June 26, 2025 • 35 mins
Meet Tom Jensen, founder of Elect Wellness. He aims to make health improvements accessible and effective for everyone. They bring the gym to you!
Programs are holistic, covering in-home physical training, dietitian-led nutrition coaching, and lifestyle counseling. Elect Wellness promotes structured exercise that boosts neuroplasticity,supports neural repair with targeted nutrients like omega‑3s and antioxidants, and removes barriers to consistent rehabilitation. Clients enjoy daily support and a thorough 27‑point monthly check‑in.
Tune in to discover how Elect Wellness is redefining recovery for brain injury survivors through precision, compassion, and convenience.
New episodes drop every other Thursday everywhere you listen to podcasts.
🎙️ Do you want to support us?
- Give us some feedback, tell us what bindwaves has meant for you by emailing us at bindwaves@thebind.org
- Leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
- Share episodes with your friends!
- Make a monthly or one time donation at www.thebind.org
- Follow bindwaves on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
🧑💻Visit our website! thebind.org/bindwaves
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Bernard (00:10):
Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own
and do not necessarily representthe views of the hosts bindwaves
or the Brain Injury Network.
This podcast is forinformational purposes only, and
it's not a substitute forprofessional medical advice, the
diagnosis or treatment.
Always seek the advice of ahealthcare provider with any
(00:31):
questions you may have regardinga medical condition.
Thank you.
Carrie (00:38):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor, and a member of BIND.
Brittany (00:41):
Hi, I'm Brittany and I'm a TBI survivor and a member
of BIND.
Our guest today is ThomasJensen, founder and president of
Elect Wellness.
Tom has a Bachelor in Science inExercise Science and is a
certified through the NationalStrength and Conditioning
Association and the NationalAcademy of Sports Medicine.
(01:03):
He is exercise physiologist.
Nutritionist, um, he has beentraining and consulting clients
of all ages for over 20 years.
So, Tom, what is elect wellness?
Tom (01:19):
Uh, great question.
We are a home delivered service,um, that basically helps people
improve the quality of life.
And the way we do that isthrough a mixture of nutrition,
coaching, personal training, andlifestyle counseling.
Um, so we make it veryconvenient for our clients by
coming right to their homes, andthen we take a very
(01:39):
comprehensive approach.
Um, by hitting on all thedifferent aspects that we
believe improved the health of aperson.
Carrie (01:46):
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
And well, and so that brings meto my next question, which may,
you may have written it exactlyright.
Um, when I'm looking at yourwebsite, do y'all also have a
physical location people can goto or is it just all home based?
Tom (01:57):
All of the services home delivered.
Okay.
We do have a physical locationwhere we meet as a team.
And, uh, we learn and we developand, and now that we're actually
selling franchises as well,we'll bring in those franchisees
to teach and train them.
But as far as the service, it iscompletely home delivered.
Okay.
Obviously the physical stuff isphysical and then some of the
nutrition and life stylecounseling happens over the
(02:20):
phone and video chats and text.
Carrie (02:22):
So there's no gym to go to?
Tom (02:23):
There's no gym to go to.
Carrie (02:24):
Okay.
so that, there's is that Yeah.
Brittany (02:27):
So with the, um, service, so how does the pricing
work?
Tom (02:32):
Sure.
The, it's, it's very, um,customizable, I should say.
Um, in fact, whenever someoneasks about pricing, we, we
literally direct them to a pageon our website, which looks a
lot like a, like a car builderalmost, where you choose your
options, what you want, what youdon't want, um, because everyone
wants something different.
Some people might want fourpersonal training visits Um, a
(02:55):
week.
Other people might want thenutrition aspect, or they want
just the nutrition and not thetraining, or they want a certain
level of nutrition,accountability and intensity,
um, with a different level oftraining or vice versa.
So from a range, you're lookingat anywhere from$250 a month to
as much as$2,500 a month.
(03:17):
Um, for example, if two peopleas a couple were doing.
Everything.
Um, so there's usually a sweetspot that someone can find that
works for their budget and for,um, their needs.
And a lot of folks will just doas much of, as much as they can.
Um, because oftentimes the moreaccountability, the more help
you get, especially in thebeginning of someone's journey,
(03:39):
um, the better off they are.
And then they might taper itdown as they are able to do more
on their own.
So it's, it's quite a range, butit is, um, we don't pretend to
be cheap or easy or foreveryone.
Carrie (03:52):
That's, that's fair.
And it sounds like, like we tella lot of people, you know, one
brain injury is not like theother brain injury.
So again, you're cateringAbsolutely.
Per person.
So everything's not everyonewants something different and
needs something different, soAbsolutely.
And that brings me to anotherquestion.
So I know we learned about youfrom another member who has a
brain injury.
So do y'all have experienceworking with brain injury
(04:13):
survivors already?
Absolutely.
Are we new to you?
Tom (04:16):
Um, no.
We've had a, a long list, um, asa percentage of our clientele, I
would say.
And, and I don't want to groupeverything into brain injury,
but we've had, um, people whohave been thrown from their
vehicle and, and had traumaticbrain injury.
We've had people who've had, um,spinal cords, nick during
surgery.
Uh, we had a gentleman who wentmultiple minutes without oxygen.
(04:39):
Um, we've had, uh, a tetheredspinal cord.
Um, post, uh, stroke rehab.
Um, and then in addition tothat, although it's not quite
the same, some of the beneficialtherapies are similar.
We've worked with people withcerebral palsy, multiple
sclerosis, and um, you know,various nervous system, uh,
(04:59):
disorders and challenges.
That might not have been aspecific injury or depending on
who you ask mm-hmm.
Might not be able to be peggedto a specific Sure.
Uh, time of injury.
Um, but a lot of the sametherapies will benefit those as
well.
So we have, we weren't lookingfor that experience in the
beginning.
I remember the first, um, ladywe had who had a son with
(05:20):
cerebral palsy, and I've neverworked with anything of the
sort, and, and I was a littlenervous going in.
And she was amazing.
She just, she just said, look,this is how it is.
This is what he wants.
These are his goals.
We don't feel like he should beheld back from pursuing his
goals, you know, just'cause hehas these challenges and I'm not
asking you to know everythingcoming in.
(05:41):
Just learn as you go and workwith him.
And that was a very eye-openingexperience for me and very good
experience for me.
Um, and, uh, he, I mean, I thinkABC news covered that at one
point.
Oh wow.
He, he went, he was first personever with cerebral palsy to go
on American Ninja Warrior.
Oh wow.
And actually compete on one ofthose courses, gained about 25
pounds of muscle improveddysfunction dramatically.
(06:05):
And then we started gettingcalls like crazy.
Um, all sorts of stuff that Ididn't even know existed at the
time.
I hadn't even, hadn't even heardof.
Um, but it was great because Iactually have a sister with a
brain tumor.
Who would later on have astroke, um, as well.
So, and then a father withParkinson's.
So a lot of this stuff, um, wasclose to home as well.
(06:26):
Some of it was closer to homethan I even knew at the time.
Um, so that's, that's how Electwellness started serving this
population, it's not the onlypopulation we serve.
Sure.
But it's become an a consistentpercentage of the clients that
we serve over the years.
And, and no doubt being a homedelivered service has something
to do with that as well.
(06:46):
Folks might just not want to goto a gym and, uh, end up finding
us and we end up finding themand, and it works well together.
So we're very blessed in thatregard.
Brittany (06:55):
That's great.
That's good.
Yeah.
So you also do nutritioncoaching.
So what is involved with thenutrition coaching?
Is it learning?
How about nutrition?
Is it learning how to cook orwhat is it other things that are
taken factor to it?
Yeah,
Tom (07:10):
great question.
It's, it's kind of all of theabove.
Um, a lot of nutrition coachinghistorically has been, I always
joke like two people sittingacross from a table, you know,
from each other at a table,maybe once a month.
And basically lying to eachother.
And, um, it just, you can'tchange your life with nutrition
(07:32):
in that, uh, the way people havetraditionally done it.
Right.
Um, nutrition is very difficultto implement.
So what we do is we have alicensed and registered
dietician that works with, uh,all of our clients or as many
clients who, who will and wantto.
Um, we have our clients recordtheir diet every single day, and
(07:55):
that comes to our dietician andshe actually reviews their food
every single day.
Uh, on, on Monday she reviews itfor the weekend, but five days a
week she's looking at preciselywhat they ate and then giving
them advice, giving themsubstitutions, giving them
improvements, encouraging them,congratulating them on the
positive habit changes thatthey've made.
(08:17):
And then once a week they gettogether on the phone or usually
video chat for 15 minutes.
