Jan. 3, 2026

The Stretch Lab Mirror Test: Are We Any Better?

The Stretch Lab Mirror Test: Are We Any Better?

This solo episode digs into a simple but uncomfortable question:

If you criticize other healthcare providers for misleading claims…
Have you checked your own website lately?

Jimmy breaks down the full “claim spectrum” from safe to dangerous, outlines why PTs often imply more than they say, and gives you 7 practical questions to audit your own messaging.

It’s not about lying.

It’s about expectations.

And the fact that marketing preloads belief before a patient even walks through the door.

???? Show Resources:

  • Free download: 7-Question Website Audit Checklist (coming soon)
  • Mentioned: Stretch Labs, LinkedIn PT threads, PT website language norms


00:00 – Intro: It’s not about Stretch Labs

00:20 – What this episode IS about: Your messaging

01:10 – The fair critique of assisted stretching

02:00 – Do PTs make similar promises?

02:30 – PTs don’t lie… but we do imply

03:15 – “Fix the root cause” vs “Eliminate pain”

04:05 – Green, Yellow, Red: Claim spectrum explained

05:10 – The 7-Question Website Audit

06:30 – Why expectations matter more than outcomes

07:20 – Stretch Studios aren’t evil — just better at messaging

07:50 – Closing thoughts & CTA


???? Sponsors:

???? Subscribe & Follow:

Transcript
WEBVTT

00:00:01.649 --> 00:00:05.971
All right,

00:00:10.811 --> 00:00:13.032
this episode isn't necessarily about

00:00:13.112 --> 00:00:14.032
stretch labs.

00:00:14.292 --> 00:00:16.553
It's not about assisted stretching.

00:00:17.134 --> 00:00:18.634
It's not even really about physical

00:00:18.673 --> 00:00:19.214
therapy.

00:00:20.114 --> 00:00:23.435
This episode is about what's on your

00:00:23.475 --> 00:00:23.995
website.

00:00:24.076 --> 00:00:26.977
What claims are you making?

00:00:27.914 --> 00:00:28.757
Because here's the thing.

00:00:28.777 --> 00:00:30.260
If you're a healthcare provider and you've

00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:33.244
ever criticized another healthcare

00:00:33.304 --> 00:00:33.845
business,

00:00:34.728 --> 00:00:37.834
another subsector of healthcare for making

00:00:37.993 --> 00:00:39.095
misleading claims...

00:00:40.646 --> 00:00:43.506
you should probably audit yourself first.

00:00:44.067 --> 00:00:44.667
Here's what I mean.

00:00:45.588 --> 00:00:46.307
Earlier today,

00:00:46.707 --> 00:00:48.948
a physical therapist on LinkedIn posted

00:00:48.988 --> 00:00:51.289
about assisted stretching studios,

00:00:51.469 --> 00:00:53.710
stretch labs and organizations like that.

00:00:54.009 --> 00:00:56.411
And honestly, it was a fair critique.

00:00:57.151 --> 00:00:59.332
They talked about short-term relief being

00:00:59.392 --> 00:01:02.353
marketed as long-term solutions.

00:01:02.552 --> 00:01:04.894
They talked about claims like eliminate

00:01:04.933 --> 00:01:05.733
chronic pain,

00:01:06.558 --> 00:01:08.319
They talked about lack of regulation,

00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.581
lack of accountability in their words.

00:01:10.962 --> 00:01:12.522
All valid concerns.

00:01:14.003 --> 00:01:17.665
So then I just asked one simple question.

00:01:17.685 --> 00:01:18.305
Do we,

00:01:19.006 --> 00:01:21.328
as a profession of physical therapists,

00:01:21.768 --> 00:01:22.968
make similar claims?

00:01:23.948 --> 00:01:26.370
And that's where things got interesting.

00:01:27.391 --> 00:01:28.272
Because here's the truth.

00:01:28.831 --> 00:01:31.013
Most people don't want to say out loud.

00:01:31.513 --> 00:01:34.015
Most physical therapists aren't lying.

00:01:35.370 --> 00:01:37.611
But we are implying,

00:01:38.111 --> 00:01:40.912
and implication is where expectations are

00:01:40.951 --> 00:01:41.272
born.

00:01:41.373 --> 00:01:42.453
I promise I'm going somewhere,

00:01:42.492 --> 00:01:43.132
just stay with me.

00:01:44.013 --> 00:01:45.373
We don't usually say,

00:01:45.754 --> 00:01:47.894
this will permanently eliminate your pain.

00:01:48.695 --> 00:01:49.876
We don't say that, typically.

