The ACE Clinician

In today’s episode, Shaun and Erin break down how dry needling works, moving through the four levels of effect: tissue, spinal cord, brain and mind. They look at what the needle does directly to sensitised tissue, including changes to the chemical environment, blood flow and muscle tone, and how signals travel through the spinal cord and brain to shape the patient’s experience. The conversation covers the difference between nociception and pain, how sensitivity and beliefs can drive long-term symptoms, and why a clear mechanism-based explanation matters for informed consent.

Erin and Shaun also share practical, patient-friendly language and analogies you can use to explain dry needling in your own consultations. This episode is for practitioners who want a clearer, evidence-informed understanding of dry needling and better ways to talk about it with their patients.

In today's episode, Erin talks to menopause educator Meredith Wiseman, founder of Making Menopause Marvellous, about how manual therapists can support women through perimenopause and menopause. They break down the stages, explain why menopause is diagnosed through symptoms rather than blood tests, and discuss how a changing hormone environment can show up in the treatment room as pain, tendon issues, poor sleep, anxiety, brain fog, and slower recovery. 

Meredith shares practical ways to open a curious, non-diagnostic conversation with clients, and the pair cover what HRT is, how it has evolved, and how practitioners can help women prepare for a conversation with their GP. Released in conjunction with World Menopause Day, this episode is for practitioners and anyone who wants to understand menopause better.

Resources:

Menopause Symptom Checklist 

Menopause Symptom Tracker 

Talking to you GP 

To find out more about Meredith check out her website Making Menopause Marvellous. 

You can also find her on socials as @makingmenopausemarvellous 

Join her private Facebook group, 'Making Menopause Marvellous' or refer your patients. They hold live sessions where people can ask questions about menopause, and host other marvellous practitioners to share their knowledge and different ways they can help make menopause marvellous. It’s a lovely, safe space for women to share what you’re going through and connect with other women who understand. 

In today's episode, Shaun talks to Dr. Chris DaPrato about myofascial decompression therapy: what it is, how it works, and how it differs from the cupping most clinicians are familiar with. Chris walks through the proposed mechanisms behind myofascial decompression, what the current research does and doesn't tell us, and the common myths that still surround cupping therapy. They also discuss why instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation tends to divide the profession, and how clinicians can use these tools with sound clinical reasoning rather than as a stand-alone fix.

If this conversation has you keen to build these skills hands-on, Chris is presenting Advanced Myofascial Decompression in Melbourne on Sunday 29 November 2026. It's a rare opportunity to learn the approach directly from Chris and refine your technique under his guidance. Places are limited, so register early to secure your spot.

Advanced Myofascial Decompression presented by Dr Chris DaPrato, Melbourne VIC (29 Nov 2026):

https://events.humanitix.com/chris-daprato-level-2-myofascial-decompression-melbourne-vic-29-nov-2026

In today's episode, Erin talks to Janine about headaches — the three main types, how to tell them apart, and where manual therapy actually fits in treatment. Janine, a chiropractor and acupuncturist with a special interest in persistent pain and headache, walks through the diagnostic features of migraine, tension-type headache, and cervicogenic headache, and why the overlap between them can make diagnosis genuinely tricky. They talk through the red flags that mean a headache needs urgent referral, what the evidence actually says about manual therapy for each type, and how to have honest conversations with patients about what's driving their symptoms rather than offering a one-size-fits-all fix.

In today's episode, Erin talks to Dalton about finding the balance in clinical practice — why an absolutist stance on the hands-on versus hands-off debate tends to fall short. Dalton draws on his background in private practice to unpack why practitioners swing between treatment philosophies, often reaching for a new technique more than the evidence actually calls for. They talk through combining Pain Neuroscience Education, home exercise, and manual therapy rather than leaning on any one approach, and how to be honest about your own clinical biases without needing to abandon them.

In today's episode, Erin talks to Shaun about the therapeutic alliance: what it really is, how much it shapes outcomes, and whether building it means sharing something of yourself with your patients. The concept gets taught early in clinical training, but what does it actually look like once you're in the room with someone? Is a strong therapeutic relationship a genuine requirement for good outcomes, or does that shift depending on the profession? And when it comes to self-disclosure, where's the line — is complete non-disclosure even realistic, and what's really behind the instinct to keep the session focused entirely on the patient?

In today's episode, Erin talks to Shaun about pressure: what it actually means in manual therapy, why some patients swear by it, and whether more of it really gets better results. "More pressure" sounds like a simple dial to turn up, but is it? Do heavier techniques change outcomes, or just change how a session feels in the moment? What's actually happening in the nervous system when we push harder into soft tissue, and how much of what we're seeing is mechanoreceptors doing their job versus something more psychological? And when a patient asks for more pressure than you think is useful, how do you meet them there without just chasing the fallout?

In today's episode, Shaun talks to Erin about values: what they are, why they're useful, and how to actually hold onto them in practice. Values can sound like one of those concepts that's easy to nod along to but hard to pin down. What actually counts as a value? Do they ever change? And once you know what yours are, how do you keep living them out when clinical practice gets messy and real life gets in the way?

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown 

https://www.booktopia.com.au/dare-to-lead-bren-brown/book/9781785042140.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22007957652&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ia9hPGoaksiuUZAUufD8jlhpDlm&gclid=CjwKCAjw3ejRBhAdEiwADkqPn7AHGeXRFQe9HW8MfP-dk6L9s9YDO1UsU7vriqAtoMM5VYspRf4GlBoC_VAQAvD_BwE  

Dare to Lead List of Values  

https://brenebrown.com/resources/dare-to-lead-list-of-values/  

Strong Ground by Brene Brown, concept of ‘plumbing and poetry’ in Chapter 4 

https://www.booktopia.com.au/strong-ground-bren-brown/book/9781785043208.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqtYZ-SsAowEZg82mcAxgQdOQbe2L52qgBgEFZGAFclA_Ng6bLq  

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey 

https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people-stephen-r-covey/book/9781760856823.html?source=pla&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22225225579&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ia9hM6LKTn_72lPlZMBszPTYggQ&gclid=CjwKCAjw3ejRBhAdEiwADkqPn0KGeoeEr6xwjHUR-sDzfri70L6dN3WLwdJIbpPvfLNOD6yNSs82jRoCXRwQAvD_BwE  

Welcome back to the ACE Podcast, now relaunched as The ACE Clinician! In this teaser episode, Shaun introduces new co-host Erin and gives listeners a first look at what's changed and what's staying the same. After an extended break, the podcast is returning with a new name, a new structure, and a renewed focus on the topics that matter most to allied health practitioners. Shaun and Erin chat about what listeners can expect from upcoming episodes and why now felt like the right time for a fresh start. Get ready, The ACE Clinician is coming soon.

In today’s episode, Shaun talks to Tom Heeley, a Sports Therapist based in the UK about his career working with athletes and teams at all levels of many different sports. Working with sporting teams can seem to be an exciting and dynamic opportunity for health care providers. But how to you get your foot in the door, how to you work your way up in the ranks, how to make those connections in unique sports and how to you become a valuable member of the sports medicine team?
Tom will answer all those questions for you.