Um, so they can keep a goodrelationship too.
'cause sometimes emailing backand forth back your food just
feels like you're gettingcriticized.
So they have those weeklyconversations, how to overcome
challenges and really rebuildhabit loops.
Right?
Um, and then once a monththere's an assessment process.
(08:40):
Perhaps they're doing it with adietician alone.
Or with the trainer, they'llhave the biometric assessment so
we can get that real biometricdata.
How has body compositionchanged?
How has that changed?
And then, um, that so many timesgoes back to the diet.
It's not just the training, notat all.
Right?
Um, and then she can review thatand update their approach, um,
(09:01):
based on what she seeshappening.
You know, sometimes someone'snot following the plan.
Sometimes you might find youhave the wrong plan.
Depending on what has happened,and then you adjust.
But the, the client is learningand being educated through all
of that, but we never thoughtthat was enough.
We wanted to hold'em accountableto actually doing it so they
could experience the benefits.
And that's, that's where therubber meets the road.
(09:22):
And that is the hard part, andthat's what most services are
unwilling to do because of thetime involvement.
But we think it's worth it.
Carrie (09:30):
That's great.
And again, speaking again moredirectly about our population
and I'm sure there's otherpeople that are just, that
aren't brain injured that havethis issue as well.
Um, how do y'all kind of workwith the nutritionist work on
limited budget or fixed income?
Because we can talk about thehealthy eating and the good
brain food that we need to eat,but it might exceed our budget,
(09:53):
you know, so
Tom (09:54):
yeah.
Great.
Great question.
Um.
Uh, I, I, I'll say this aboutthat, um, I have met, uh, some
very overweight people who gotthere on completely organic
diets and, um, it's not there,there's definitely a
relationship between expense andthe quality of food, but it,
(10:15):
there doesn't always have to beokay, and it's not as one-to-one
as some people think.
Uh, we went to Puerto Rico awhile ago and you know,
everyone's just selling thefruit and things just right off
their farm in their backyard.
It is the most amazing fruitI've ever tasted.
In my life anywhere.
Um, and it was cheap'cause itwas just right there and it's,
and it's what they had.
But it is a balance.
Um, in fact, if, if I couldn'tpick the stuff and the quantity
(10:38):
of the stuff, and you gave me ahundred percent organic on this
side, and then I could pick thestuff and the quantity of stuff
and none of it was organic, forexample, on this side, if the
one that I had more control overthat group, I could get the
person.
Better results with.
So you can buy Walmart chickenbreast, you can buy non-organic
(10:59):
fruits and vegetables, and thecombination in how you put those
things together can still giveyou dramatic improvements in
results.
Now, is it better to havesomething that's completely non
GMO and organic?
Um, sure in an apples to applesworld, but we have never found
it to be a real apples to appleworld.
Sure.
I used to work at GeneralNutrition Center and have people
(11:19):
come in and tell me how theyavoid.
Um, bananas because they havetoo much sugar, you know, but
they're 400 pounds and theyforgot five minutes ago they
told me about the pizza and beerthey were having last Thursday,
but it's like they've chosenthat little thing.
You know, I can avoid bananas,so I'm gonna be proud about it.
I'm gonna talk about it.
But the banana's not theproblem.
(11:40):
So, um, once, once peopleactually write down what they're
eating and you take a look at itand we show it back to'em.
We've even done photo journals.
Um, so I took, had this girltake photos of her food for
three months and I showed it toher basically on a huge mosaic
on the iPad.
And she's like.
Wow, I see exactly what I needto do.
(12:03):
And it's not, um, it's usuallynot anywhere near as expensive
as you think it is.
It's just some changes.
Um, but that's a great questionbecause I think that's in a lot
of people's minds that if I'mneed to eat healthy, it'll cost
so much more.
And that's not necessarily thecase.
It can be, but it doesn't at allhave to be.
Carrie (12:19):
That's good to know.
And yeah, I hate to say a mosiacwhat I eat because I, I know I'm
not a healthy eater likevegetables green.
Mm.
Tom (12:27):
Sometimes we just go out so much.
And remember during COVID,everyone surprisingly had all
this extra money.
Of course they were printing alot of it too, but, and this
extra, extra money on hand.
And part of that was like, Imean, not going out and
dropping.
$50 on a brunch, on accident.
Right.
You know, so that'll buy a lotof good groceries.
Yeah,
Brittany (12:43):
definitely.
So I know you said that you workat a different nutrition
facility, but with your, um,nutrition coaching, how does it,
um, varies from other people,other facilities and wellness
centers?
Tom (12:58):
I think it's that, that accountability is the primary
piece that daily accountability,day in and day out.
Reviewing what you did, taking areal look at it.
And then getting very personalwith how they're gonna approach
it and, and how to make those,um, changes where other people
are.
Sometimes they're justdelivering microwaveable meals
(13:19):
in a, in a plastic bag, which,uh, as a brain injury group, you
probably know how bad it is toheat up plastics, you know?
And so they're either justgiving you this microwavable
stuff, or, or they're havingthose consults where there's no
real follow through on, on ifyou're actually doing it.
So I think it's that.
That hyper personal and verydaily and consistent
(13:40):
accountability, um, to changeand then being in someone's
home.
Although the nutritionist Alisn't always in the home, if
they're doing the training, forexample, if you're, if you're
seeing'em two or three times aweek, you get a very good idea
of their lifestyle.
You can see how they'reinteracting with their spouse,
how they're interacting withtheir kids.
Many times you'll see the openpantry, you'll see the open
(14:00):
fridge.
You might see food beingdelivered, or like you, you,
it's really hard to hide.
Hm.
Um, which can be uncomfortablefor people sometimes because
it's, it's, you gotta open upand be transparent with your
nutrition coach, but that'sreally where all the power
happens.
Um, I won't name any names, soI'll just share this, but we've
had a handful of clients that weworked with for like five or six
years, and then on year seven,um, you know, we start seeing
(14:25):
things in, in food journals thatwe had never seen for the
previous seven years.
And we know they didn't juststart eating this right.
But they might have finallyfound com, uh, found themselves
comfortable enough to reallyopen up and like, okay, now I'm
gonna show you the other 20%I've been hiding.
Mm-hmm.
And that's where the real powercomes in.
And, and we've gotten, uh,better at that in working with
(14:47):
people.
Um, because I know that if, ifpeople feel judged or feel
critiqued, they'll tend to hide.
Sure.
So we will tell'em about ourstruggles and our personal
challenges as well.
And just.
Try to show them that this isnot about judging or, or
anything moral here.
This is about laying all yourcards on the table so we can
help you play the game better.
(15:08):
Um, and I think that's, that'sreally what sets us apart.
Carrie (15:12):
Now, this isn't a question we had, but just I'm,
now, I'm thinking anytime about,you know, going in their home
and seeing things.
So how does the.
What's the word I wanna use?
Um, the person going in, doingthe physical therapy, doing the
workouts, and the nutritionist,I'm sure there's discussions
there.
It can't be just, you know,one-on-one, the nutritionist and
(15:33):
one-on-one, the therapist.
There's gotta be like a,everybody kind of talks to each
other, so they, you're gettingthe full picture kinda thing.
Ab absolutely.
Tom (15:40):
We have a, a smaller and very tight team.
Those meetings, every week,discussions happen there.
Our team is constantly callingeach other, texting each other,
updating, each other on wheresomeone is at and what they're
going through.
So you're absolutely right.
It's a, everyone needs to be onboard and on the same page, um,
delivering a consistent messageand aware of what's going on.
(16:01):
Um, and, you know, and they'llinform us as well sometimes with
schedule changes and this andthat, and program, um, updates.
So the, the trainers are talkingto us as the owners.
They're talking to thenutritionist.
Uh, we're all talking to eachother at the meetings.
And just trying to make surethat we're keeping that client
hitting on all, on all cylindersand that we're all aware of the
(16:24):
challenges that are, um, thatare facing them.
Carrie (16:26):
So, hide your candy wrappers.
Tom (16:30):
Yeah.
I used, when I did the, uh,nutrition coaching myself years
ago, I used to bring a, a bigblack trash bag.
Um, and then they're, you know,one of their most motivated
moments, right?
As they're coming on board, wewould just bag everything up.
It's funny'cause I would takestuff over to McKinney Food
Kitchen and, and uh, like, oh,you want to donate this?
And I'm like, no, they don'tneed to be eating that either.
(16:50):
We're gonna throw that one away.
These will donate.
These are good enough, healthyenough to give to children that
I don't even want to give to'em.
You know, if it's, if it's like,uh, some of the sugar, fake
color candies or whatever,right.
