NeuPTtech Clinic Spotlight: Recover Physical Therapy

Welcome to NeuPTtech’s new Clinic Spotlight series. 

We’re highlighting the private practices who have welcomed the NEUBIE into their clinic over the last few years and checking in to see how it has impacted their business. The goal is to give practice owners a glimpse into how their peers are leveraging this physical therapy technology to advance their patient outcomes and improve their cash-based revenues.

Today, we shine the spotlight on Recover Physical Therapy in Twin Falls, Idaho.

We interviewed Blaine Hawkes, PT, DPT, COMT, the founder and owner of Recover Physical Therapy to uncover what led him to the NEUBIE, what results he’s experienced and what message he has for PTs who are on the fence about bringing the NEUBIE into their practice.

Tell us about yourself, Blaine.

I was raised in Southern Idaho and was quite active in sports growing up, and spent summers working in agriculture and construction. After high school, I completed a 2-year service mission for my church in Chile where I became fluent in Spanish. I completed my bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in Exercise Science, and then completed my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Marymount University in Virginia. 

I spent the first 6 years practicing as a physical therapist in the outpatient setting, and also became certified as an Orthopedic Manual Therapist. Prior to opening the practice in 2020, I became certified as a NeuFit provider and trained with NeuPTtech and Jason Waz before bringing the first NEUBIE machine to the state of Idaho.

Tell us about your practice.

Recover Physical Therapy was founded in 2020, with a vision to bring a higher quality, personalized physical therapy service to the Twin Falls community and to bring therapy services to surrounding rural communities where physical therapy was not previously available. 

Our motto is “Health, Strength, Life” which helps us focus on achieving optimal health outcomes and building strength so that our clients have more freedom to live life without limitations. 

We believe in the time-tested and evidence based principle that exercise is medicine, and we supplement that with cutting-edge technology and manual therapy to help people recover more quickly. We provide some very innovative and unique tools to help people move and strengthen their bodies in a pain-free environment.

How did you first hear about the NEUBIE?

I enjoy keeping on top of the latest physical therapy research, and learned about the NEUBIE machine on a physical therapy podcast with Brian Gallagher which intrigued me, and I later went to Florida to visit Jason Waz and his practice, Competitive Edge Performance, to learn about the technology and ultimately decided to integrate the NEUBIE machine into the practice, prior to opening in 2020.

What convinced you to add it to your practice?

I recognized the NEUBIE machine was a missing piece in the physical therapy world that more fully connects the neurological circuits between brain and muscles.

These circuits are so often disrupted and sub-optimal after an injury or surgery, and the NEUBIE helps to diagnose these short-circuits and rewire them so much more quickly than can be done with traditional physical therapy interventions. 

I tested the NEUBIE machine on trusted family members, patients and friends and the results could not be ignored.

What were your initial expectations with the device?

Expectations were high! Especially after spending two days immersed and experiencing the NEUBIE with Jason.

I basically wanted a machine that could accelerate the recovery of orthopedic and neurological pains faster than what we could do with traditional therapy methods.

What is your experience working with Jason Waz and his team at NeuPTtech?

Jason Waz has been great to work with throughout the process of acquiring the machine, and his support since the purchase has been impeccable.

I don’t think I’ve ever reached out to Jason and not had a response within just a couple hours.

As a business owner, that is invaluable.

What results did you experience with the NEUBIE?

In my experience, this is my honest breakdown: 

The NEUBIE gets positive results, beyond traditional therapy, for 85% of my patients.

Within that 85%, I think the NEUBIE machine is an absolute home-run for about 15% of my patients. These are typically situations where someone has been hurting for a long time and has tried therapy elsewhere, and, after one NEUBIE session, they feel significant relief and high satisfaction. For the rest of that 85% of patients, I would say my expectations have been met where the NEUBIE helps patients recover faster than what you would get with traditional physical therapy. For the remaining 15%, I would say I can’t see the NEUBIE machine helping beyond traditional therapy due to various circumstances. 

I’ve also had some tricky diagnoses that before I really didn’t have the tools to work on and probably would have given up and referred the patient to another provider before I had the NEUBIE machine, but now I feel like I can treat more conditions with better tools to work with.

What has been the most surprising element of using the NEUBIE so far?

This machine has some serious muscle strengthening capabilities! For therapy patients, I often use the higher frequency settings to really optimize the neurological motor patterns. However, if you want, you can drop the frequency down and crank the power way up and give your muscles some incredibly intense workouts in a very short amount of time. 

This is a nice tool to have for your athletic patients and for patients who are making good progress with their pain levels and are ready to advance to some higher level strengthening. I’ve been involved in some fairly intense workouts and exercise all my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt as much DOMS as I have after using the NEUBIE.

How have your patients reacted to using the NEUBIE?

The vast majority of my patients really like it. 

They quickly recognize the exercise is much more valuable with the NEUBIE machine running on their muscles than traditional exercises. Exercising with the NEUBIE is intense, but not painful. I have had several patients mention things like “they don’t have this at the other clinic I used to attend.” Being the only current provider in Idaho, I have had patients travel from lengthy distances to use the NEUBIE machine, and they consistently go home satisfied.

I also really love how the NEUBIE is such a unique balance between active interventions and passive modalities. Patients get the benefits of exercising while also enjoying the results of being treated with a modality that soothes pain and enhances the overall therapy experience.

What is your message to PTs who are on the fence with the NEUBIE?

Don’t keep doing physical therapy like it’s 2005! 

Our healthcare system is evolving and patients are demanding higher quality and better results. If you don’t strive to become the best provider who delivers an elite solution to your patient’s problems, someone else will. So why can’t that elite provider be you? 

Trial the NEUBIE and see if it can help you adapt to be a better clinician.

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Thank you Blaine and Recover Physical Therapy for sharing your experience with the NEUBIE. If you’d like to hear more case studies around the NEUBIE and receive a free NEUBIE ROI assessment for your practice – contact NeuPTtech today to learn more!