The traditional approach to treating airway disorders often revolves around strengthening weak muscles or stretching tight tissues. But what if there's more to the story? Physical therapist Walt Fritz challenges these simplistic models by revealing how manual therapy transforms breathing problems through complex neurological pathways rather than just mechanical changes.
Fritz’s approach is distinguished by his focus on patient-centered care and shared decision-making. Rather than positioning himself as the sole expert, he engages patients with questions about their lived experiences, such as “What does it feel like when you snore?” This validation fosters a therapeutic environment that extends beyond physical treatment, described by his colleague Leah Halou as “metatherapy.”

The podcast highlights intersections between manual therapy and myofunctional approaches, tongue tie treatments, trauma’s impact on breathing disorders, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Fritz encourages breaking down professional silos, helping therapists expand their skills while respecting their scope of practice.

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About our Guest:

Walt Fritz is a physical therapist and international educator specializing in manual therapy for voice, swallowing, oral motor, and airway disorders. Teaching since the mid-1990s, he launched Foundations in Manual Therapy: Voice and Swallowing Disorders in 2013, a course taught worldwide that reframes manual therapy as an active, patient-centered, and movement-based process. His approach emphasizes shared decision-making and multifactorial perspectives, encouraging clinicians to move beyond traditional models of care. Walt also serves as a Research Supervisor with the Voice Study Centre (UK) and maintains a clinical practice in Upstate New York.

Follow Walt Fritz on Instagram: waltfritzpt

Support the show

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Renata Nehme RDH, BSDH, COM® has been a Registered Dental Hygienist since 2010. In 2016, when she was introduced to the world of "Myofunctional Therapy" she immediately knew that was her calling, especially when she learned that it encapsulated many of her passions- breastfeeding, the import of early childhood development, and airway health.

In 2021 Renata founded Airway Circle with the intention of creating a collaborative and multidisciplinary group of like-minded health professionals who share the same passion for learning and giving in the dental health and airway space.

Myo Moves - Become a Patient: www.myo-moves.com

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