Trinity Physical Therapy

GETTING STARTED WITH VELOCITY BASED TRAINING

John Moran and Bradley Scheuermann started implementing Perch a few years ago at Trinity Physical Therapy in Louisiana. John and his co-owner Christopher Piacun are believers that traditional physical therapy is often more subjective than it could be. 

John saw an opportunity to incorporate sports technology and objective measurements into his practice and help clients from young to old get better, faster. He’s long been a believer of technology, and thinks strength training and physical therapy should work together for optimal patient care. 

He also has seen greater buy-in from referring physicians, and improvements in patient motivation and morale as they traverse whatever injury ails them. From bodyweight to great external load, John, Bradley, and the entire staff at Trinity PT take patients through whatever journey with the help of sports technology

“From a neuromuscular, sports medicine, physical therapy standpoint, every clinic can benefit from having this technology in their facility. The objective data is key, that is what a lot of clinicians want, insurance companies want that, the workers comp attorneys want that, everyone wants that objective data, including us and even patients. Saying someone is improving isn’t showing it, and everyone wants to see improvement.”

IMPLEMENTING VELOCITY BASED TRAINING

For the staff at Trinity PT, some big changes came around the time of the 2020 Pandemic. They were able to make alterations to their practice that were necessitated by how drastically the world changed. 

Luckily, John had heard of Perch prior to it, “I saw LSU was using it through an article and knew I needed to look into it to see how it applied to the PT world. I branched off during the pandemic to open up Trinity PT and I had an opportunity to make some changes in patient care. We needed something to stand out against all the competition. It’s been a great tool to help our patients and practice thrive with objective data. And it’s also been a great tool to help market ourselves as we grow.”

Flash forward to now, Trinity PT is able to position itself as a PT clinic that uses both objective and subjective data points to enhance patient care. So not only do they see results with their well-trained eye, but physicians, claim reps, and patients themselves can see improvement over time in the data.

• Start slow when introducing, new technology to your facility. It’ll get picked up quickly by your users!
• Evaluate all weight room technology, and see what the best fit is for your facility and needs.
• Future proof your technology pick and make sure you go with a company and product that will grow with you.
• Let the data motivate patients need to see improvement over time to boost morale and increase trust.

Back to the patients: Trinity PT has patients from world class athletes looking to improve their stock in the NFL Draft, to geriatric patients looking to maintain independence well into old age. With Perch, they’re able to assess any new patient upon arrival. 

Depending on the training age and capabilities, they can understand sit-to-stand tests for speed and power to set a baseline. Or they can jump test the individual and get an assessment of time to peak power or velocity. An established baseline gives PTs a frame of reference for how quickly a patient is improving.

But ultimately, “if somebody's plateauing, we're not doing our job. We need to work together with the care team and figure it out. Whether they are pro athletes or not, we can tweak something in our plan of care to improve power output, velocity, whatever it is, and that is going to carry over into what their goals are.” The team at Trinity PT is able to do that through data monitoring and management.

WEIGHT ROOM CULTURE & VBT

Throughout a conversation with John and Bradley, both of them kept using the phrases “patient morale,” “patient motivation”  and “patient care.” It is clear they both care a great deal about their patients. And they will do whatever they can to help them improve and get back to whatever they do best. More than anything, John, Bradley, and other PTs are dealing with patients in incredibly low moments in their lives. They might be an athlete who is injured and worried about making a roster. They might be a laborer whose livelihood is in flux given a recent injury. Or they could be a geriatric patient looking to maintain independence late in life and are worried they won’t be able to due to a recent fall. 

Regardless of the ailment, patient morale is often low. And so seeding them with numerous discrete wins - or “dings” as it is on the Perch tablet app - is paramount. Little victories add up to larger ones, and keep patients who are otherwise discouraged going forward. 

“We believe strength training and physical therapy should go hand in hand. When I started, I just felt like a lot of PTs weren't doing enough to help some of our older clientele. We need to apply more strength training to people who have osteoporosis, and people that want to reduce their fall risk, in addition to all the athletes that we work with. With Perch we’re able to understand movement patterns for everyone. Whether they’re returning from an injury or an older patient who wants to stay independent longer, we’re able to assist them.”

OUR TIPS & TRICKS

Don’t be afraid to use technology.  PT tests are often subjective, but objective data points are necessary to improve patient care and morale. Perch has helped us build trust and boosted morale because patients can see tangible wins

Leverage tech for referrals. Doctors who see you have objective information alongside traditional subjective PT measurements of improvement will want to refer patients to you - data helps patients, PTs, and doctors solidify a care plan

Little wins add up. Whether it is a “ding” if you hit the correct velocity, or seeing load increase week over week as velocity remains the same or improves, vulnerable patients need wins to boost morale. This type of technology is a game changer in a PT setting.

Technology is meant to be used together. Trinity PT has Perch, Cipher Skin, and Force Decks to help inform patient health and progress with objective data. “The feedback is so critical to our patients.”

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