The content of this blog was written by Chat GPT - I didn't edit a word, and I want to be really transparent with you all about that. Here's what I did, and find it really neat that it can do this, and in a matter of seconds, whereas it would have taken me 60+ minutes to write something that would be marginally better than this.

With permission, I zoom recorded (audio only) a session with a patient who had a knee surgery 3.5 weeks ago. I then took the transcript from that recorded video, as well as Zoom's AI summary of our 'meeting' and fed that to ChatGPT. I prompted it: "take that same transcript, and now write a long form blog post with the audience as patients who already know me. the tone should be friendly and familiar, as these people experience this kind of interaction with me normally and know how I work."

A Very Normal Session Around Here

(If this sounds familiar… that’s because it is)

If you’ve ever left one of our sessions thinking,
“Wait… we covered my knee, my brain, my nervous system, and somehow also Ted Lasso,”
this one will feel very familiar.

Because what you’re about to read isn’t a special session.
It’s not a highlight reel.
It’s not an outlier.

It’s a pretty standard day around here.

We Always Start With: “How Does It FeelReally?”

Before we touch anything, load anything, or progress anything, we talk.

Not the checkbox kind of talking.
The real kind.

The kind where you say:

• “It clicked and I freaked out a little.”

• “I notice everything right now.”

• “It doesn’t hurt, but it feels… weird.”

And I usually say some version of:
“Okay. Good. Let’s talk about that.”

Because around here,we don’t ignore sensations—but we also don’t panic about them.

You already know this, but it bears repeating:
Your body is allowed to talk during recovery.
Noise without pain is usually information, not danger.

Yes, I Will Explain the Clicking (Again)

If you’ve ever heard me go into the “joint capsule + fluid” explanation and thought,
“Ah yes, the water balloon analogy—classic,”
you’re not alone.

It comes up a lot.

Because once you understand that:

• Joints have fluid

• Fluid moves

• Movement can make noise

• Pain is the signal we actually care about

…alotof fear disappears.

And when fear disappears, guess what usually improves?

Movement. Strength. Confidence.

Funny how that works.

Rehab Here Is Conservative on Purpose

(And Somehow Still Challenging)

If you’ve ever thought:
“This seems easy… oh wait—why is this so hard?”

Welcome.

We don’t rush load.
We don’t chase fatigue for the sake of it.
We don’t progress just because “it’s been X weeks.”

Instead, you’ve probably heard me say:

• “Let’s shrink the range.”

• “I’m okay with that not being perfect.”

• “That’s your nervous system talking—listen to it.”

We build capacity without overwhelming the system.

And yes, sometimes that means graduating exercises you’re sick of (congrats, quad sets), and sometimes it means staying conservative longer than your ego wants.

The Glute Talk You’ve Heard 100 Times (And Will Hear Again)

At some point, I usually pull out anatomy.

Not to test you.
Not to overwhelm you.

Just to show you:

• How the glutes connect to the IT band

• Why we don’t just “strengthen the knee”

• Why pain rarely lives where the problem started

You’ve probably heard me say:
“Most of my job is loosening the tight stuff and strengthening the weak stuff.”

And you’ve probably also heard:
“When balance comes back, pain usually quiets down.”

This session was no different.

Rolling Isn’t Punishment Here

If you’ve ever reached for a roller and looked at me nervously, waiting to see if today was a “suffer” day—don’t worry.

You know the rule:

• No bulldozing

• No forcing

• No chasing pain

Rolling is communication.

We’re not trying to change tissue directly.
We’re talking to your nervous system and asking it to ease up.

That’s why I’d rather you:

• Move gently throughout the day

• Shift positions

• Fidget

• Get up and down more often

Than be perfect once and stiff the rest of the day.

Weight-Bearing: We Introduce It Like a Conversation

If you’re post-op or coming back from injury, you’ve probably heard me say:
“This is just giving it a taste.”

We don’t go from zero to standing heroics.

We start with:

• Seated weight shifts

• Partial loading

• Isometrics

• Small exposures

Because trust is built gradually.

And yes—sometimes you accidentally step, and it’s fine, and I say,
“That was probably the best thing you could’ve done.”

Context matters.

The Tangents Are Part of the Process

If we’ve ever:

• Talked about Ted Lasso

• Talked about coaching

• Talked about stoicism

• Talked about long-term thinking

You already know this isn’t random.

How you think about pressure, patience, and expectations shows up in how you rehab.

Calm systems heal better than frantic ones.

Also: rehab is long. We might as well enjoy the conversations.

If This All Feels Familiar, Good

Because this is how I work withyouevery day.

You’re not here to be fixed.
You’re here to understand your body better than you did before.

My goal has always been:

• Fewer scary surprises

• More confidence

• Less guessing

• More ownership

And eventually?
You don’t need me very often.

That’s success around here.

Thanks for trusting the process.
And yes—we’ll probably talk about your exercisesandphilosophy next time too.

Keep moving.