00:01:50.436 --> 00:01:52.316
But we do say things like,

00:01:52.596 --> 00:01:54.537
the gold standard, the best,

00:01:54.977 --> 00:01:57.259
the only evidence-based solution,

00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.721
fix the root cause, get your life back.

00:02:01.061 --> 00:02:03.081
Now those aren't lies.

00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:06.201
But they're not neutral either.

00:02:07.524 --> 00:02:08.164
Here's the thing.

00:02:09.286 --> 00:02:12.729
Stretch labs and places like them sell a

00:02:12.770 --> 00:02:15.834
future where I think physical therapy

00:02:15.873 --> 00:02:18.197
typically sells credentials.

00:02:18.978 --> 00:02:20.520
One is about them.

00:02:21.099 --> 00:02:22.862
The other is about us.

00:02:24.248 --> 00:02:26.370
So let's talk about claims for a second,

00:02:26.409 --> 00:02:28.471
because not all claims are created equal.

00:02:29.290 --> 00:02:31.771
Some are safe, some are sloppy,

00:02:32.712 --> 00:02:35.114
and some are just downright dangerous.

00:02:35.454 --> 00:02:38.375
Now that's a spectrum, green, yellow, red.

00:02:38.855 --> 00:02:41.497
Now green claims are boring,

00:02:42.336 --> 00:02:45.138
but defensible, may help reduce pain,

00:02:45.478 --> 00:02:47.158
can improve mobility.

00:02:47.538 --> 00:02:50.080
Evidence suggests benefits for some

00:02:50.121 --> 00:02:50.401
people.

00:02:51.241 --> 00:02:53.502
Nobody screenshots those for Instagram,

00:02:54.181 --> 00:02:56.163
but they also won't get you in trouble.

00:02:57.223 --> 00:02:57.342
Now,

00:02:57.443 --> 00:02:59.644
yellow claims are where things start to

00:03:00.024 --> 00:03:02.384
drift, fix the root cause,

00:03:02.764 --> 00:03:04.104
long-term relief,

00:03:04.625 --> 00:03:06.325
finally address your pain.

00:03:06.765 --> 00:03:07.725
Not always wrong,

00:03:08.847 --> 00:03:11.728
but highly dependent on who's reading them

00:03:12.307 --> 00:03:16.028
and what they think you are promising.

00:03:17.331 --> 00:03:17.812
And then finally,

00:03:17.872 --> 00:03:21.094
Red claims their outcome promises

00:03:21.375 --> 00:03:25.117
eliminate chronic pain, pain-free again,

00:03:25.739 --> 00:03:26.859
permanent relief.

00:03:27.539 --> 00:03:28.881
And here's the uncomfortable part.

00:03:30.562 --> 00:03:33.625
If Stretch Studios shouldn't say things

00:03:33.664 --> 00:03:36.326
like that, neither should we.

00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:40.439
So if you do nothing else after listening

00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:41.621
to me ramble here, do this.

00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:44.121
Go to your own website if you own

00:03:44.140 --> 00:03:46.181
a business or the organization you work

00:03:46.222 --> 00:03:48.641
with and audit your own website.

00:03:49.242 --> 00:03:51.643
Not emotionally, not defensively.

00:03:51.723 --> 00:03:52.342
Try not.

00:03:53.623 --> 00:03:54.484
But practically.

00:03:54.783 --> 00:03:58.064
And ask yourself these seven questions.

00:03:58.384 --> 00:03:58.745
You ready?

00:03:58.764 --> 00:04:00.305
I'll put them in the show notes so

00:04:00.324 --> 00:04:01.365
you don't have to write them all down.

00:04:01.906 --> 00:04:02.786
Here are the questions.

00:04:03.306 --> 00:04:03.466
One.

00:04:05.424 --> 00:04:08.626
Does this sentence promise an outcome or

00:04:08.665 --> 00:04:10.246
describe a process?

00:04:11.206 --> 00:04:16.209
Two, does a claim imply permanence?

00:04:17.329 --> 00:04:17.850
Three,

00:04:18.829 --> 00:04:24.132
would this be true for every patient or

00:04:24.173 --> 00:04:24.612
just some?

00:04:26.327 --> 00:04:26.747
Four,

00:04:27.428 --> 00:04:30.870
could I back this up with evidence without

00:04:30.891 --> 00:04:32.773
cherry picking?

00:04:32.872 --> 00:04:33.392
Five,

00:04:34.394 --> 00:04:36.776
would a frustrated chronic pain patient

00:04:37.295 --> 00:04:41.238
read this as a guarantee?

