About Us
Welcome to Tough to Treat Podcast
Welcome to Tough to Treat: A Physiotherapists’ Guide to Managing Those Complex Patients!
Podcasts are hosted by Erica Meloe, PT, OCS, COMT, MBA, MA and Susan Clinton, PT, DScPT, OCS, WCS, COMT, FAAOMPT, who discuss how they successfully treated patients that others could not.
Meet Erica
I solved unique financial puzzles on Wall Street for a decade. Now I utilize those same strengths to help rid my patients of pain so that they can live their lives on their own terms.
The greatest victories in my physical therapy career are realized when I apply my natural problem-solving skills, honed even further on Wall Street, to help alleviate my patients’ pain; … pain that in many cases no one else has been able to resolve.
I work with my patients to uncover the true source of their pain, and together we work towards them becoming pain-free.
I’m so fortunate to have found my true calling and to be able to help people in the most important area of their lives – their health!
Meet Susan
I currently practice in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and am the co-owner and founder of Embody Physiotherapy and Wellness, LLC.
I am active in teaching and research as an adjunct instructor for the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, and Slippery Rock University. Additionally, I am an international instructor and presenter of post-professional education in women’s health and orthopedic manual therapy. My research activities include publications on chronic pelvic pain and clinical practice guidelines for the APTA Section on Women's Health and Orthopedic Section.
I am active with the American Physical Therapy Association, serving in governance as a local delegate and alternate delegate, and as the Chair of the Clinical Practice Guidelines steering committee for the Section on Women’s Health. I am also an inaugural BOD member of the non-profit Women’s Health Global Initiative.
In my spare time, I enjoy walking / hiking, country line dance and ballroom, and I am an avid supporter of music, the arts, and international objectives for women’s health.
tough to treat popular podcasts
#24: Post-op hip pain - is it really the hip ?
Many people have labral tears in their hip but is surgery the only solution? More often than not, there are secondary issues causing the labral tear in the first place, especially when someone still has persistent issues that the surgery did not address.
#23: Red Flags to the Physical Therapist
What do red flags really mean to the Physical Therapist? Signs and symptoms need to be considered in the same light as the medical history of the client. Join us in our conversation about why the red flags became a bit more glaring with this case.
#21: Is it always about joint changes ?
Lumbopelvic and knee pain sounds simple and straight forward in an individual at age for joint changes. Is it always about joint changes? Go through the clinical reasoning process with us to discover the hidden driver in this complex case.
#22: Running & pelvic pain
This is not your typical pelvic issue! She felt it with many activities but she was a runner and ultimately that was her end goal.
It really shows the beauty of looking up and down the chain for a clue as to where her pelvic pain came from. Looking at movements SPECIFIC to running and NOT the pelvis, were keys to her recovery.
#18: Source of bilateral calf pain
What is the cause of bilateral calf pain in this young fencer? Start to finish, it shows the power of a thorough evaluation, a specific exercise progression and a return to the sport she loves.
#20: Wrist pain & yoga
Did you ever think wrist pain that gets aggravated when performing a down dog yoga posture would emanate from the shoulder? Sustaining such a beautiful move requires almost synchronous timing and a good clinical reasoning process to discover where the true source of the pain lies. And yes, you need to analyze the person in that posture!