But you know, the canned foodsand stuff that you're gonna step
up from, you know, maybe we'lldonate this and we would just,
we would just clear the houseoutright.
(17:10):
Uh, right then and there.
Um, and those, those are someamazing stories of change when
people, and it doesn't happen.
Everyone comes with a differentlevel of intensity, especially
to the nutrition because food isso deeply connected to us
emotionally.
Mm-hmm.
Um, some people are ready tochange some things, but not
everything.
(17:30):
Like, let's just start with theexercise.
We'll get the nutrition piecelater.
Um, but those folks that arereally ready to go, we try not
to slow them down.
Um, but a lot of people, and I,and I actually really enjoy
working with these people'causeI think they're more practical
and realistic.
It's let's change one habit at atime.
Let's focus on getting morewater, and we might spend a few
(17:51):
weeks with that being a purefocus.
Now let's focus on getting moreprotein.
Let's focus on the fruits, focuson the vegetables, and focusing
on those positive additions.
Mm-hmm Is much better thanfocusing on negative
subtractions.
'cause you add enough positivethings into your life lot, lot
of times the negative will getshoved out.
But if you're just trying to notdo certain temptations, then
(18:13):
you're just gritting your teethand barring it, you know?
Um, so we like to add all thepositives first, and that makes
it a lot easier to let go of thenegatives and your, your body
starts working better, yourbrain starts working better,
your circulation, your muscles.
And that improves yourself-control and your ability to
take that, that next step ifyou're, if you're unhealthy.
(18:34):
Um, the self-control, theself-discipline, the motivation,
the energy to change is veryhard to come up with.
So that's why I'm so impressedwith what, what you guys do, you
know, after something like abrain injury.
Um, everyone I've met, I don'tknow if it's just because
they're, they're looking to gethealthy or maybe that's why I've
interacted with'em, but they'resome of the most motivated.
(18:55):
Um, people and ready and wantingto change and it inspires so
many of our other clients somany times, so I appreciate
that.
Carrie (19:03):
Oh, that's great to hear.
I'm gonna take a quick littlebreak and just remind our
listeners to go ahead and clickthat like button, click that
share button, go ahead and clicksubscribe and notify so you get
the next episode as well.
Just keep clicking all thosegood ole buttons.
And so, no, and I wanna saythank you again for saying how
motivated and positive we are.
We try every day, andunfortunately, I'm not gonna say
(19:25):
all brain injury survivors, buta lot of us probably may have
had our injury, depending onwhat it was.
You know, not eating so healthy,you know, caused our high blood
pressure, CLO caused ourcholesterol, which kind of
contributed to our stroke.
I mean, I know mine with highblood pressure.
I used to salt before I tasted.
I no longer salt before I tasteanymore.
(19:47):
You know?
So, I mean, we learned the hardway that maybe we should pay a
little better attention to whatwe're doing.
Tom (19:53):
Yeah.
And it's not, it's.
And it's not even fair to saythat that's the sole reason,
right?
No.
Yeah.
No.
There's plenty of people outthere that I said, yeah, no, I
said contribute.
But it does contribute.
But I think even yourwillingness just to say that
just proves that the place thatyou're in and ready for positive
change and improvement, becausethat's what we try to get our
clients to do, is look, youcan't change the stuff that's
(20:15):
outside of your control, but ifyou blame everyone else and
everything else for everything,then you're left completely
powerless.
Carrie (20:23):
Right to do
Tom (20:24):
anything about it.
So, um, now there, and we've,we've got folks that wish they
had done this and that and theother thing, you know, sooner.
And, um, you know, there's allsorts of reasons.
This stuff happens though too.
And that's, you know, on my sideof the table.
Mm-hmm.
People need to understand.
Don't look at someone and think,oh, that this happened to them
(20:46):
because of this or that, or youhave no idea.
You know, we've met so manypeople with so many different
experiences and so manydifferent reasons and causes and
anesthesiologists, you know,falling asleep on the jobs
themselves and leavingsomebody's life changed forever.
Carrie (21:01):
Oh, wow.
Tom (21:01):
Um.
You know, and yet that personthat we worked with that I'm
thinking of was still so happyand so positive and showed up
to, to work and work hard everysingle day, you know, which is
just really an inspiration, um,to see,'cause it, it felt like
they were so wronged and it wasso unfair.
And yet they're the ones outthere inspiring everybody else.
(21:21):
Where people who are, you know,I don't believe that anyone is
normal.
I don't believe in normal, Ithink fair.
I think we're all broken in oneway or another.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but, um.
To see other people waste, um,waste what they've been blessed
with, ability wise and not dosomething with it.
Where, for example, folks likeyourselves who have been through
(21:43):
hell and back, so to speak, outhere, you know, changing the
world and inspiring people.
That's incredible.
So
Carrie (21:50):
thank you for.
Um, I noticed on your websitetoo, I'm gonna change subject a
little bit.
Um, it talks about a 27 pointassessment.
Can you give us a little bitabout information about what
that is or what that entails?
Tom (22:04):
Sure.
We, um, every single month.
We will take a wide variety ofthings.
So we'll take body fatcomposition.
Um, we'll look at body fat, leanbody mass, fat mass, muscle
mass, uh, muscle.
I might not'em all here, butmuscle.
That's mass percentage.
That's, um, we'll look atflexibility.
Um, we will look at variousmeasurements, shoulder
(22:26):
measurements, waistmeasurements, hip measurements,
leg measurements, armmeasurements.
Um, we actually will take front,back and side photos.
We will also run those photosthrough a posture analysis.
So we'll look for things likeforward head carriage or
anterior anterior, uh, tiltedscapulas, um, lateral pelvic
(22:47):
tilt, valgus knees archcollapsed pronated feet.
Um, as, as y'all have probablyseen these.
Are very present in folks thathad a brain injury.
Mm-hmm.
Right?
And, and I always think aboutit, like you've got, you've got
software issues and you've gothardware issues, right?
Brittany (23:04):
Yes, definitely.
Tom (23:05):
And sometimes the software issues are causing the hardware
issues, but sometimes thehardware issues are causing the
software issues.
And sometimes the softwareissues have caused hardware
issues that have then gone backand caused additional software
issues that cause additionalhardware issues.
And um, so our approach is towork on everything that we see
and everything that we can.
Um, work on.
(23:25):
'cause if someone's got forwardhead carriage or something going
on in the neck or shoulders andthey've already got some, some
nervous system challenges, willthat potential impingement of
the nerve or the spine.
Um, sometimes it's a contactthat provides more stimulation
and then further tightens themuscle.
Sometimes it's a contact or animpingement that reduces nerve
transmission and then reducesthat muscle and then you got
(23:46):
another muscle in the body thattries to compensate.
It jumps out and tightens up.
So it's just.
Yeah, everything is sointerconnected.
Yeah.
And, um, you know, you've gotthis myofascial sling across
your back.
You can have a, a right hip outthat throws your left neck off
or left side of your neck.
And, um, those are, those aretough and leave people that
(24:07):
could otherwise maybe have a daydoing certain things.
Now, it's not that they lost aday, but that, that day became a
lot harder and there's somestuff they couldn't do there.
And then every time.
The client can't do somethingthat tends to, what tends to
reduce movement.
Mm-hmm.
And be, and become moresedentary.
And then that's lesscirculation.
That's less blood.
That's less, less.
(24:28):
Oxygen.
Blood and oxygen are some of theroot, you know, the lack there
are over some of the root causesof any brain injuries.
So anything we can do to keepclients moving, keep clients
feeling good, keep clientsexperiencing less pain, um, is
gonna improve.
Circulation and oxygen and makethe brain nervous system
function better,
Brittany (24:46):
which that actually hit close to home to me.
That's why I was like, oh,excited.
Well, not excited.
I, I have f and d, which I gotdiagnosed with functional neuro
symptoms disorder, which thedoctor describe it like in
computer.
So basically your hard wearworks, you can turn on computer,
but if you're trying to opensomething and install something,
the software goes haywire, whichwith me, my first year, mine was
(25:08):
neglected.
For seven months, my braininjury.
Mm-hmm.
So finally when I got liketreatment, my myofascia was so
tangled up, like if you got nearme, I jumped, like everything
was hurting.
Like I saw colors, like I felteverything.
So I couldn't do physicaltherapy until like a whole year
later.
And then my STA flows like allthe way up and everything, so I
(25:29):
know exactly, yeah.
The feeling with the gettingfrozen shoulder and that's a,
mm-hmm.
Tom (25:34):
That's a mess to work outta.
