Musculoskeletal therapist Rob Mahon describes his treatments as "physical therapy on steroids." Photograph by Andre Rucker
The nameplate on the door in the Medical Arts Building was unassuming: “Rob Mahon.” It didn’t say “miracle worker,” “swami,” or any of the other voodoo words I’ve heard used to describe Mahon, a holistic physical therapist. His small office was unassuming, too: a simple training table in the middle of a tidy carpeted room, with a floor lamp to make it homey. The room felt more office space than witch doctor.
I was at Mahon’s office with my friend Abby, who hasn’t been able to run without pain for more than a year. During a soccer game, she felt something rip in her right hip. No doctor could pinpoint a diagnosis.
“I’m all word-of-mouth,” Mahon says, but his cell number is in impressive hands. In 15 years, he’s worked on Olympians (runner Ryan Hall), Hollywood heavyweights (director M. Night Shyamalan), business tycoons (Eagles owner Jeff Lurie, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts) and scores of others. Mahon puts his success rate at over 95 percent.
His goal is to return the body to proper balance by untangling blockages in the fibrous tissue known as fascia, which holds muscles and tendons in place. Unlike traditional physical therapists and doctors, who look only at the pain site, Mahon surveys the whole picture: “Ninety-nine percent of the time, the cause of the problem is going to be somewhere else in the body.”
An appointment typically lasts two hours, and most clients see him only once. (Mahon’s $250 treatments aren’t covered by insurance.) He sends them home with a list of stretches and strengthening exercises—but no medications, supplements or referrals for surgery.
Within minutes of working on Abby, Mahon found the problem: a faulty hip flexor that caused other muscles to overcompensate, tighten, and deliver an ache down her right side. He stretched her legs and feet, massaged her lower back, and got her hip flexor working again.
The next morning, Abby completed her first run in months—completely pain-free.
“I don’t like the word ‘miraculous,’ because it mystifies the science of what’s going on,” says Mahon. “I’m sort of out there, as far as physical therapy goes, but I see real results. And I keep people off the surgeon’s table.”
>> You can reach Rob through his website here.
I am a physical therapist assistant and regularly see patients asking Rob mohan . He has been cintributing widely to physical therapy field .
Rob Mahon is a pain shaman knee whisperer swami (although he would disapprove of that description so we’ll go ahead an refer to him as a skilled Musculoskeletal therapist). I hobbled into his office after experiencing weeks of knee pain. An hour and a half later I skipped out of his office pain-free and resumed running the next day.
How can i get in touch with Rob?? There is no address or phone #. Would appreciate some contact info.
Hi Linda! Check out Rob’s new website: http://www.robmahon.com/
His contact info is on there. Thanks!
How can i get in touch with Rob?? There is no address or p
hone #. Would appreciate some contact info.
is there a way to get his contact information?
I am interested in contacting Rob, but can not find his contact information — is he willing to share?
610-639-0296 He will call back personally so it may take a few days
I am a recipient of Rob’s services and he is the real deal. Had major hip/groin problems that started last summer and continuing into the fall with no sign of getting better. My problems were so bad i thought i may never play sports again. Then I visited Mr. Mahon. The healing started the next day and continue to see Rob in addition to performing the stretches he provided religiously. I am 100% today and just returned from skiing some of the most challenging mountains in British Columbia.
I am sure M Mahon is a very good PT. However, I take issue with how this article portrays physical therapists in general. Every PT is trained to look not only at the site of pain but also other areas that could be contributing to the pain. The term describing this phenomenon is “regional interdependence”. Any PT worth their salt knows and implements this concept with every patient they see. As for the example discussed in the article, I am not sure why no one diagnosed hip flexor issues before- it seems fairly obvious just based on the brief description given. I am not trying to discount anything Mr. Mahon does, as stated previously, I am sure he is an excellent PT. I just think it needs to be clarified that any good PT understands the concepts discussed by Mr. Mahon in this article. The big difference bewtween him and other ‘more traditional’ PT’s is payment structure. If you are running an insurance based business you can’t survive seeing one patient for and hour and a half at a time. I do applaude his business model and wish that more people could afford to spend 250 dollars per session. Unfortunately, given the structure of our healthcare system that is not possible in traditional PT settings.
Never heard of him and I don’t believe has has contributed anything to the field of physical therapy. Is he published? Has he lectured professionally? Didn’t think so.
