Amy Devaney is a physical therapist and sports medicine specialist based in Natick, Massachusetts. She's been a PT for over 15 years — starting at Mass General Sports Medicine, then Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and now running her own practice focused on runners and athletes. She got into the field the way a lot of great careers start: with a well-timed accident. A knee injury from skiing on senior skip day her senior year of high school changed her college trajectory, introduced her to physical therapy, and set her on the path she's been on ever since.
In this episode, Amy and the guys get into what it's actually like to build your own PT practice, why she chose to niche down to runners even when it felt risky, what 15 years in sports medicine has taught her about the neuroscience of pain (and why chronic pain is often a brain problem, not just a body one), and why she thinks physical therapy should function as primary care for the movement system. They also get into running as identity, community, and meditation — and how Amy broke her ankle in January and still ran the Boston Marathon in April.
Show notes:
- TempoPT (Amy's Practice): https://tempodpt.com/
- Evlo Fitness (Pat's strength training subscription): http://evlofitness.com
- Oura Ring (wearable HRV/recovery tracker): http://ouraring.com
- Whoop (recovery tracker Matt mentions): http://whoop.com
- Ring Fit Adventure (Pat's son's Nintendo Switch exercise game): https://a.co/d/074RpjKE
- Mind Over Back Pain by John Sarno (Pat's book rec): https://a.co/d/0bRC0g6P
- Elon University (where Amy went to college): http://elon.edu
- Mass General Sports Medicine (where Amy practiced for 7+ years): https://www.massgeneral.org/orthopaedics/sports-medicine