And those, those are hardbecause it, it does go back and
forth between the nervous systemand the muscular system.
And, um, we've gotta kind ofaddress both and they are, uh,
interconnected so tightly.
Those are, those are tough.
And that's where the, that'swhere the knowledge of the
length tension relationships ofthe muscles and, and, right.
(25:55):
'cause you don't, you can't justgo out and stretch everything.
Yeah.
That's what people think.
Oh, just stretch everything orjust work everything.
I'm like, well, you've gottaknow.
What is overly short and tightthat might need to be released
and relaxed and what is long andloose that might need to be
strengthened, right?
It's, it's seldom that you, yougot neck pain, for example, that
you should be stretching thejunk out of both sides of your
(26:17):
neck, right?
Because it's one thing to betight, it's a much worse thing
to be tight.
Uh, asymmetrically.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Right.
If, if I want to have anteriorpelvic tilt, I want it on both
sides.
I want an even shoulder tilt, etcetera.
You know, we got one side doingone thing, the other side doing
another thing that creates moregait issues and, and more
complications.
Mm-hmm.
(26:37):
So, and in fact, we had a clientone time go somewhere and, and
just get, um, stretched, extremestretched, and she came out much
worse and in a lot of pain fromthat experience because.
It was just too broad of astroke.
They didn't think througheverything that was going on,
although, although intentionswere correct that the
(26:59):
application was wrong.
Carrie (27:02):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Um, so I know we had, um, oneother question about, um, so I
think you probably reallyalready answered it.
You do all these things, but.
Do you do anything drasticallydifferently, I guess would be
the easiest way to put it withsomeone with diabetes.
'cause I know several braininjury people didn't have
(27:24):
diabetes before.
Whatever caused that.
And since then, they've sincebeen diagnosed with diabetes.
So
Tom (27:32):
yeah, the diabetes, it's, it's, it's simple and it's
difficult.
The approach is not vastlydifferent.
The, the thing about diabetesis, um.
I was getting a littlebackground in my tape, uh, as
quickly as I can is your body'sgot about two gas tanks of
glycogen.
You've got your liver and you'vegot your muscles, and once the
liver and the muscles are full,there's not much else to do with
(27:54):
that glucose, right?
Um, if you're not able to moveand challenge your body and your
muscles enough, then that extrafuel has nowhere to go.
So it piles up in the blood andthen it's on the kidneys to get
it out of the body, or you'rejust causing a lot of
inflammation issues, includingblood vessels of the brain.
The brain can literally atrophyfrom, um, excessive and chronic
(28:17):
high blood sugar.
Right?
I think they're, they're callinga lot of these cognitive
conditions now.
Type three diabetes.
Oh, in Europe and other places,they're literally naming it Type
three diabetes.
So yes, brain health.
And, um, and blood sugar arevery related.
And, and I think as youmentioned, they're, they're
causing issues in bothdirections, I believe.
(28:38):
Um, so with type two diabetes,your goal is to get you, you're
trying to use the fuel that's inyour body.
You want to daily empty thosegas tanks, not completely right.
Um, but you've got to createspace in them every single day.
And the stronger your musclesare and the harder you work your
muscles, the more that bloodsugar drops.
(28:59):
And then it comes from yourliver and refuels the muscles,
and then you've got room forthose carbohydrates that you're
taking in through the nutritionto go into store rather than
build up in the blood and becomeeven toxic, um, to the brain or
kidneys.
So strength training is so vitalin that, um, because it uses
carbs as a fuel source.
(29:19):
And, um, the great thing aboutstrength training is it's not
just, I, I kind of put it likethis, like in business.
You can trade time for money,clock in, clock out, get paid
hourly, or um, maybe you cantake some of those funds
eventually and start a businessor buy some real estate or buy
some stocks such that you cantry to get that money working
(29:39):
even while you sleep withoutyour time involvement.
That's kind of how strengthtraining is.
As you get stronger, as you getmore neuromuscularly
coordinated, your body will usethat fuel and use more of that
fuel, right?
Mm-hmm.
You actually want worse gasmileage is what we're going for.
Um, you don't want a Prius whenyou're trying to control blood
(29:59):
sugar and diabetes.
Um, you want the Ferrari, youwant to get nine miles to the
gallon.
Mm-hmm.
Not 40, right?
Right.
Because a lot of us are stillputting in fuel.
As if we're driving a Ferrari atnine miles a gallon, but we've
got so little muscle, we'regetting 40 miles to the gallon.
Mm-hmm.
And then just like if you wereto fill up three times a day at
(30:21):
a gas station, you're just gonnaoverflow and cause a mess on the
body of your car.
The same thing is happening tous.
So that's the great thing aboutstrength training and especially
large muscle groups that have ahigh affinity for insulin, um,
like the legs and the largercore muscles of the body.
You make those stronger, theninsulin becomes more efficient.
(30:41):
You take more blood sugar intothose and you keep the, uh,
blood sugar at those healthylevels and you reduce the
inflammatory damage, um, thatthen affects the brain and vice
versa.
So the strength training is veryimportant and it's hard for a
lot of folks who've had a braininjury to just go to a gym
mm-hmm.
(31:02):
And do strength training.
But we actually bring a widevariety of equipment with us.
So some people might have a homegym, but they don't need to have
one at all.
We bring all the equipment withus and we can work with those
clients.
You know, we, we've had clientswho don't have any control over
their fingers or their, yeah.
And so we do manual resistance.
(31:22):
Sometimes we do whatever we haveto do to get the response in the
client's body.
Um, and I think that's a, uh,people sometimes swing the
pendulum back and forth between,well, if I can't sprint around
the block and lift barbells,then I can't Resistance strain.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Or if I can't go to jog, then Ican't do aerobics.
No aerobics is anything thatgets you breathing, whatever
(31:44):
that is.
You sit in a chair and punch amannequin in the face a hundred
times, you know, real quickly,you know that that might be
aerobic for you.
It's very individual.
It's whatever gets your heartrate up, it gets you breathing.
And then with resistancetraining, it's the same thing.
You know, a lot of times wemight just provide manual
resistance while someone does achest press or, um, so forth
(32:06):
with their forearms, you know,and we can also tie, you know,
sand weights and, um, we usegait belts.
Um, we might get in the pool forcertain movements with certain
clients.
Um, there's all sorts of ways touse the equipment.
And, um, it, it's funny, a longtime ago we had a trainer who
had a, a, a master's degree andhad all the education in the
(32:26):
world.
Went over to a client who was ina wheelchair who had no use of
her, uh, feet, basicallyanything from the knees down
and, um, from the forearms downand came back and was like, I
got nothing.
There's nothing I can do withit.
She just couldn't see how shewould help this person.
(32:48):
I was like, really?
Mm-hmm.
You know, I was like, and, and Ithink it was just, I think that
she would do differently today,having more experience when she
was younger and newer to thefield.
Sent another guy out there, Ididn't have near the formal
academic education, came backwith a completely different
report.
Yeah, I think we can do this,this, this, this, this, and
this.
And really help her a lot.
(33:10):
You know?
And I'm like, yes, yes.
And she was a client for thenext 10 years, steady, um, where
the first person I sent outthere just couldn't see it.
And that's when I realized we'vegotta take the people.
They might have these degrees,they might have these
certifications, but we have tohelp them.
How do you apply this knowledge?
To anyone and everyone, whereverthat client finds themselves.
(33:33):
'cause it was the same science,just give'em a little bit
different look and can throwsome folks for a loop.
And so that's what we've triedto prepare our team for.
Um, you know, and honestly whenwe got the tethered spinal cord
client, you know, that soundedreally scary to me as a business
owner.
I'm sitting back here someliability thoughts as well, you
know, um, but when you, when youtreat people right, and you have
(33:56):
the right intentions and you'rejust trying to help.
Um, it's amazing, knock on woodhow everything works out and,
and your goals are on the samepage.
You're not against your clients,you're for your clients.
You're in their corner.
You're just trying to help them.
And we all, we might have someknowledge limitations, just like
they might have some physicallimitations, but we're gonna
make improvements in spite ofit.
Brittany (34:17):
All right?
Yeah.
So thank you Tom, so much forjoining us today, and thank you
for all those who are listeningtoday.
Tom (34:24):
I appreciate y'all having me.
Carrie (34:25):
Yeah, it was very informative.
I would love it.
Thanks.
I got some more questions foryou afterwards.
Sure thing.
Um, again, if you would like tocontact us, you can email us at
the bindwaves@thebind.org Youcan follow us on Instagram at
@bindwaves and you can visit ourwebsite at thebind.org/bindwaves
(34:47):
So yeah, like I said, follow us.
