Year One Empowered: Growth, Gratitude, and the Foundations of Sustainable Health

The start of June was my official one-year mark at Empowered. I found this place like so many of you… seeking elevated care for themselves or family members. About three years ago, my youngest sister was just starting her competitive baton twirling journey while I was in my first year of practice in Colorado. I needed someone I could trust to give my sister the time and attention needed to heal and grow, as well assist my family in making good decisions for her long-term health and development. After a conversation with Dr. Alli, I knew Empowered was the right place for my sister. She has been seeing Dr. Kristin since then and I can definitively say choosing Empowered was of the best decisions for my family, and most importantly, my sister.

In January of 2024, when my wife and I decided to move back home to Kansas City, I once again reached out to Alli.  I was looking for somewhere I could grow and develop in my career, but I was also looking for somewhere with great culture. Naturally, she told me to come into the clinic, sat me down on that lovely blue couch and we had a conversation. Although there were no open positions at the time, I wanted to find my way to Empowered at some point. Which is why I was surprised to receive a text from her only a few months later about a potential interview. So here we are, one year later, and I can definitively say (again) choosing Empowered was one of the best decisions for myself and my family.

I’d be remise if I said the transition has been easy. My early career in Colorado included caring for the outdoor and gym athletes, the high-octane hobbyists, and a steady stream of complex surgical cases. I loved treating that population. I was surrounded by people who wanted to get better and pursue their recreational sport despite devastating injuries or complex surgical recoveries. But the demand was high, and the opportunity to build long-term relationships and community was limited. Like so many others in healthcare, I felt constrained by the care I could provide to my patients with a high-volume caseload and the appropriate amount of time and resources to support them through meaningful change. My experience was providing my population with quick, high-value content and knowledge, without the infrastructure to be successful in the long run. Turning the volume down on that speed and pace has been the hardest, but most rewarding parts of the last year. 

Behind the scenes, Dr. Alli has consistently challenged me to meld my practice style with a sustainable, long-term approach to health. She also challenges me to define who I am as a clinician. A year later, here I am caring for what we call the Recreational Athlete, which are outdoor sport enthusiasts, gym athletes, and high-octane hobbyists. But most importantly, I care for people who want to stay strong, capable, and engaged in the activities they love for years to come. Here at Empowered, I now have the necessary time, resources and support needed to care for my patients and clients.

As a clinician and strength coach, I’ve grown immensely over the years. However, there are several themes that I would consider to be the foundation of my practice. Here are my three principles of care for long-term, sustainable health.

Thank you for letting me care for you

Dr. Alli will lose her mind when she reads I am thanking my patients for allowing me to treat them, but it’s true! I’ve been very lucky to receive my formal education and medical training at some of the top institutions in the country. I’ve seen what happens when you allow clinicians to have adequate time and resources to treat their patients. I’ve seen the benefits of collaborating with other clinicians and providers who put the patient first in their own care. And most importantly, I’ve seen the difference in care when a patient feels heard and supported throughout their health journey. When you choose Empowered, trust that you are investing your time and resources in a place that allows you to be heard and will meet you exactly where you are at. Healthcare and physical health are not one size fits all approaches, nor are they black-and-white. I am fortunate to be able to develop meaningful relationships with my patients and clients to better understand their needs, address all their issues and have appropriate follow-up to allow for meaningful change. So, thank you for welcoming me into this community and investing in your health.

More of the Good… Just don’t forget to sprinkle in some development.

Enhancing your rehabilitation or improving performance does not need to be complex. From a general fitness standpoint, if cardio is your main form of physical activity, you should probably find a way to introduce consistent strength training into your routine. And oppositely, if you primarily strength train, improving your cardiovascular fitness is an excellent way to improve your recovery and work capacity. I am fortunate enough to have patients with a wide variety of goals, but most are regularly strength training and performing some form of cardiovascular exercise. When returning from an injury or just maintaining overall physical health, we are going to continue to develop your strengths to make them more robust but find ways to make consistent and sustainable improvements to your weaknesses, deficits, or areas of needed physical development. Keep the main thing the main thing, and attack low hanging fruit (mobility, consistency, focus, preparation, athleticism, etc…). Whether you are training year-round and seeking out competition regularly or just trying to find traction in your own fitness journey, these concepts remain the same.

Stay in the Game

Contrary to popular belief, enjoyment and finding community are two crucial aspects of physical and overall health. Recreation is defined as activity done for enjoyment when not working. This is what it’s all about. As life evolves, so do our priorities – work, family, and responsibilities may take center stage, but the desire to move, stay active, and challenge ourselves never fades. Whether you are wanting to be active with your grandkids, hiking Kilimanjaro, or competing in your high-octane hobby of choice, our goals will dictate different standards to make sure you can “Stay in the Game”. If you compete regularly, you must be committed to your current and long-term physical health, as well as performance. If you struggle with finding consistency within your basic physical activity routine, we must find more ways to engage (and potentially even enjoy) the process of staying consistently active. 

At the same time, I think it is unrealistic to believe this process is easy or pain-free. Maybe it was the way I grew up, or my healthcare experience up to this point, but the rehab and training process is not always pain-free, but it is important to understand the roles of pain, effort, fatigue, and recovery along the way. This is the difficult part about healthcare and why it is so important have a clinician who can work through these areas of your care and help integrate them into your life is so important. This is how you “Stay in the Game”.

I’d like to end by saying thank you to my family, coworkers, and all those in the Empowered community that welcomed me with open arms. You have all made this last year so special and I can finally say I am home.