We recently connected with Jaime Huestis and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaime, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory of how you established your own practice.

I had been in the sports medicine arena for years prior to having my own practice. When children came into the picture, I was able to be a stay at home mom for nearly 10 years and was minimally involved in my profession during that time. Once my kids started school, I began looking for a solution that would allow me to work and use my degree/training during school hours, yet also was conducive to being the type of mom I wanted to be, and not having a job that required me to be gone or travel all the time. After considering multiple options including a complete career change, I had the opportunity to begin my own practice treating the athletic population providing an alternative option to traditional western medicine.

The key challenge I faced in business startup was the fact I had zero business experience. I knew the steps I needed and wanted to take to become better as a clinician, continually grow my scope of practice, and to effectively help people. I thought having a simple cash based practice with no employees except myself would be relatively cut and dry, however, I have had to abandon that thought process, and identify weaknesses and limitations as a business person. I’ve often said I’d like to just be a practitioner and let the business side of things take care of themselves! Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about what not to do, but have had some wonderful help and advice along the way while growing my business.
Another challenge that presented was that it’s uncommon for an AT (athletic trainer) to be in private practice, so I was in a trail blazing situation in my state, so I didn’t have many resources to break the learning curve.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a clinician who focuses on injury evaluation and treatment for the active population. My primary goal is finding the root cause of injury, fleshing out each individual’s history and goals, and providing treatment and a game plan for injury recovery and increasing performance. I love to keep people doing the activities they love best and that give them joy in life. Optimizing their movement and reducing pain is paramount for improvement and their mental approach. I provide an alternative, streamlined approach to traditional western medicine. I use a holistic approach utilizing the body’s amazing ability to heal itself by providing an optimal environment for the body to do its thing.
The primary services I provide is the Fascial Manipulation method by Stecco, Dry Needling, movement and orthopedic evaluation techniques, and programming in mobility/strength components to their current training. I spend about an hour with each client, each appointment, and really encourage my clients to be active in their treatment and recovery goals.

I’m most proud of the time I take with each client and the accessibility they have to my knowledge in my field, the performance based coaching I can provide, and my personal experience as an athlete which makes me relatable and able to understand the goals and plight of athletes.

My athletic past includes playing collegiate basketball, competitive CrossFit, and currently compete at a National and World level in Weightlifting.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Genuinely caring about the goals of others, and helping them decipher why they are in their current situation. I’ve had many people in my office who have “tried everything” and nothing has worked for them. Giving them immediate results and a PLAN has them leaving with hope. By providing a listening ear as a practitioner, this is where the magic is. Clients often give me the solution just by letting them talk and describe their situation, and from asking meaningful questions. The job satisfaction I get in return is high!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I opened True North Athletic Therapy in 2016 in Great Falls, Montana. I had worked hard at creating a product people needed and wanted in that community, which was developing a continually growing practice. In 2020, my family decided to make the move to Bozeman, where I am now currently located. I had no idea at the time how difficult it would be to completely start my practice over from scratch in a community that already had many well known and established practitioners. Up until the point of our move, I really had only done word of mouth advertising along with a minimal social media presence to generate clientele. The change in venue has definitely challenged me to grow my business mind, get comfortable being uncomfortable with putting myself in situations that are hard for my personality type, and growing my business from the ground up for a second time.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.truenorthathletictherapy.com
• Instagram: @truenorthathletictherapy @jmachuestis
• Facebook: Jaime Huestis and True North Athletic Therapy

Image Credits
Matt Ehnes Photography