Brittany (34:50):
And don't forget to like, share and subscribe on all
the platforms that you listento.
And don't forget to hit thenotify button on YouTube while
you're listening to bindwaves.
Carrie (35:00):
And, um, just remember you can find us on all your
favorite platforms.
So until next time.
Brittany (35:04):
Until next time,
Chosts (35:06):
We hope you've enjoyed listening to bindwaves and
continue to support BIND in ournonprofit mission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace, and we couldn't
do that without great listenerslike you.
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own
and do not necessarily representthe views of the hosts bindwaves
or the Brain Injury Network.
This podcast is forinformational purposes only, and
it's not a substitute forprofessional medical advice, the
diagnosis or treatment.
Always seek the advice of ahealthcare provider with any
(00:31):
questions you may have regardinga medical condition.
Thank you.
Carrie (00:38):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor, and a member of BIND.
Brittany (00:41):
Hi, I'm Brittany and I'm a TBI survivor and a member
of BIND.
Our guest today is ThomasJensen, founder and president of
Elect Wellness.
Tom has a Bachelor in Science inExercise Science and is a
certified through the NationalStrength and Conditioning
Association and the NationalAcademy of Sports Medicine.
(01:03):
He is exercise physiologist.
Nutritionist, um, he has beentraining and consulting clients
of all ages for over 20 years.
So, Tom, what is elect wellness?
Tom (01:19):
Uh, great question.
We are a home delivered service,um, that basically helps people
improve the quality of life.
And the way we do that isthrough a mixture of nutrition,
coaching, personal training, andlifestyle counseling.
Um, so we make it veryconvenient for our clients by
coming right to their homes, andthen we take a very
(01:39):
comprehensive approach.
Um, by hitting on all thedifferent aspects that we
believe improved the health of aperson.
Carrie (01:46):
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
And well, and so that brings meto my next question, which may,
you may have written it exactlyright.
Um, when I'm looking at yourwebsite, do y'all also have a
physical location people can goto or is it just all home based?
Tom (01:57):
All of the services home delivered.
Okay.
We do have a physical locationwhere we meet as a team.
And, uh, we learn and we developand, and now that we're actually
selling franchises as well,we'll bring in those franchisees
to teach and train them.
But as far as the service, it iscompletely home delivered.
Okay.
Obviously the physical stuff isphysical and then some of the
nutrition and life stylecounseling happens over the
(02:20):
phone and video chats and text.
Carrie (02:22):
So there's no gym to go to?
Tom (02:23):
There's no gym to go to.
Carrie (02:24):
Okay.
so that, there's is that Yeah.
Brittany (02:27):
So with the, um, service, so how does the pricing
work?
Tom (02:32):
Sure.
The, it's, it's very, um,customizable, I should say.
Um, in fact, whenever someoneasks about pricing, we, we
literally direct them to a pageon our website, which looks a
lot like a, like a car builderalmost, where you choose your
options, what you want, what youdon't want, um, because everyone
wants something different.
Some people might want fourpersonal training visits Um, a
(02:55):
week.
Other people might want thenutrition aspect, or they want
just the nutrition and not thetraining, or they want a certain
level of nutrition,accountability and intensity,
um, with a different level oftraining or vice versa.
So from a range, you're lookingat anywhere from$250 a month to
as much as$2,500 a month.
(03:17):
Um, for example, if two peopleas a couple were doing.
Everything.
Um, so there's usually a sweetspot that someone can find that
works for their budget and for,um, their needs.
And a lot of folks will just doas much of, as much as they can.
Um, because oftentimes the moreaccountability, the more help
you get, especially in thebeginning of someone's journey,
(03:39):
um, the better off they are.
And then they might taper itdown as they are able to do more
on their own.
So it's, it's quite a range, butit is, um, we don't pretend to
be cheap or easy or foreveryone.
Carrie (03:52):
That's, that's fair.
And it sounds like, like we tella lot of people, you know, one
brain injury is not like theother brain injury.
So again, you're cateringAbsolutely.
Per person.
So everything's not everyonewants something different and
needs something different, soAbsolutely.
And that brings me to anotherquestion.
So I know we learned about youfrom another member who has a
brain injury.
So do y'all have experienceworking with brain injury
(04:13):
survivors already?
Absolutely.
Are we new to you?
Tom (04:16):
Um, no.
We've had a, a long list, um, asa percentage of our clientele, I
would say.
And, and I don't want to groupeverything into brain injury,
but we've had, um, people whohave been thrown from their
vehicle and, and had traumaticbrain injury.
We've had people who've had, um,spinal cords, nick during
surgery.
Uh, we had a gentleman who wentmultiple minutes without oxygen.
(04:39):
Um, we've had, uh, a tetheredspinal cord.
Um, post, uh, stroke rehab.
Um, and then in addition tothat, although it's not quite
the same, some of the beneficialtherapies are similar.
We've worked with people withcerebral palsy, multiple
sclerosis, and um, you know,various nervous system, uh,
(04:59):
disorders and challenges.
That might not have been aspecific injury or depending on
who you ask mm-hmm.
Might not be able to be peggedto a specific Sure.
Uh, time of injury.
Um, but a lot of the sametherapies will benefit those as
well.
So we have, we weren't lookingfor that experience in the
beginning.
I remember the first, um, ladywe had who had a son with
(05:20):
cerebral palsy, and I've neverworked with anything of the
sort, and, and I was a littlenervous going in.
And she was amazing.
She just, she just said, look,this is how it is.
This is what he wants.
These are his goals.
We don't feel like he should beheld back from pursuing his
goals, you know, just'cause hehas these challenges and I'm not
asking you to know everythingcoming in.
(05:41):
Just learn as you go and workwith him.
And that was a very eye-openingexperience for me and very good
experience for me.
Um, and, uh, he, I mean, I thinkABC news covered that at one
point.
Oh wow.
He, he went, he was first personever with cerebral palsy to go
on American Ninja Warrior.
Oh wow.
And actually compete on one ofthose courses, gained about 25
pounds of muscle improveddysfunction dramatically.
(06:05):
And then we started gettingcalls like crazy.
Um, all sorts of stuff that Ididn't even know existed at the
time.
I hadn't even, hadn't even heardof.
Um, but it was great because Iactually have a sister with a
brain tumor.
Who would later on have astroke, um, as well.
So, and then a father withParkinson's.
So a lot of this stuff, um, wasclose to home as well.
(06:26):
Some of it was closer to homethan I even knew at the time.
Um, so that's, that's how Electwellness started serving this
population, it's not the onlypopulation we serve.
Sure.
But it's become an a consistentpercentage of the clients that
we serve over the years.
And, and no doubt being a homedelivered service has something
to do with that as well.
(06:46):
Folks might just not want to goto a gym and, uh, end up finding
us and we end up finding themand, and it works well together.
So we're very blessed in thatregard.
Brittany (06:55):
That's great.
That's good.
Yeah.
So you also do nutritioncoaching.
So what is involved with thenutrition coaching?
Is it learning?
How about nutrition?
Is it learning how to cook orwhat is it other things that are
taken factor to it?
Yeah,
Tom (07:10):
great question.
It's, it's kind of all of theabove.
Um, a lot of nutrition coachinghistorically has been, I always
joke like two people sittingacross from a table, you know,
from each other at a table,maybe once a month.
And basically lying to eachother.
And, um, it just, you can'tchange your life with nutrition
(07:32):
in that, uh, the way people havetraditionally done it.
Right.
Um, nutrition is very difficultto implement.
So what we do is we have alicensed and registered
dietician that works with, uh,all of our clients or as many
clients who, who will and wantto.
Um, we have our clients recordtheir diet every single day, and
(07:55):
that comes to our dietician andshe actually reviews their food
every single day.
Uh, on, on Monday she reviews itfor the weekend, but five days a
week she's looking at preciselywhat they ate and then giving
them advice, giving themsubstitutions, giving them
improvements, encouraging them,congratulating them on the
positive habit changes thatthey've made.
(08:17):
And then once a week they gettogether on the phone or usually
video chat for 15 minutes.
Um, so they can keep a goodrelationship too.
'cause sometimes emailing backand forth back your food just
feels like you're gettingcriticized.
So they have those weeklyconversations, how to overcome
challenges and really rebuildhabit loops.
Right?
Um, and then once a monththere's an assessment process.
(08:40):
Perhaps they're doing it with adietician alone.
Or with the trainer, they'llhave the biometric assessment so
we can get that real biometricdata.
How has body compositionchanged?
How has that changed?
And then, um, that so many timesgoes back to the diet.
It's not just the training, notat all.
