Master the Money Shot - Helping Patients in Pain
By: Maggie Bergeron PT; Nataliya Zlotnikov HBSc, MSc ∙ Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
By: Maggie Bergeron PT; Nataliya Zlotnikov HBSc, MSc ∙ Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
The money shot, what is it?
A physiotherapist walks into a bar and orders a money shot.
Nope—not that kind of shot.
In golf, the “money shot” is the one stroke you take most often—the putt. As the saying goes: “Drive for show, putt for dough.”
Now, if you’re not a golfer, don’t check out just yet. This will all make sense.
Here’s the deal:
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41.3% of all golf shots are made with the putter.
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Over half of those are from just 3–5 feet away from the hole.
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With 14 clubs in your bag, only 2 account for 60% of your shots.
Master the putt, and you could cut your score by 20–25%—the difference between winning and losing.
That’s the power of focusing on the one thing that matters most.
The Putt in Physiotherapy: Your Clinical “Money Shot”
So what’s the physiotherapy equivalent of the putt? The one skill that has the biggest impact on patient outcomes?
Therapeutic alliance.
Research increasingly supports the biopsychosocial approach for persistent pain, and at the heart of it is the relationship you build with your patients.
Pain education is now a core component of healthcare. But here’s the problem: most clinicians have a limited toolkit.
If we want to help people truly make sense of their pain, we must first learn how to teach—clearly, engagingly, and with empathy.
The biopsychosocial approach is now widely accepted as the most heuristic perspective to the understanding and treatment of chronic pain disorders.
- Gatchel et al., 2007
Ready to practice your “putting”?
Join Mike Stewart, MCSP, SRP, MSc, PG Cert, on Saturday, November 22nd and Sunday, November 23rd, 2025 from 10 AM EST (7 AM PST) - 6 PM EST (3 PM PST) each day, for A Practical Guide For Persistent Pain Therapy - Nov 2025 Live Course.
Seats are limited to 40 participants.
Early bird registration ends September 4th, 2025, and students, new grads and Embodia members get a discounted rate anytime!
Save my seat in the live course!
Why this course matters
Why do some patients grasp pain concepts instantly while others struggle?
How do you engage more people in actively managing their pain?
Research shows a mismatch between what people in pain need and what healthcare professionals are trained to deliver. Pain, education, and practice are complex, but they don’t have to be overwhelming.
This course offers:
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A patient-centred approach grounded in current evidence.
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Practical tools and strategies to make you a more effective educator.
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Innovative teaching methods to improve patient understanding and clinical outcomes.
The plan for mastery of any skill
Mike Stewart’s approach isn’t just for pain education—it’s a formula you can apply anywhere:
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Find the highest-impact variable.
Identify the one thing that makes the biggest difference—the “small hinge” that swings big doors. -
Focus on it relentlessly.
Give it your best time and attention. Resist the urge to chase every new, flashy idea until you’ve mastered the core skill. -
Expand the circle.
Once you’ve nailed the small hinge, build on it—while continuing to refine the foundation.
One last thing…
What do the Leaning Tower of Pisa and healthcare education have in common?
Mike has a brilliant answer—watch this quick 1-minute video to find out.
See you in the live course!
Join the live course with Mike Stewart
See you in the live course!
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Date written: 5 April 2023
Last update: 8 August 2025
MCSP, SRP, MSC, PG CERT
Mike is a physiotherapist, researcher and university lecturer with over twenty years of experience in helping people overcome pain.
He has an MSc in Education and Physiotherapy and is planning a PhD focusing on how people in pain make sense of their experience. His published work has received international praise from the leading names in neuroscience. Mike teaches across a variety of clinical settings including elite sports, and is an advisor on pain management to the International Olympic Committee.
Mike is a dedicated practice-based educator committed to providing evidence-based education to a wide variety of health professionals. His Know Pain workshops have provided clinicians around the world with practical pain education skills.