Stories of Transformation 

My name is Dr. Michael Guardino and I am the owner at Functional Chiropractic & Rehab in Raleigh, NC.  

With my short duration of time in practice I have to default back to my time in chiropractic school for this question. In school my biggest struggle was that I was conflicted on what to do post graduation. I always knew the goal was to open my own practice but I wasn't convinced I could do it. MPI club and the instructors gave me a lot of confidence I needed to make that big decision. They gave me confidence in my ability to treat patients. It taught me not only how to be a great palpator and adjustor but also what to look for and how to treat certain conditions. Through their seminars I learned what to say to patients and how to create effective treatment plans based on their prior experiences and evidence. They made me think long and hard about my why. Why was I here, and what did I want out of this career? Ultimately I decided opening my own practice was the right decision for me and MPI gave me the confidence and community support around me to take the leap of faith and do it.  

In school, I immediately gravitated towards MPI. We already had a strong club established at PCCF. I knew if I wanted to be a great clinician it had to start with learning how to palpate and adjust. Now having graduated, even though palpation and adjustments are at the core of what MPI teaches you quickly learn it's so much more than that. I continue to say that joining MPI club and becoming a REP was the best and most influential decision of my educational career. It continues to inspire my thoughts and passions and challenges me to be a better physician for my patients.    

MPI training helped me become a better doctor with three simple words: Connect. The. Dots. We were exposed to all this information but how do we piece it together? That for me is what MPI does so well. You have the best doctors in the country coming together to teach students and doctors alike how to connect the dots. Taking all the information that's out there and making sense of it and putting it into real life application and practice.  

I have two saws I try to sharpen simultaneously. The first is the mental saw. Learning and gaining knowledge that will help benefit me in practice. I'm big into podcasts and love listening to different people speak in their areas of expertise. Some people love research, some people love marketing, some people love to talk about clinical implications and treatment options, and I love to listen to it all. It helps me stay current and gets me excited about what I do. I also have a very close group of friends I stay in touch with. We call and talk to each other all the time and bounce ideas off of one another. It's great to have them as a resource and we help one another grow. The second saw is my physical skills saw. The palpation, adjusting, soft tissue work I do. For those of you reading this, go to the MPI seminars. I just signed up for the Sports Summit at the end of March and am beyond excited to go and see everyone again. I treat my physical skill set much like an athlete studies their craft. They watch film and study those who are better than them. Every basketball player who wants to improve their 3 point shot should watch Steph Curry. So I do the same with the MPI docs. I watch their videos all the time. I study how they palpate and adjust, different techniques they use, their body positions, what their hands are doing, what their feet are doing. Everything. Specifically Dr. Campbell. He is the best person for me to watch based on our similar size and build and adjusting style, so I watch what he does and repeat it over and over and over until it feels natural to me.    

I very recently opened my practice in December of 2021 so I haven't had the time or experience to grow or transform. What I can say though is I opened this practice with MPI in mind and it is the essence of the way I practice and treat my patients. As mentioned before, you realize MPI is much more than just palpating and adjusting. It incorporates rehabilitative exercise, DNS, McKenzie, neurology, gait analysis, pediatric care, and a bit of clinical nutrition. I now have all these tools at my disposal so that I can effectively treat my patients. It took me from being a one dimensional provider into a multi-faceted physician who at his disposal, can reach into his toolbox at any time and select the right treatment for the right patient.  

Before I took the MPI course I was trying to "muscle" and "man-handle" my patients. It works for your petite patients but in the real world you adjust all shapes and sizes and I needed to find another way to adjust the patient’s lumbopelvic region that didn't include making my shoulders so vulnerable.

MPI was a club offered at Palmer I went to it a few times. Then after I was in practice I decided to take a course.

I learned to use leverage and keep the patient relaxed instead of muscling the patients with the low back adjustments.

The MPI technique for adjusting the thoracic spine is what also lead us to develop the tool, "Anterior Assist".  https://anteriorassist.com/    with adjusting the patient in a supine manner I felt some hand discomfort. I wanted to continue this technique but using my own fist caused some discomfort. After developing this tool I have had no issues at all with hand discomfort.

MPI courses and training allow me to continue learning new techniques or ways to alter my technique just a little bit either for patient comfort or my own personal comfort! Every single patient is different and there is no cookie-cutter approach!

The more techniques one has under their belt the better they can serve their community! And I"m pain-free!

Jeff Redenius D.C. 
Redenius Chiropractic in Lake City, IA
Co-developer of Anterior Assist

While in school at Palmer Florida I struggled with adjusting technique philosophy.  I was always left with a why!  The first club I attended was Gonstead. While the technique was not bad I could not wrap my head around the "Bone off the disc" theory.  It was not until my 2nd MPI seminar with Dr. Campbell that things began to make sense.  I walked away from every one of the 8 seminars that I attended with a better understanding of what kind of clinician I wanted to become.  Professionally I was impacted with the knowledge and education to explain to my patients what I am doing to help them feel better. 

