We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Dave Candy PT and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dave, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Normally I wake up at 4am. I have a protein shake and then check emails as I collaborate with a number of brands with overseas that do most of their communications from 8pm to 6am local time. Then I go to the gym to lift weights.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I have a physical therapy practice in Manchester, MO that specializes in helping people age 50 and above to overcome pain and stay active. Most have been to “traditional” physical therapy at other places before finding me. As compared to traditional PT, my unique variety of PT is a blend of one-on-one, hands on treatments like spinal manipulation, massage, and dry needling along with helping people to learn to move better in everyday life. There are few exercises involved, but not nearly the amount that most people imagine when they hear the words “physical therapy”.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
As a child, I wanted to be a variety of things, but a teacher and an author were two of the biggest. In high school, I my guidance counselor led me to look into physical therapy. I got a doctoral degree in PT and then did a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship program in orthopedic manual physical therapy that less than 1% of physical therapist ever complete. So I am by all standards an “elite” physical therapist at the top of my profession.
However, the longer I practice, I find that my real skill and value comes back to teaching. I teach my patients everyday. I teach an international YouTube audience of over 120,000 subscribers. I often get comments of how good of a teacher I am both in terms of helping people understand their symptoms as well as describing exercise technique in detail.
I’ve also written two books called “Chronic Pain, You’re Not Just Getting Older, You’re Not Crazy, and It’s Not All In Your Head” and “The Over-50 Sciatica Solution”, and I’ve written hundreds of blog posts over the past several years.
So even though my career took me down different paths, my passions for teaching and writing have shined through.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I think the fear of failure has always been my biggest limitation. However, it has also severed as motivation to be an incredibly hard worker. Often when I’m afraid to do something and do it anyway, the results usually turn out pretty good, but I’m probably not as big of a risk-taker as some entrepreneurs.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
I admire my wife. She puts others needs ahead of her own, and her contributions to our family are a large part of what allows me to do what I do.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
On a surface level, I have an incredible in-depth knowledge of neuromusculoskeletal anatomy and biomechanics that exceeds that of most healthcare practitioners. That allows me to be very good at finding and treating the factors contributing to people’s pain experiences.
On a deeper level, I think I have a realistic understanding that most people’s motivation of coming to physical therapy isn’t really to get exercises or even just getting out of pain. It’s because that pain has stopped them from doing some activity that they need or want to do (i.e. climbing stairs, walking, playing pickleball, golfing, etc.) or it has stopped them from fulfilling some social role in their life (i.e. lifting grandchildren). So instead of just giving people exercises, I help them figure out how to do the things that matter to them in a pain-free manner.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://m4lpt.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/more4lifept/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-dave-candy-pt-faaompt-b9a19a24/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/M4LPT
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@more4life
- Other: https://over50sciaticasolution.com