Right?
Um, and then she can review thatand update their approach, um,
(09:01):
based on what she seeshappening.
You know, sometimes someone'snot following the plan.
Sometimes you might find youhave the wrong plan.
Depending on what has happened,and then you adjust.
But the, the client is learningand being educated through all
of that, but we never thoughtthat was enough.
We wanted to hold'em accountableto actually doing it so they
could experience the benefits.
And that's, that's where therubber meets the road.
(09:22):
And that is the hard part, andthat's what most services are
unwilling to do because of thetime involvement.
But we think it's worth it.
Carrie (09:30):
That's great.
And again, speaking again moredirectly about our population
and I'm sure there's otherpeople that are just, that
aren't brain injured that havethis issue as well.
Um, how do y'all kind of workwith the nutritionist work on
limited budget or fixed income?
Because we can talk about thehealthy eating and the good
brain food that we need to eat,but it might exceed our budget,
(09:53):
you know, so
Tom (09:54):
yeah.
Great.
Great question.
Um.
Uh, I, I, I'll say this aboutthat, um, I have met, uh, some
very overweight people who gotthere on completely organic
diets and, um, it's not there,there's definitely a
relationship between expense andthe quality of food, but it,
(10:15):
there doesn't always have to beokay, and it's not as one-to-one
as some people think.
Uh, we went to Puerto Rico awhile ago and you know,
everyone's just selling thefruit and things just right off
their farm in their backyard.
It is the most amazing fruitI've ever tasted.
In my life anywhere.
Um, and it was cheap'cause itwas just right there and it's,
and it's what they had.
But it is a balance.
Um, in fact, if, if I couldn'tpick the stuff and the quantity
(10:38):
of the stuff, and you gave me ahundred percent organic on this
side, and then I could pick thestuff and the quantity of stuff
and none of it was organic, forexample, on this side, if the
one that I had more control overthat group, I could get the
person.
Better results with.
So you can buy Walmart chickenbreast, you can buy non-organic
(10:59):
fruits and vegetables, and thecombination in how you put those
things together can still giveyou dramatic improvements in
results.
Now, is it better to havesomething that's completely non
GMO and organic?
Um, sure in an apples to applesworld, but we have never found
it to be a real apples to appleworld.
Sure.
I used to work at GeneralNutrition Center and have people
(11:19):
come in and tell me how theyavoid.
Um, bananas because they havetoo much sugar, you know, but
they're 400 pounds and theyforgot five minutes ago they
told me about the pizza and beerthey were having last Thursday,
but it's like they've chosenthat little thing.
You know, I can avoid bananas,so I'm gonna be proud about it.
I'm gonna talk about it.
But the banana's not theproblem.
(11:40):
So, um, once, once peopleactually write down what they're
eating and you take a look at itand we show it back to'em.
We've even done photo journals.
Um, so I took, had this girltake photos of her food for
three months and I showed it toher basically on a huge mosaic
on the iPad.
And she's like.
Wow, I see exactly what I needto do.
(12:03):
And it's not, um, it's usuallynot anywhere near as expensive
as you think it is.
It's just some changes.
Um, but that's a great questionbecause I think that's in a lot
of people's minds that if I'mneed to eat healthy, it'll cost
so much more.
And that's not necessarily thecase.
It can be, but it doesn't at allhave to be.
Carrie (12:19):
That's good to know.
And yeah, I hate to say a mosiacwhat I eat because I, I know I'm
not a healthy eater likevegetables green.
Mm.
Tom (12:27):
Sometimes we just go out so much.
And remember during COVID,everyone surprisingly had all
this extra money.
Of course they were printing alot of it too, but, and this
extra, extra money on hand.
And part of that was like, Imean, not going out and
dropping.
$50 on a brunch, on accident.
Right.
You know, so that'll buy a lotof good groceries.
Yeah,
Brittany (12:43):
definitely.
So I know you said that you workat a different nutrition
facility, but with your, um,nutrition coaching, how does it,
um, varies from other people,other facilities and wellness
centers?
Tom (12:58):
I think it's that, that accountability is the primary
piece that daily accountability,day in and day out.
Reviewing what you did, taking areal look at it.
And then getting very personalwith how they're gonna approach
it and, and how to make those,um, changes where other people
are.
Sometimes they're justdelivering microwaveable meals
(13:19):
in a, in a plastic bag, which,uh, as a brain injury group, you
probably know how bad it is toheat up plastics, you know?
And so they're either justgiving you this microwavable
stuff, or, or they're havingthose consults where there's no
real follow through on, on ifyou're actually doing it.
So I think it's that.
That hyper personal and verydaily and consistent
(13:40):
accountability, um, to changeand then being in someone's
home.
Although the nutritionist Alisn't always in the home, if
they're doing the training, forexample, if you're, if you're
seeing'em two or three times aweek, you get a very good idea
of their lifestyle.
You can see how they'reinteracting with their spouse,
how they're interacting withtheir kids.
Many times you'll see the openpantry, you'll see the open
(14:00):
fridge.
You might see food beingdelivered, or like you, you,
it's really hard to hide.
Hm.
Um, which can be uncomfortablefor people sometimes because
it's, it's, you gotta open upand be transparent with your
nutrition coach, but that'sreally where all the power
happens.
Um, I won't name any names, soI'll just share this, but we've
had a handful of clients that weworked with for like five or six
years, and then on year seven,um, you know, we start seeing
(14:25):
things in, in food journals thatwe had never seen for the
previous seven years.
And we know they didn't juststart eating this right.
But they might have finallyfound com, uh, found themselves
comfortable enough to reallyopen up and like, okay, now I'm
gonna show you the other 20%I've been hiding.
Mm-hmm.
And that's where the real powercomes in.
And, and we've gotten, uh,better at that in working with
(14:47):
people.
Um, because I know that if, ifpeople feel judged or feel
critiqued, they'll tend to hide.
Sure.
So we will tell'em about ourstruggles and our personal
challenges as well.
And just.
Try to show them that this isnot about judging or, or
anything moral here.
This is about laying all yourcards on the table so we can
help you play the game better.
(15:08):
Um, and I think that's, that'sreally what sets us apart.
Carrie (15:12):
Now, this isn't a question we had, but just I'm,
now, I'm thinking anytime about,you know, going in their home
and seeing things.
So how does the.
What's the word I wanna use?
Um, the person going in, doingthe physical therapy, doing the
workouts, and the nutritionist,I'm sure there's discussions
there.
It can't be just, you know,one-on-one, the nutritionist and
(15:33):
one-on-one, the therapist.
There's gotta be like a,everybody kind of talks to each
other, so they, you're gettingthe full picture kinda thing.
Ab absolutely.
Tom (15:40):
We have a, a smaller and very tight team.
Those meetings, every week,discussions happen there.
Our team is constantly callingeach other, texting each other,
updating, each other on wheresomeone is at and what they're
going through.
So you're absolutely right.
It's a, everyone needs to be onboard and on the same page, um,
delivering a consistent messageand aware of what's going on.
(16:01):
Um, and, you know, and they'llinform us as well sometimes with
schedule changes and this andthat, and program, um, updates.
So the, the trainers are talkingto us as the owners.
They're talking to thenutritionist.
Uh, we're all talking to eachother at the meetings.
And just trying to make surethat we're keeping that client
hitting on all, on all cylindersand that we're all aware of the
(16:24):
challenges that are, um, thatare facing them.
Carrie (16:26):
So, hide your candy wrappers.
Tom (16:30):
Yeah.
I used, when I did the, uh,nutrition coaching myself years
ago, I used to bring a, a bigblack trash bag.
Um, and then they're, you know,one of their most motivated
moments, right?
As they're coming on board, wewould just bag everything up.
It's funny'cause I would takestuff over to McKinney Food
Kitchen and, and uh, like, oh,you want to donate this?
And I'm like, no, they don'tneed to be eating that either.
(16:50):
We're gonna throw that one away.
These will donate.
These are good enough, healthyenough to give to children that
I don't even want to give to'em.
You know, if it's, if it's like,uh, some of the sugar, fake
color candies or whatever,right.
But you know, the canned foodsand stuff that you're gonna step
up from, you know, maybe we'lldonate this and we would just,
we would just clear the houseoutright.
(17:10):
Uh, right then and there.
Um, and those, those are someamazing stories of change when
people, and it doesn't happen.
Everyone comes with a differentlevel of intensity, especially
to the nutrition because food isso deeply connected to us
emotionally.
Mm-hmm.
Um, some people are ready tochange some things, but not
everything.
(17:30):
Like, let's just start with theexercise.