00:04:41.379 --> 00:04:41.798
Six,

00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:44.401
would I feel comfortable defending this

00:04:44.461 --> 00:04:47.863
sentence to a regulator, an insurer,

00:04:48.463 --> 00:04:49.245
or an attorney?

00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:51.120
And finally,

00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:53.901
the seventh question you should ask for

00:04:54.002 --> 00:04:55.341
any of the statements you make on your

00:04:55.382 --> 00:04:59.504
website may be the most important one.

00:04:59.644 --> 00:05:02.745
If Stretch Studio or a chiropractor or a

00:05:02.805 --> 00:05:06.187
different healthcare provider said this,

00:05:06.228 --> 00:05:08.168
would I criticize it?

00:05:08.209 --> 00:05:11.790
That last one, that's the mirror test.

00:05:11.870 --> 00:05:11.971
Now,

00:05:12.011 --> 00:05:13.632
here's the thing most clinics don't want

00:05:13.672 --> 00:05:14.132
to admit.

00:05:15.781 --> 00:05:17.562
People don't leave physical therapy

00:05:17.581 --> 00:05:18.642
because it didn't work.

00:05:19.822 --> 00:05:22.204
They leave because what they expected

00:05:23.303 --> 00:05:24.103
didn't happen.

00:05:25.264 --> 00:05:27.384
Your expectations are out of alignment.

00:05:28.024 --> 00:05:30.466
And expectations aren't just set in the

00:05:30.505 --> 00:05:31.446
evaluation.

00:05:31.766 --> 00:05:34.987
They're set by language long before many

00:05:35.026 --> 00:05:36.427
patients even walk in the door.

00:05:38.314 --> 00:05:40.416
Marketing doesn't just attract patients.

00:05:40.437 --> 00:05:41.858
It doesn't just put butts in seats.

00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:44.762
It preloads belief.

00:05:44.903 --> 00:05:48.728
It sets expectations long before your

00:05:48.767 --> 00:05:51.031
provider ever introduces themselves.

00:05:51.942 --> 00:05:52.843
Now, here's the thing.

00:05:53.204 --> 00:05:55.785
Stretch studios aren't winning because

00:05:55.824 --> 00:05:56.564
they're evil.

00:05:57.504 --> 00:05:59.105
I think they're winning and doing well

00:05:59.526 --> 00:06:02.607
because their promise is simple and their

00:06:03.086 --> 00:06:06.809
experience matches the expectation that

00:06:06.829 --> 00:06:09.389
was set long before somebody walked into

00:06:09.430 --> 00:06:09.850
the door.

00:06:10.329 --> 00:06:12.891
And their message is about the person

00:06:13.430 --> 00:06:16.211
reading those promises,

00:06:16.312 --> 00:06:19.074
not the profession providing the

00:06:19.134 --> 00:06:19.874
experience.

00:06:21.584 --> 00:06:22.944
You don't need to lie to compete.

00:06:23.725 --> 00:06:24.125
You don't.

00:06:25.024 --> 00:06:27.406
You need to be honest and compelling.

00:06:28.346 --> 00:06:29.266
Both of those things.

00:06:29.307 --> 00:06:30.007
It's possible.

00:06:30.427 --> 00:06:31.567
So the question isn't,

00:06:32.127 --> 00:06:35.288
are you mad that stretch labs or other

00:06:35.329 --> 00:06:37.689
healthcare providers are doing what

00:06:37.709 --> 00:06:38.290
they're doing?

00:06:40.451 --> 00:06:41.971
Or are you mad that they're doing it

00:06:42.531 --> 00:06:44.992
better than you?

00:06:45.031 --> 00:06:46.452
But hey, what do I know?

00:06:48.853 --> 00:06:49.934
That's it for this one,

00:06:50.194 --> 00:06:51.795
but we're just getting warmed up.

00:06:52.334 --> 00:06:54.255
Smash follow, send it to a friend,

00:06:54.475 --> 00:06:56.156
or crank up the next episode.

00:06:56.656 --> 00:06:57.576
Want to go deeper?

00:06:58.017 --> 00:07:02.038
Hit us at pgpinecast.com or find us on

00:07:02.098 --> 00:07:04.660
YouTube and socials at pgpinecast.

00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.341
And legally, none of this was advice.

00:07:07.420 --> 00:07:09.041
It's for entertainment purposes only.

00:07:09.141 --> 00:07:10.802
Bullshit!

00:07:10.822 --> 00:07:11.423
See, Keith?

00:07:11.622 --> 00:07:12.682
We read the script.

00:07:12.983 --> 00:07:13.644
Happy now?