I chose MPI because it provided me with the ability to palpate and go right into the adjustment. MPI educated me on how the body is supposed to move. I became a better doctor by enhancing my palpation skills and improving efficiency when adjusting patients. 

I am turning my attention to sharpening my MPI skills through the MPI Sports Summit and other MPI Seminars. 

I remember Dr. King and Dr. Campbell stated in a seminar that we, as students, did not need a whole bunch of gadgets and gizmos to be successful.  We just needed a good table, our hands, and our body to help people. I took that to heart.  My office is just a 140 square foot room out of a CrossFit gym with a Thuli tour table, speeder board, and a couple of other tools. Very simple and elementary. 

Christopher Owens D.C. 
Indianapolis, Indiana

Before an MPI seminar, trimester 1, I was very close to leaving chiropractic school. While in school, I had a challenging time learning how one treatment intervention was the silver bullet for all human ailments. MPI taught me the process of piecing together all the different treatment methods to work together for the patient's benefit. 

It was dumb luck to attend the first MPI course. I had gone to MPI club once, and I thought, why not. I tried many other options and found that MPI's quality of instructor and content was unmatched.

MPI training has taught me to stay curious about my patient's ailments and skills. The evaluation begins when you first meet the patient and watch them move. It continues through every treatment visit, learning more about the patient and their habits. Then, after treatment, reaccess the problem and look for changes. This clinical audit process is simple, easy to implement, and helps us practice more efficiently.

I continue the learning process as a provider with their masterclasses. MPI brings the best in the world to educate our profession. For that, I am grateful.

Brandon Steele D.C.
Swansea, IL

I went to a school that didn't have MPI at the time, so my biggest struggle was simply getting the information. I took it upon myself to bring the MPI club to Life University, and doing so required me to become extremely familiar with the material and techniques. This has been invaluable as the years have gone on.

I chose MPI firstly because of its excellent clinical experience. I hadn't had any experience with actual evidence-based treatment. Combine that with the efficacy of the techniques and I was sold. 

MPI gives the doctor a systems approach that provides a solid framework on classification and treatment of basically any musculoskeletal condition. As Dr. King says, when you open your practice and become a business owner, the last thing you want to have to worry about is your clinical expertise. The tools MPI gives you prepare you for basically anything this profession will throw at you, and this helps your confidence as a provider tremendously. 

Being 3 years in practice I still review my MPI online courses and I do all my CEUs through MPI. It's important to learn from the instructors, keep my technique sharp, and surround myself with motivated individuals to avoid burnout. 

MPI gave me the basis of what my practice is today. I have no idea what my practice would look like without MPI, but I can safely assume my patient care wouldn't be the level it is currently.

Mike Woodbury D.C. 
Raleigh, NC

I was pointed toward MPI by someone I respected, saw that she practiced how I wanted to and was respected by other medical professionals.  Once I was in, I saw how EVERYONE in MPI was great palpators, adjusters, and CLINICIANS.  The functional model sucked me in and never let go.

Not only did MPI drop a giant toolbox of great foundational skills and advanced techniques, but it also taught me how to use those tools and the appropriate times to use each tool in a clinical setting.

I'm still doing daily adjusting and "warm-up" drills I learned in MPI to prep for the day, but still attending MPI and other seminars to expand on the great foundational knowledge I learned from MPI.

Patients always say how well explained everything is at our office; from their conditions to the treatment being done and WHY the treatment is being done and for how long.  I attribute a lot of that to being an MPI rep and teaching in the MPI club.

Gary Cervone D.C.
Nashville, TN
Cumberland Chiropractic and Sports Medicine

Biggest struggle before MPI was connecting what I was feeling and seeing with the treatment. We had all this knowledge of orthopedic tests and some assessment skills but the link to treatment was never made so I was left not knowing how to attack what I found.

MPI made the most sense for me. I could look at the body as a functional unit and assess and treat it functionally as well. It connected the most dots clinically for me. 

MPI training again reinforced the functional side of things. At the end of the day it gives you the freedom to treat and assess purely objective findings and that’s when treatment gets fun. We are physically changing patient’s bodies and how they work rather than being tied to pain findings. 

Currently using each patient encounter as an opportunity to better myself. Better how I interact with patients, better my palpation and assessment skills, better my adjustment and treatment skills. Really challenging myself to push the envelope not only for me as a clinician but for my patients as well. 

As a younger doc, operating in an MPI practice is all I know, but I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way. Getting the opportunity to come to work and truly change my patients’ function is what gets me excited every day.

Peter Roy
Troy, MO
Winchester Spine and Sport