Episode 107 - Denise Campbell, Part 2: Keeping the Main Thing, the Main Thing

In episode #107, we continue our conversation with Denise Campbell of Southwest Sport and Spine in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She shares some entertaining and humbling patient experiences, some relevant quotes and helpful resources, as well as business and marketing strategies to help grow your practice. This episode also provides some exciting opportunities for physical therapists seeking out employment opportunities. 

Show Notes

Denise’s Mantras

“The main thing is keeping the main thing, the main thing.”

“Seek to understand before you’re understood.” 


Practice Marketing

Denise reflects on the importance of listening to the needs and desires of doctors and patients in the rehabilitation process, and transforming these needs and desires into a successful practice.

She goes on to speak of community involvement as a cornerstone to building a successful practice.

“What does MDT mean to you?” Denise reminds listeners that even though others may be familiar with Robin McKenzie or MDT, it’s vital to understand what it is that these people think they know, so that we may effectively explain MDT and produce results within widespread patient populations and referral sources.

The Therapeutic Alliance
Denise continues the conversation about the importance of not just taking patients “as they are” but helping them prepare to be ready to take their treatment into their own hands.

Denise posits that it is not necessarily what we do as clinicians, but how we do it and how we present ourselves that sets up a successful patient encounter.


Memorable Patient Experiences

A humbling experience with a patient with a cervical derangement with dizziness with extension, and describes some aspects of differential diagnosis and safety with symptoms of dizziness.

Another story regarding a patient with a relevant lateral shift who fainted during manual shift correction. 


Useful analogies

Denise describes how she helps to explain peripheralization vs centralization as an angry voice vs a soft voice- The angrier the voice, the further away you’ll hear it.
She also uses a kink in a water hose to help further explain when needed and she offers a useful parable to help people learn the importance of maintaining corrected posture.


Clinical Career Advice
“Seek out a good mentor!”


Useful Resources
APTA Private Practice Section

World Congress in the LumboPelvis

Consumer Electronics Conference

Reading on Neuroscience, Pain science, epigenetics, and general health


Meaningful Studies

A prospective study of centralization of lumbar and referred pain. A predictor of symptomatic discs and anular competence. Donelson et al.  Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1997 May 15; 22 (10) : 1115 -22.

A study regarding end stage heart disease and death.

People who lived longest were those who adhered most closely to their prescribed intervention.

An article from the 1940s written by othorpedic spine surgeons, which frustrated Denise due to the lack of change of interventions in the realm of spinal orthopedic surgery since that era. 

Recent Changes in Clinical Practice

Denise reflects on the change in her focus from gathering data to actually utilizing it in a meaningful way.

Reinforcing a therapeutic alliance with each patient encounter.

Utilizing Data in Business Practice

Denise reports the usefulness of data collection in different facets of business management and marketing. She shares some useful tips on utilizing FOTO (Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes) as a marketing tool.

For more information on FOTO, visit http://www.fotoinc.com/


Contacting Denise

Denise is currently actively seeking out team members at Southwest Sport & Spine, Inc.. To contact her regarding this podcast, employment opportunities, or more information on her clinics, visit www.swsportandspine.com.

We hope to deliver this content to the committed professional who wants to improve his/her care and we hope to do it in a way that is easily accessible, the world over, in today's technological age.

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