Body Breaking Down in Midlife? A Performance PT Explains How to Build It Back Up with Casey Francis, DPT (Episode 270)

Hit Play Not Pause

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.9 • 769 Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2026

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you're an active woman in perimenopause or menopause and it feels like your body is suddenly falling apart — new injuries, recurring pain, workouts that just aren't working the way they used to — this episode is for you. This week we sat down with Casey Francis, DPT, a performance physical therapist who works with midlife women to understand why they’re getting hurt, and importantly, what to do about it, including movement assessment, prehab, rehab, lifestyle and nutrition practices, and much more. Plus, we have a special guest appearance from our very own resident menopause specialist Dr. Carla DiGirolamo — who not only recommended Casey for this episode but is also one of her patients.

Casey Francis, DPT is a performance physical therapist and founder of MVMT MTHD. A former Penn State swimmer and graduate of the University of Florida’s physical therapy program, Casey specializes in root-cause–driven care for active individuals and athletes. Her approach integrates movement analysis, progressive strength, and regenerative therapies to help people heal from injury, build resilient bodies, and sustain high-level performance. You can learn more about her and her work at mvmt-mthd.com

Carla DiGirolamo, MD, PhD, is a Double Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Obstetrician/Gynecologist specializing in women’s performance and menopausal medicine. She is also a Crossfit Level 1 trainer, Certified Nutrition Coach, and member of CrossFit Medical Society. She is a MedFit Care provider and provides weekly workouts and medical updates at her Substack Athletic Aging. She is an Endocrine Consultant for Wild Health and Women’s Health Director at Eternal Health. Dr. DiGirolamo is now seeing patients for virtual consultations for menopausal care and performance optimization. Visit her website drcarlad.com to learn more about her services and schedule an appointment.

Resources:

Crossover Symmetry System

Performance Physical Therapy - An investment in your Longevity, Athletic Aging blog

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to Hit Play Not Pause, a feisty menopause podcast for active performance-minded women.
0:12.3	I am your host, Celine Yeager. Each week, I bring you advice from athletes, scientists, researchers, and other experts to help you feel and perform your best no matter what your
0:22.0	hormones are doing. This show is a production of feisty media. Hello, strong feisty women. I hope
0:29.9	you all are well. So we have a real treat for you this week. We not only have one guest, performance
0:36.5	physical therapist, Dr. Casey Francis,
0:39.1	but also our resident favorite menopause specialist, Dr. Carla D. Girolamo. You see, back in
0:45.7	December, Carla wrote a blog on her athletic aging substack titled Performance Physical Therapy,
0:52.0	An Investment in Your Longivity, which, which of course I will drop in the
0:55.4	show notes so you can check that out for yourself. And it was all about how Carla was dealing with
1:00.6	some injuries that she could not shake. And she was starting down the doom spiral of, is this
1:06.4	the beginning of the end? Does this mean I can't play tennis or do CrossFit anymore? Is this forever?
1:12.4	You know, the disaster casting that we can all be so good at. Then she found performance physical
1:18.6	therapist, Dr. Casey Francis, founder of Movement Method, who specializes in root cause-driven care
1:26.1	for active individuals and athletes,
1:28.2	and her approach integrates movement analysis, progressive strength,
1:32.0	regenerative therapies to help heal from injury, build back resilience,
1:37.1	and just sustain high-level performance,
1:38.9	which as an elite-level swimmer herself, Casey totally understands.
1:43.6	Well, within two months of seeing Casey,
1:46.8	Carla's nagging forearm injury was resolved, totally gone. And when she told me that, I reached out
1:55.2	and it was like, I have to have Casey on the show to hear all about her practice and the assessments
2:00.2	and the techniques she practices.
	...

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