I also take exception to the quote: “Unlike traditional physical therapists and doctors, who look only at the pain site, Mahon surveys the whole picture: “Ninety-nine percent of the time, the cause of the problem is going to be somewhere else in the body.”
If you are going to a physical therapist who is not looking at the whole body, you need to find another PT. This is standard of care taught in physical therapy school.
@Randy
In Emily Leaman’s defense, she used the term ‘holistic physical therapist’ because she didn’t know how to categorize my work exactly, which she really only got a small glimpse of with the case of ‘Abby’. The irony is that my work is more resembling of an all-out intervention than it is a typical or even a holistic physical therapy session. Throughout the years I’ve worked with dozens of surgeons, chiros, PTs and other soft tissue therapists who’ve all wanted to expand their reach within their own environments and people, and I invite you to come and experience the same at my expense. I’m certain it was no intention of Emily Leaman’s to cause a stir within the physical therapy community or with some disgruntled PTs who are feeling stuck within a broken system.
But thank you for in any which way you can continue to serve Humanity.
I do appreciate that Rob is there to provide a holistic approach to treating musculoskeletal problems and has helped his clients improve their overall function and decrease pain. What I do not appreciate is that he refers to himself as a physical therapist. As a physical therapist I have spent a significant amount of time and effort to earn my degree and get my professional licensure. I would just like to have a clarification of what type of training and certifications that Rob has earned that has enabled him to treat his clients as he does not have a physical therapy license by the state of Pennsylvania.
I’m glad to see a complimentary approach to medicine and wellness receiving positive attention in the media. I applaud Rob’s efforts and success in working with his clients.
It’s curious that he’s referenced in the article as a physical therapist, also known as physiotherapist, if in fact he does not hold a PT degree or license. On his website he refers to himself as a ‘physiotherapist by trade’. This gross misrepresentation of his training and status as a licensed PT appears to undermine the process one must in fact go through to obtain a physical therapy license. Words are powerful and this description walks a fine line.
As a licensed PT, I share some of the beliefs that Rob touches on through his website about the experience of pain and how to approach its management. He’s created a model that works well for him, particularly with the current healthcare dysfunction many of us are all too familiar with.
I am curious what Rob’s professional credentials are? And what training and education he has? As others have noted and I checked myself, Rob is not a licensed physical therapist in the state of PA.
He may do wonderful work and may help lots of people, which is GREAT. But it is fraudulent to call yourself a physical therapist if you are not a physical therapist. There is licensure of this profession and whomever wrote this article should have done their homework to check this. Would be nice to inform the public of what his actual background is if/when you are recommending people go see him for care…..
Randy, the fact that you would even ask the question, “Is he published?” is a mirror into your own aspirations. I have grown tired of health care practitioners who have lost sight of their patients’ care in the pursuit of being published. Those of us outside a particular field could care less whether you have been published or not. What we care about is what other people have to say about your care and whether you have a high rate of actually helping people. If you ever do attain “being published”, the only thing it will serve is to boost your own ego and allow you to have something to hang in your office. Otherwise, most of us are not calling for appointments with health care professionals and asking “How many times have they been published?” as criteria to be fulfilled before making an appointment. Turn your anger at your broken health care system who holds you a prisoner and stop attacking other health care professionals. I thought in todays’ society, we have all been taught that different is not bad.
After being treated by Rob at the end of May 2012 for recurring neck pain and headaches. My life has greatly improved. I am currently following his stretching recommendations on a regular basis and have found great improvement. I had been to a number of PT’s and had only minimal long term results. I to was minimally bothered by the so called lack of pedigrees hanging from his walls but his goal is to treat you, teach you and not see again because you are well. Just because you have a pedigree on the wall does not mean you’re that intelligent. Sometimes it just means you spent alot of money sitting on your butt with your nose in a book. You PT’s should get over yourselves. You’re smart but he works. He’s most likely very smart also but I didn’t his IQ results hanging on the wall in a pretty frame. He worked for me and I am thankfull for our meeting.
THANKS ROB
I’m really interested in this, as I’ve had hip pain for over two years that no treatment has been able to permanently heal. It makes working out awful, but I do it because I have to. However, like a lot of other commenters I’m concerned with forking over $250 to someone with no credentials.
Just saw a client of mine who visisted you (Rob) for the first time. She’s been with me for 35 years and i respect her opinion. She had nothing but good things to say about you and i would like to meet you. My stepSon will get his Doctorate in PT next year and i’ve been encouraging him to become more holistic in his attituted and thinking and i thought maybe you could be of help. Thank you.