We'll get the nutrition piecelater.
Um, but those folks that arereally ready to go, we try not
to slow them down.
Um, but a lot of people, and I,and I actually really enjoy
working with these people'causeI think they're more practical
and realistic.
It's let's change one habit at atime.
Let's focus on getting morewater, and we might spend a few
(17:51):
weeks with that being a purefocus.
Now let's focus on getting moreprotein.
Let's focus on the fruits, focuson the vegetables, and focusing
on those positive additions.
Mm-hmm Is much better thanfocusing on negative
subtractions.
'cause you add enough positivethings into your life lot, lot
of times the negative will getshoved out.
But if you're just trying to notdo certain temptations, then
(18:13):
you're just gritting your teethand barring it, you know?
Um, so we like to add all thepositives first, and that makes
it a lot easier to let go of thenegatives and your, your body
starts working better, yourbrain starts working better,
your circulation, your muscles.
And that improves yourself-control and your ability to
take that, that next step ifyou're, if you're unhealthy.
(18:34):
Um, the self-control, theself-discipline, the motivation,
the energy to change is veryhard to come up with.
So that's why I'm so impressedwith what, what you guys do, you
know, after something like abrain injury.
Um, everyone I've met, I don'tknow if it's just because
they're, they're looking to gethealthy or maybe that's why I've
interacted with'em, but they'resome of the most motivated.
(18:55):
Um, people and ready and wantingto change and it inspires so
many of our other clients somany times, so I appreciate
that.
Carrie (19:03):
Oh, that's great to hear.
I'm gonna take a quick littlebreak and just remind our
listeners to go ahead and clickthat like button, click that
share button, go ahead and clicksubscribe and notify so you get
the next episode as well.
Just keep clicking all thosegood ole buttons.
And so, no, and I wanna saythank you again for saying how
motivated and positive we are.
We try every day, andunfortunately, I'm not gonna say
(19:25):
all brain injury survivors, buta lot of us probably may have
had our injury, depending onwhat it was.
You know, not eating so healthy,you know, caused our high blood
pressure, CLO caused ourcholesterol, which kind of
contributed to our stroke.
I mean, I know mine with highblood pressure.
I used to salt before I tasted.
I no longer salt before I tasteanymore.
(19:47):
You know?
So, I mean, we learned the hardway that maybe we should pay a
little better attention to whatwe're doing.
Tom (19:53):
Yeah.
And it's not, it's.
And it's not even fair to saythat that's the sole reason,
right?
No.
Yeah.
No.
There's plenty of people outthere that I said, yeah, no, I
said contribute.
But it does contribute.
But I think even yourwillingness just to say that
just proves that the place thatyou're in and ready for positive
change and improvement, becausethat's what we try to get our
clients to do, is look, youcan't change the stuff that's
(20:15):
outside of your control, but ifyou blame everyone else and
everything else for everything,then you're left completely
powerless.
Carrie (20:23):
Right to do
Tom (20:24):
anything about it.
So, um, now there, and we've,we've got folks that wish they
had done this and that and theother thing, you know, sooner.
And, um, you know, there's allsorts of reasons.
This stuff happens though too.
And that's, you know, on my sideof the table.
Mm-hmm.
People need to understand.
Don't look at someone and think,oh, that this happened to them
(20:46):
because of this or that, or youhave no idea.
You know, we've met so manypeople with so many different
experiences and so manydifferent reasons and causes and
anesthesiologists, you know,falling asleep on the jobs
themselves and leavingsomebody's life changed forever.
Carrie (21:01):
Oh, wow.
Tom (21:01):
Um.
You know, and yet that personthat we worked with that I'm
thinking of was still so happyand so positive and showed up
to, to work and work hard everysingle day, you know, which is
just really an inspiration, um,to see,'cause it, it felt like
they were so wronged and it wasso unfair.
And yet they're the ones outthere inspiring everybody else.
(21:21):
Where people who are, you know,I don't believe that anyone is
normal.
I don't believe in normal, Ithink fair.
I think we're all broken in oneway or another.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but, um.
To see other people waste, um,waste what they've been blessed
with, ability wise and not dosomething with it.
Where, for example, folks likeyourselves who have been through
(21:43):
hell and back, so to speak, outhere, you know, changing the
world and inspiring people.
That's incredible.
So
Carrie (21:50):
thank you for.
Um, I noticed on your websitetoo, I'm gonna change subject a
little bit.
Um, it talks about a 27 pointassessment.
Can you give us a little bitabout information about what
that is or what that entails?
Tom (22:04):
Sure.
We, um, every single month.
We will take a wide variety ofthings.
So we'll take body fatcomposition.
Um, we'll look at body fat, leanbody mass, fat mass, muscle
mass, uh, muscle.
I might not'em all here, butmuscle.
That's mass percentage.
That's, um, we'll look atflexibility.
Um, we will look at variousmeasurements, shoulder
(22:26):
measurements, waistmeasurements, hip measurements,
leg measurements, armmeasurements.
Um, we actually will take front,back and side photos.
We will also run those photosthrough a posture analysis.
So we'll look for things likeforward head carriage or
anterior anterior, uh, tiltedscapulas, um, lateral pelvic
(22:47):
tilt, valgus knees archcollapsed pronated feet.
Um, as, as y'all have probablyseen these.
Are very present in folks thathad a brain injury.
Mm-hmm.
Right?
And, and I always think aboutit, like you've got, you've got
software issues and you've gothardware issues, right?
Brittany (23:04):
Yes, definitely.
Tom (23:05):
And sometimes the software issues are causing the hardware
issues, but sometimes thehardware issues are causing the
software issues.
And sometimes the softwareissues have caused hardware
issues that have then gone backand caused additional software
issues that cause additionalhardware issues.
And um, so our approach is towork on everything that we see
and everything that we can.
Um, work on.
(23:25):
'cause if someone's got forwardhead carriage or something going
on in the neck or shoulders andthey've already got some, some
nervous system challenges, willthat potential impingement of
the nerve or the spine.
Um, sometimes it's a contactthat provides more stimulation
and then further tightens themuscle.
Sometimes it's a contact or animpingement that reduces nerve
transmission and then reducesthat muscle and then you got
(23:46):
another muscle in the body thattries to compensate.
It jumps out and tightens up.
So it's just.
Yeah, everything is sointerconnected.
Yeah.
And, um, you know, you've gotthis myofascial sling across
your back.
You can have a, a right hip outthat throws your left neck off
or left side of your neck.
And, um, those are, those aretough and leave people that
(24:07):
could otherwise maybe have a daydoing certain things.
Now, it's not that they lost aday, but that, that day became a
lot harder and there's somestuff they couldn't do there.
And then every time.
The client can't do somethingthat tends to, what tends to
reduce movement.
Mm-hmm.
And be, and become moresedentary.
And then that's lesscirculation.
That's less blood.
That's less, less.
(24:28):
Oxygen.
Blood and oxygen are some of theroot, you know, the lack there
are over some of the root causesof any brain injuries.
So anything we can do to keepclients moving, keep clients
feeling good, keep clientsexperiencing less pain, um, is
gonna improve.
Circulation and oxygen and makethe brain nervous system
function better,
Brittany (24:46):
which that actually hit close to home to me.
That's why I was like, oh,excited.
Well, not excited.
I, I have f and d, which I gotdiagnosed with functional neuro
symptoms disorder, which thedoctor describe it like in
computer.
So basically your hard wearworks, you can turn on computer,
but if you're trying to opensomething and install something,
the software goes haywire, whichwith me, my first year, mine was
(25:08):
neglected.
For seven months, my braininjury.
Mm-hmm.
So finally when I got liketreatment, my myofascia was so
tangled up, like if you got nearme, I jumped, like everything
was hurting.
Like I saw colors, like I felteverything.
So I couldn't do physicaltherapy until like a whole year
later.
And then my STA flows like allthe way up and everything, so I
(25:29):
know exactly, yeah.
The feeling with the gettingfrozen shoulder and that's a,
mm-hmm.
Tom (25:34):
That's a mess to work outta.
And those, those are hardbecause it, it does go back and
forth between the nervous systemand the muscular system.
And, um, we've gotta kind ofaddress both and they are, uh,
interconnected so tightly.
Those are, those are tough.
And that's where the, that'swhere the knowledge of the
length tension relationships ofthe muscles and, and, right.
(25:55):
'cause you don't, you can't justgo out and stretch everything.
Yeah.
That's what people think.
Oh, just stretch everything orjust work everything.
I'm like, well, you've gottaknow.
What is overly short and tightthat might need to be released
and relaxed and what is long andloose that might need to be
strengthened, right?
