoy the postural asymmetry approach. They can SEE it... and then they are taught on how to CORRECT it. It feels good to FIX people... and this method can teach you how for a couple thousand dollars.
3. A local practice that specializes in PRI provides numerous screens for sports clubs here in town. PRI allows these therapist to give athletes PROBLEMS (assymetric pelvis) that need to be corrected. I have a friend who has a daughter who was screened by this group and they proceeded to tell her after her screen that she was going to tear her ACL if she didn't receive treatments from the PT. Needless to say, my friends daughter was scared silly. PRI gives people problems. Problems equal more business. More business sounds appealing to many therapists.
4. PRI has become so well known around here that some physicans only refer to PRI therapists. (On a side note: I actually had a physician hand me a pamplet on the Graston Technique telling me how much his patients benefit from this and how I should look into becoming certified!!!) Maybe its in the water here. Good thing I prefer beer.

So long story short Barrett.. I dont know. I want to engage in more debate with these therapists but these discussions quickly turn into "you just need to attend a class to understand". No thanks.

Matthew- I like your Rage Against the Machine picture. Great band... and seems very appropriate for this site.

[BrentC]

Kory-
Good to hear you're in the general vicinity! Where in Sioux City do you practice?

[Jason Silvernail]

Welcome Brent.
"I confess that I prefer true but imperfect knowledge, even if it leaves much indetermined and unpredictable, to a pretence of exact knowledge that is likely to be false. "
FA Hayek
Nobel Prize acceptance speech 1974


[From my iPhone, please excuse typing]

[zimney3pt]

Brent I would agree with your take on PRI. I did go to the course (actually 3 of them), stay away from the water and stick with the beer.

I practice at Mercy Business Health. It is a hospital owned Occupational Medicine clinic. I also do adjunct teaching for USD in Vermillion.

[Barrett Dorko]

Brent,

I heard a podcast about Thomas Kinkaid's "art" today and a blog post about PRI formed in my head. May I reference this thread for it?

[byronselorme]

Hi Brent,

Impressive that you managed to become immune to the water. More so that you have created an environment where your staff will have a good chance of the immunity. Maybe with enough of you there will be a herd immunity .

Glad to see you here.

[BrentC]

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

Brent,

I heard a podcast about Thomas Kinkaid's "art" today and a blog post about PRI formed in my head. May I reference this thread for it?

Absolutely.

[BrentC]

Originally Posted by zimney3pt

Brent I would agree with your take on PRI. I did go to the course (actually 3 of them), stay away from the water and stick with the beer.

I practice at Mercy Business Health. It is a hospital owned Occupational Medicine clinic. I also do adjunct teaching for USD in Vermillion.

Kory- What do you teach at USD? I am a Creighton University graduate and have been recently speaking with Creighton's new PT chair about curriculum review and elective courses. Very early stages of dialoge but seems promising. I may be leaning heavily on this forum if I am able to work with them.

Brent

[Clark]

Originally Posted by John W

Brent,

It seems the Midwest U.S. has become the cradle of the latent Puritan ethos that pervades our profession. The popularity of this PRI crapola and Shirley Sahrmann's persistent status as the alignment guru out of St. Louis are tedious reminders of this.

A fellow native of the Great Midwest, spouse of a PT, former private practice owner and mesodermalist welcomes you.

Every time I see the name Sahrmann, my mind goes directly to Saruman from Lord of the Rings and I picture an evil war lord sending out troops of orcs to teach therapists about postural alignment. I like to think of this as one of life's happy coincidences.

[zimney3pt]

I help with first year labs some fall semester for modalities course (which is ironic in that I hardly ever use them clinically) and patient client management (basic transfers, gait training, wheel chair stuff). In the spring I assist with a few labs for their movement science class (beginning mobilizations labs for LE and spine). And in the spring I co-teach the management class for second year students.

I am also doing a 3 hour seminar on pain science this year this spring for the first year students. I am most excited about that as they didn't really get any pain science stuff (well besides basic a-delta and c-fiber info that I was taught back when I went to school almost 20 years ago, no central sensitization and neuromatrix info).

I also do some online classes with their tDPT program. Health promotion and Teaching in PT.

[ginger]

Hello Brent , welcome from Australia. Hope you stick around to take part in the occasional rukkus. Not always smooth sailing in these waters , a lot of passion and strong opinions get tossed around . Glad to have you with us.
G

[BrentC]

Originally Posted by ginger

Hello Brent , welcome from Australia. Hope you stick around to take part in the occasional rukkus. Not always smooth sailing in these waters , a lot of passion and strong opinions get tossed around . Glad to have you with us.
G

Thanks Geoff-
Its the passion and strong opinions that have kept me glued to this page for the past months. Calm waters do not promote thought. I wouldn't be here if it was anything different. I plan on sticking around for a long as it stays this way... and participating as much as possible.

Brent