The KRUSE ELITE Podcast

What happens when a manual therapist with more than 20 years of hands-on experience starts looking at pain and movement through a neurological lens?

In this episode, Taylor talks with KRUSE ELITE student Adam Goodrich, a licensed massage therapist and physical therapist assistant, about the challenges and wins he’s experienced integrating applied neurology into an established manual therapy practice.

In this episode:

Moving beyond the “table dilemma” — introducing neurological assessments and drills to clients who expect hands-on treatment.

Why adding applied neurology doesn’t mean abandoning the manual skills you’re already good at.

How Adam started small with trusted clients and gradually built confidence applying neuro concepts.

Real client examples where vision, sensory input, opposing-joint work and neuro stacking created surprising changes in pain, mobility and muscle tone.

Why assessment and reassessment can help determine whether both your neuro drills and your manual techniques are creating the desired response.

How a client’s history can provide clues about which neurological systems and inputs may be worth exploring.

Why manual therapists may have a unique advantage—their hands-on skills already provide powerful sensory input that can be viewed through a neurological lens.

Why applied neurology is less about learning another protocol and more about developing a thinking model that can enhance the skills you already have.

The big takeaway

You don’t have to know everything about the nervous system before you start applying what you’re learning.

Start small. Test an input. Reassess. Learn from the response.

Over time, applied neurology can give you a new way to understand the manual work you’re already doing—and a much larger toolbox when hands-on treatment alone isn’t creating the change you want.

Thank you to neuro ninja student, Adam Goodrich for sharing your personal and professional journey in learning applied neurology. To work with Adam, check out his practice:

Business: NKS Solutions - Findlay, OH

Website: nkssolutions.net

Email: adam@nkssolutions.net

Facebook: @nkssolutions1

Insta: @nkssolutions1

T: @nkssolutions1

Free Resources:

Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite

Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues

Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials

Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you:

Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations

Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What if a quick drill could reduce your pain, increase your mobility, and let you perform at your highest potential? In this episode, Alisha returns to the podcast and joins me as we speak with our producer, Tony, to talk about our high payoff drills and exercises and analyze the underlying neurology and strategies behind them.

We discuss:

What we mean by a drill that is "high payoff"

How to find your high payoff drills and exercises

Range of motion, pain, performance and coordination as assessments

Vestibular system deficiencies and their effect on certain movement drills

The table dilemma

Opposing joint theory

Localized drills vs targeting patterns and higher order systems

PMRF and cerebellar patterns

Order of operations when applying drills

The unexpected connection between smell and hearing

The power of positive association and neural chunking

Neurological patterns born from trauma

Diet and downstream effects on pain and mobility

Outgrowing and moving on from high payoff drills

High payoff drills for performance in strength and sport

Cranial nerve activations

One-sided joint mobilizations

Anti-saccades and other vision exercises

Band-assisted knee circles, tractioning, and tapping

Humming and vagus nerve activation

Stacking for more targeted results

Pinhole glasses and inhibition techniques

The most surprising high-payoff drills we've seen

And more...

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

Free Resources:

Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite

Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues

Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials

Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you:

Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations

Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

In this episode, I speak with my producer, Tony, to answer questions from the listeners and we discuss:

External cues for strength and mobility gains

Where to start with SI joint issues

Hypertonicity in the pelvic floor

C-section scars, midline stability, and the SMA

Signs there might be an underlying medical issue

Approaches to stacking drills

Flat feet, bunions, orthotics, and minimalist shoes

Overcoming movement deficits

How to find a neuro professional

Red flags to watch out for

And more...

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

Free Resources:

Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite

Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues

Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials

Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you:

Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations

Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What if you could train your body and nervous system to be more resilient? In this episode, I speak with my trusty podcast producer, Tony, all about building resilience. I discuss how resilience and threat are deeply intertwined, why traditional conditioning approaches can sometimes backfire, and how a holistic approach allows us to take someone from feeling pain to moving well and building strength, endurance, and tolerance. I also talk about the anatomy of the thalamus and its role in passing or inhibiting threat signals to the brain, history findings that could indicate issues with the thalamus, and why the thalamus may be a key factor in understanding and overcoming chronic pain. I also share strategies to improve resilience through threat reduction, targeted exposure, and thalamic conditioning. This episode touches on topics such as the threat bucket, threat inoculation, the thalamus, chronic pain, air hunger, ice baths, saunas, strength training, training specificity, plasticity, interoception, the frontal cortex, joint mobility, bone rhythms, obstacle courses, and more.

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

Free Resources:

Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite

Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues

Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials

Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you:

Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations

Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo

What should you actually do once you've found a professional in applied neurology? In this episode, I speak with my trusty podcast producer, Tony, all about what you can do as a client to take control of your own health and performance. I discuss common mistakes and misconceptions, what to share about your health and fitness history, why your mindset matters, the importance of doing your homework, how to find a good practitioner, the invisible effects of metabolic health, how much education you really need, and more. I share stories of an athlete that couldn't fix his tight hamstring, a first session where a 45 minute history-taking led to a 5 minute breakthrough, and of how my own experience with mold toxicity has informed how I think about being in the client's shoes. While this episode is geared towards those seeking or working with a practitioner to help with their pain, mobility, and fitness, there are also a ton of valuable takeaways for the professional on how to best serve your clients.

Thank you to my podcast idea man and coach, Tony Fowler (Instagram: @tone_reverie) for helping me put together this episode!

Free Resources:

Join our mailing list HERE to stay up to date on the latest updates from Kruse Elite

Join our free Cranial Nerve Masterclass here to get a taste of how neurology impacts your movement and pain issues

Subscribe to our YouTube HERE for in-depth educational videos and tutorials

Whenever you're ready here's how we can help you:

Become an expert in problem solving movement and pain issues with our beginner neuro course, Neuro Foundations

Master applied neurology so you can feel confident you can help anyone who walks through your door by joining our advanced neuro course, The Neuro Dojo