Ken Olson joins the podcast to discuss his work on the IFOMPT/IOPTP taskforce on pediatric spinal manipulation and the ongoing clinical reasoning debate around specific vs. general manipulation.



Ken is a private practice clinician, educator, past-president of IFOMPT and AAOMPT, author of Manual Physical Therapy of the Spine, and recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Lecturer Award. His perspective blends evidence, global standards, and decades of practical experience.

• Why the pediatric manipulation taskforce was created

• The taskforce’s findings and new position statements

• Safety, indications, and advocacy for pediatric manual therapy

• The “specific vs. general” manipulation controversy

• The value and evidence for specificity in OMPT

• What great clinical reasoning looks like in manipulation decisions

This is a must-listen for OMPT clinicians, educators, and advocates shaping the profession’s next chapter.

Jason Silvernail joins the show to break down the essential communication and leadership skills clinicians need to thrive—and to protect themselves from burnout, conflict, and misalignment.

We explore the principles behind assertive communication, how to establish a confident presence, and what it means to communicate clearly without crossing into arrogance or dominance. Jason offers practical, real-world strategies for handling interruptions, navigating

tension, setting boundaries, and keeping conversations focused.

• Mindset and behaviors of assertive communicators

• Body language, tone, and leadership presence

• Techniques for clarity in difficult conversations

• Active listening and feedback as two-way communication

• Holding boundaries in professional interactions

• De-escalation strategies for disruption, interruptions, and conflict

This episode is for clinicians, mentors, educators, and leaders who want to show up with more confidence and communicate with purpose.

Pediatric manual therapy has been built on adult techniques — and that’s a problem.

Educator, clinician, and researcher Ginny Henderson joins us to expose the missing guidelines, the hidden dangers, and the new evidence-based techniques designed specifically for growing bodies.

We cover:

• Why kids’ bones are more vulnerable — and how to mobilize safely

• The biggest misconceptions clinicians bring from adult PT

• Combining joint mechanics with motor learning for better outcomes

• How chronic pain presents differently in children

• The powerful (and often overlooked) influence of parent beliefs

• When pain is nociceptive… and when it’s actually nociplastic

• How PTs can start making better decisions tomorrow with pediatric patients

This is one of those “I didn’t even know I needed this” conversations — and it might change how you treat kids forever.

Dr. Gail Deyle joins the show to discuss clinical reasoning, diagnostic skill, and the evidence supporting OMPT. A true clinician-scientist, Dr. Deyle has spent decades conducting clinical trials, mentoring fellowship-trained clinicians, and advocating for direct access and advanced evaluation skills in physical therapy.

In this episode we explore:

• Why PTs are essential contributors to global health

• Evidence showing OMPT’s high benefit and low risk

• The real impact of fellowship training on clinical outcomes

• Advanced interviewing and reasoning as core PT competencies

• The importance of diagnostic screening by PTs

• Direct access and why restrictions harm patients

Guest: Dr. Gail Deyle

Organization: Army Baylor Doctoral Fellowship

In this episode, Jimmy sits down with the legendary Dr. Gail Deyle — clinician-scientist, mentor, and one of the most cited researchers in orthopaedic manual physical therapy.

Dr. Deyle breaks down:

• The defining trait of clinicians who excel after fellowship
• What separates great mentors from good ones
• Real-world stories of PTs catching critical medical conditions
• The biggest mistake clinicians make in their early reasoning
• Why MSK health is a global opportunity for PTs
• How clinicians can start contributing to research
• The power of collaboration between clinicians and research faculty

A concise but insight-rich conversation with one of the most respected voices in the profession.

00:00 – Intro: Why Dr. Gail Deyle is a PT legend  

00:36 – Welcoming Gail + Reno conference gambling banter  

01:15 – What trait predicts fellowship success?  

02:36 – Seeing former mentees grow into experts  

03:24 – What makes a great mentor?  

04:43 – PTs as frontline diagnosticians  

06:48 – Real examples: PTs catching serious conditions  

08:22 – The biggest unlock in advanced clinical reasoning  

10:04 – Making implicit reasoning explicit  

11:35 – Communication, feedback & the mentor/mentee relationship  

12:00 – PTs as an untapped force in global MSK health  

13:10 – Red light / green light: habits to stop and start  

14:55 – Dr. Deyle named in the top 2% of cited researchers  

15:28 – Why clinicians should participate in research  

15:48 – Closing

Dr. Tim Flynn joins the show for a powerful conversation about what it really takes to transform a broken healthcare system.