It's, it's seldom that you, yougot neck pain, for example, that
you should be stretching thejunk out of both sides of your
(26:17):
neck, right?
Because it's one thing to betight, it's a much worse thing
to be tight.
Uh, asymmetrically.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Right.
If, if I want to have anteriorpelvic tilt, I want it on both
sides.
I want an even shoulder tilt, etcetera.
You know, we got one side doingone thing, the other side doing
another thing that creates moregait issues and, and more
complications.
Mm-hmm.
(26:37):
So, and in fact, we had a clientone time go somewhere and, and
just get, um, stretched, extremestretched, and she came out much
worse and in a lot of pain fromthat experience because.
It was just too broad of astroke.
They didn't think througheverything that was going on,
although, although intentionswere correct that the
(26:59):
application was wrong.
Carrie (27:02):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Um, so I know we had, um, oneother question about, um, so I
think you probably reallyalready answered it.
You do all these things, but.
Do you do anything drasticallydifferently, I guess would be
the easiest way to put it withsomeone with diabetes.
'cause I know several braininjury people didn't have
(27:24):
diabetes before.
Whatever caused that.
And since then, they've sincebeen diagnosed with diabetes.
So
Tom (27:32):
yeah, the diabetes, it's, it's, it's simple and it's
difficult.
The approach is not vastlydifferent.
The, the thing about diabetesis, um.
I was getting a littlebackground in my tape, uh, as
quickly as I can is your body'sgot about two gas tanks of
glycogen.
You've got your liver and you'vegot your muscles, and once the
liver and the muscles are full,there's not much else to do with
(27:54):
that glucose, right?
Um, if you're not able to moveand challenge your body and your
muscles enough, then that extrafuel has nowhere to go.
So it piles up in the blood andthen it's on the kidneys to get
it out of the body, or you'rejust causing a lot of
inflammation issues, includingblood vessels of the brain.
The brain can literally atrophyfrom, um, excessive and chronic
(28:17):
high blood sugar.
Right?
I think they're, they're callinga lot of these cognitive
conditions now.
Type three diabetes.
Oh, in Europe and other places,they're literally naming it Type
three diabetes.
So yes, brain health.
And, um, and blood sugar arevery related.
And, and I think as youmentioned, they're, they're
causing issues in bothdirections, I believe.
(28:38):
Um, so with type two diabetes,your goal is to get you, you're
trying to use the fuel that's inyour body.
You want to daily empty thosegas tanks, not completely right.
Um, but you've got to createspace in them every single day.
And the stronger your musclesare and the harder you work your
muscles, the more that bloodsugar drops.
(28:59):
And then it comes from yourliver and refuels the muscles,
and then you've got room forthose carbohydrates that you're
taking in through the nutritionto go into store rather than
build up in the blood and becomeeven toxic, um, to the brain or
kidneys.
So strength training is so vitalin that, um, because it uses
carbs as a fuel source.
(29:19):
And, um, the great thing aboutstrength training is it's not
just, I, I kind of put it likethis, like in business.
You can trade time for money,clock in, clock out, get paid
hourly, or um, maybe you cantake some of those funds
eventually and start a businessor buy some real estate or buy
some stocks such that you cantry to get that money working
(29:39):
even while you sleep withoutyour time involvement.
That's kind of how strengthtraining is.
As you get stronger, as you getmore neuromuscularly
coordinated, your body will usethat fuel and use more of that
fuel, right?
Mm-hmm.
You actually want worse gasmileage is what we're going for.
Um, you don't want a Prius whenyou're trying to control blood
(29:59):
sugar and diabetes.
Um, you want the Ferrari, youwant to get nine miles to the
gallon.
Mm-hmm.
Not 40, right?
Right.
Because a lot of us are stillputting in fuel.
As if we're driving a Ferrari atnine miles a gallon, but we've
got so little muscle, we'regetting 40 miles to the gallon.
Mm-hmm.
And then just like if you wereto fill up three times a day at
(30:21):
a gas station, you're just gonnaoverflow and cause a mess on the
body of your car.
The same thing is happening tous.
So that's the great thing aboutstrength training and especially
large muscle groups that have ahigh affinity for insulin, um,
like the legs and the largercore muscles of the body.
You make those stronger, theninsulin becomes more efficient.
(30:41):
You take more blood sugar intothose and you keep the, uh,
blood sugar at those healthylevels and you reduce the
inflammatory damage, um, thatthen affects the brain and vice
versa.
So the strength training is veryimportant and it's hard for a
lot of folks who've had a braininjury to just go to a gym
mm-hmm.
(31:02):
And do strength training.
But we actually bring a widevariety of equipment with us.
So some people might have a homegym, but they don't need to have
one at all.
We bring all the equipment withus and we can work with those
clients.
You know, we, we've had clientswho don't have any control over
their fingers or their, yeah.
And so we do manual resistance.
(31:22):
Sometimes we do whatever we haveto do to get the response in the
client's body.
Um, and I think that's a, uh,people sometimes swing the
pendulum back and forth between,well, if I can't sprint around
the block and lift barbells,then I can't Resistance strain.
Mm-hmm.
You know?
Or if I can't go to jog, then Ican't do aerobics.
No aerobics is anything thatgets you breathing, whatever
(31:44):
that is.
You sit in a chair and punch amannequin in the face a hundred
times, you know, real quickly,you know that that might be
aerobic for you.
It's very individual.
It's whatever gets your heartrate up, it gets you breathing.
And then with resistancetraining, it's the same thing.
You know, a lot of times wemight just provide manual
resistance while someone does achest press or, um, so forth
(32:06):
with their forearms, you know,and we can also tie, you know,
sand weights and, um, we usegait belts.
Um, we might get in the pool forcertain movements with certain
clients.
Um, there's all sorts of ways touse the equipment.
And, um, it, it's funny, a longtime ago we had a trainer who
had a, a, a master's degree andhad all the education in the
(32:26):
world.
Went over to a client who was ina wheelchair who had no use of
her, uh, feet, basicallyanything from the knees down
and, um, from the forearms downand came back and was like, I
got nothing.
There's nothing I can do withit.
She just couldn't see how shewould help this person.
(32:48):
I was like, really?
Mm-hmm.
You know, I was like, and, and Ithink it was just, I think that
she would do differently today,having more experience when she
was younger and newer to thefield.
Sent another guy out there, Ididn't have near the formal
academic education, came backwith a completely different
report.
Yeah, I think we can do this,this, this, this, this, and
this.
And really help her a lot.
(33:10):
You know?
And I'm like, yes, yes.
And she was a client for thenext 10 years, steady, um, where
the first person I sent outthere just couldn't see it.
And that's when I realized we'vegotta take the people.
They might have these degrees,they might have these
certifications, but we have tohelp them.
How do you apply this knowledge?
To anyone and everyone, whereverthat client finds themselves.
(33:33):
'cause it was the same science,just give'em a little bit
different look and can throwsome folks for a loop.
And so that's what we've triedto prepare our team for.
Um, you know, and honestly whenwe got the tethered spinal cord
client, you know, that soundedreally scary to me as a business
owner.
I'm sitting back here someliability thoughts as well, you
know, um, but when you, when youtreat people right, and you have
(33:56):
the right intentions and you'rejust trying to help.
Um, it's amazing, knock on woodhow everything works out and,
and your goals are on the samepage.
You're not against your clients,you're for your clients.
You're in their corner.
You're just trying to help them.
And we all, we might have someknowledge limitations, just like
they might have some physicallimitations, but we're gonna
make improvements in spite ofit.
Brittany (34:17):
All right?
Yeah.
So thank you Tom, so much forjoining us today, and thank you
for all those who are listeningtoday.
Tom (34:24):
I appreciate y'all having me.
Carrie (34:25):
Yeah, it was very informative.
I would love it.
Thanks.
I got some more questions foryou afterwards.
Sure thing.
Um, again, if you would like tocontact us, you can email us at
the bindwaves@thebind.org Youcan follow us on Instagram at
@bindwaves and you can visit ourwebsite at thebind.org/bindwaves
(34:47):
So yeah, like I said, follow us.
Brittany (34:50):
And don't forget to like, share and subscribe on all
the platforms that you listento.
And don't forget to hit thenotify button on YouTube while
you're listening to bindwaves.
Carrie (35:00):
And, um, just remember you can find us on all your
favorite platforms.
So until next time.
Brittany (35:04):
Until next time,
Chosts (35:06):
We hope you've enjoyed listening to bindwaves and
continue to support BIND in ournonprofit mission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace, and we couldn't
do that without great listenerslike you.
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.