We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chad Waits a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chad thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

I had a 72 year old female patient who came to me with a goal of traveling to Spain for the Camino de Santiago. It is a 480 mile walk through Spain spanning over 30 days. We performed a detailed examination and evaluation and spent the next 6 months creating a focused plan to meet her goal. She was only 1 year removed from a total knee replacement and a history of low back pain and ankle pain. We emphasized gradual strengthening, flexibility, balance, and endurance exercises along with hands on manual therapy as needed for aches and pains along the way. When the time came for her to travel to Spain, we absolutely loved receiving all of her pictures and text messages along the way of the beautiful countryside and of course her amazing smile while living out her dream. She sent us this quote 1/4 of the way through, “The hilly terrain continues to be grueling uphill and treacherous downhill a lot of the time. I can’t tell you how many times per day I use what you guys taught me about planning my next move before taking the next step. I’m sure its saved me multiple times per day…I am just grateful for the strength I have because of our training and guidance, I couldn’t have done this without your help!”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Having lived in Ahwatukee since 1988, Physical Therapist Chad Waits has always sought to serve the community he grew up in, and which became the hometown to his children. After seeing the need for greater access to high-quality musculoskeletal care, Chad decided to take his 17 years of experience as a clinical leader with advanced training and open a private practice. In 2023, Waits Physical Therapy opened its doors to begin caring for the greater Ahwatukee community and is celebrating 2 years of practice this May.

Waits Physical Therapy was selected as Best New Business as voted on by the community in 2024.

What makes Waits Physical Therapy different is our strong focus on clinical reasoning to help our patients heal and reach their goals. Our therapists are Residency and Fellowship-trained Orthopedic Clinical Specialists. A person doesn’t just get put through a generic plan of care. We use critical thinking and creative strategies to help an individual improve in a way that is best for them. This approach fosters a collaborative and fun environment that patients enjoy being part of and where they ultimately find success.

Our expertise is what sets us apart. That starts with an active listening approach to understanding the patient and why they are seeking our care.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We often hear after our first visits with patients, “I have never had a Physical Therapy visit like this before, you guys are extremely detailed and helpful” People are genuinely excited to find a healthcare partner that listens to them and makes changes to their issues day 1 while making a plan for how to accomplish their goals. The majority of our referrals are from word of mouth and patient’s who finally feel they have an expert to lean on regarding musculoskeletal pain and keeping their quality of life.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The most successful source of referrals for me has been having the opportunity to treat Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners and other health care providers. The majority of my best referral sources are also patients. There is a lot of gray in healthcare and patient management. You want a provider that is willing to listen to you, critically examine you, and put together a plan that is judged by actual outcomes and results. Who is willing to reach that outcome by any means possible, willing to make adjustments along the way, consult with other professions and ultimately make the change and meet the goal you set out to achieve. I believe at Waits Physical Therapy, this is what separates us from the rest of the market. I am proud of our passion around excellence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waitspt.com
• Instagram: @waitspt
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/waitspt

Image Credits

Rob Cross (my photo in the gym and the main entrance photo), Scotty Pham (the other photos)