A clinician, educator, and innovator, Tim has spent decades teaching around the world, challenging outdated models, and reminding clinicians that change starts with one encounter at a time.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why the U.S. operates a “sick-care” system — and how to shift away from it

• What “Live health to sell it” means for providers and patients

• The role of purpose-driven teaching in PT education

• Disrupting entrenched systems without losing sight of patient connection

• Lessons Tim learned early in his career teaching in the U.S. Army Baylor PT Program

• How clinicians can create meaningful change at the individual and systemic levels

Whether you’re a student, seasoned PT, or someone passionate about healthcare reform, this conversation will leave you thinking differently about your work, your patients, and your purpose.

About Tim Flynn:

Tim is a clinician, teacher, and international speaker who works with private clients, leads national and international workshops, and contributes to the Substack OwnMyHealth. His career reflects a lifelong commitment to service, critical thinking, and the healing power of human connection.

Today on Hands On, Hands Off, host Moyo Tillery sits down with Dr. Myra Meekins—PT, educator, and curriculum designer—to rethink how we teach and learn OMPT. From “practice makes perfect” to practice with purpose, Myra connects classic motor-learning models to the OPTIMAL theory (expectancies, autonomy, external focus), and shows why you must address the psychosocial to change the psychomotor.

We get concrete about designing sticky learning experiences for DPT students, residents, and fellows; building safe, high-expectation lab cultures; and using feedback, simulations, and competency-based education to translate knowledge to performance. Myra also shares her path from MTI fellowship and WashU’s Movement System Impairments work to leading curriculum development for a new DPT program and co-investigating a $1.6M grant bringing PT simulation into high schools.

• Why clear expectations + psychological safety accelerates skill acquisition
• How to scaffold from competence → refinement → mastery across DPT, residency, and fellowship
• Practical ways to make learning “stick” for a class of 100 (and a class of 10)
• Using low-stakes, frequent formative assessment to steer teaching in real time
• Designing integrated, case-based curricula (and avoiding silo traps)
• What competency-based education and entrustable professional activities (EPAs) look like in PT
• Movement as the organizing principle: applying Movement System Impairments to guide exam & intervention
• Why educators must adapt to the learner in front of them, not the one they used to be

What if context—patient beliefs, provider expectations, and the therapeutic relationship—drives a meaningful share of spinal manipulation outcomes? In this HANDS ON HANDS OFF episode, we break down a single-arm intervention study funded by the Paris Family Foundation via the Foundation for OMPT, why the current mechanisms model zeroes in on the “context zone,” and how to practically weave guidelines + shared decision-making into outpatient practice.

Top takeaways

• Outcomes vary—and context might be part of the mechanism
• Study design links individual providers ↔ individual patients for cleaner signals
• Implementation: use shared decision-making to operationalize guidelines
• Career notes: pick mentors early, build long-term collaborators, include patient partners

In this episode of HANDS ON HANDS OFF, host Dr. Moyo Tillery sits down with Dr. Sarah Shaver, a clinician, educator, and researcher focused on gender considerations in orthopaedic manual physical therapy. Together they explore why common assumptions about female athletes and chronic pain patients can perpetuate inequities—and what OMPT practitioners can do to change that.

From ACL injury risk factors to concussion outcomes, manual therapy decision-making, and care for transgender and non-binary athletes, Dr. Shaver challenges listeners to reflect on their own biases, apply equity-based care, and use available research to transform outcomes.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why gendered assumptions about ACL injuries and concussions can lead to inequitable care
• How “hands-off” approaches to chronic pain disproportionately affect female patients
• The difference between equality and equity in clinical practice
• Practical strategies and resources to recognize and reduce bias in your own treatment
• How to create more inclusive environments for transgender and non-binary athletes in OMPT settings

What does “usual care” really mean in physical therapy research — and why is it so inconsistently applied across studies?

In this episode, Dr. Amy McDevitt joins us for a deep-dive conversation into the limitations of current PT research and how vague terms like "usual care" are impacting evidence-informed practice.

Dr. McDevitt discusses:

• Why “nothing” should never be a control in clinical trials
• How heel pain and orthotic studies show cracks in research design
• The evolving role of manual therapy and therapeutic alliance
• Her collaborative work with Dr. Moyo Tillery on minority faculty representation
• Advice for early-career academics and clinical researchers
• The connection between burnout, purpose, and academic productivity

This episode is a must-listen for PTs, educators, researchers, and anyone passionate about improving the quality of care through better scholarship.