Balanced Physical Therapy will operate as Proaxis Therapy beginning April 2, 2012. The owners of Balanced Physical Therapy, Brian Beatty and Rob Schneider, are joining the Proaxis Therapy team and will continue to have active leadership roles in the company. The transition is expected to be seamless. Beatty, PT, CFP, CSCS will serve as Program Director and Schneider, PT, MS, ATC will be Clinic Director. All current Balanced Physical Therapy staff members will remain on staff.

“This is a perfect fit for Proaxis Therapy, as our values and client-centric philosophies are in line with those of Balanced Physical Therapy. We look forward to continuing to build upon their solid foundation of providing state-of-the-art physical therapy, and we’re excited to establish a presence in the North Carolina market,” stated Burton Johnson, Vice President of Business Development for Proaxis Therapy.

“We want to thank our patients and community members of the Triangle area for allowing us to serve them for the past 12 years,” said Schneider. “We are happy to join a like-minded organization and look forward to building upon what we started. Brian and I are confident that our patients will continue to receive outstanding physical therapy in a progressive environment.”

The former Balanced Physical Therapy clinics will maintain the same hours of operation and contact information. The clinics are located at 304 W. Weaver Street, Carrboro; 105 W. Highway 54, Durham (located in the Fitness World building); 959 East Street, Pittsboro (located in the same office as Central Carolina Orthopedics); and 7700 Perry Creek Road, Raleigh (located in the Capital Area Soccer League/WRAL Soccer Complex).

Proaxis Therapy to sponsor local event
Proaxis Therapy will continue with Balanced Physical Therapy’s tradition of involvement in local events, and is the sponsor for the Official Pace Team for the upcoming Wells Fargo Tar Heel 10 Miler on Saturday, April 21 in Chapel Hill. Community members are invited to come out to the event to meet the Proaxis Therapy staff.

About Proaxis Therapy
Proaxis Therapy is an independently owned and operated Physical Therapy company. With regional centers in South Carolina, Colorado and now North Carolina, Proaxis has emerged as a best-practices leader in physical therapy. With a strong commitment to patient care, community outreach and a focus on physician and hospital partners, Proaxis operates 13 clinics in South Carolina, 15 clinics in Colorado, and four clinics in North Carolina. The clinics are supported by more than 30 certified specialists and four research scientists. While maintaining the largest Sports Residency Program in the United States with 17 active residents in SCS and OCS training, Proaxis has earned a reputation as one of the most energized and progressive workplaces in physical therapy today. In addition, its physical therapists travel all over the world to provide comprehensive training and have been deemed a “go to” educational source. The company can be found at www.proaxistherapync.com.

Originally from Fairbanks, Alaska; Amy has a Bachelors of Science from Haverford College. Amy sees teaching a vital aspect of physical therapy, so prior to earning her Doctorate she gained experience working at the Chigwell School, outside London, as a soccer coach and science teacher. Completing her Doctor of Physical Therapy at Duke University, Amy had the chance to gain clinical experience at Proaxis Physical Therapy and The Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Greenville, SC as well as Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.

Amy’s interests are in sports, particularly soccer. She has played throughout her life, including three years collegiately as well as in the Women’s Scottish Premier League. She has over 8 years of coaching experience and has worked in the training rooms of the Atlanta Silverbacks F.C., SK Brann (in Bergen, Norway), and is completing her third season with the Carolina Railhawks F.C.

Amy particularly enjoys working with young athletes, helping them prevent or recover from injury and return to their sport stronger and more skilled than before.

1. Author Bias

First off, always be wary of author bias: the actual conclusion of the article as I read it is that there is really no appreciable difference between surface and injury rate. But this doesn’t make for a good headline, so the story gets a spin put to it. As I read the story and the research, it is simply that different surfaces create different demands. The headline could have just as easily been “For runners, different surfaces are different”, but that really doesn’t attract one to read the article does it? I have to admit a bias; personally I prefer trails. Professionally, I believe that variability of physical task demand results in the end product of a more robust system and is therefore a desirable trait in any physical or mental training program. Soft or uneven surface will create more variability in the demands on the system. That being said, the most important take home point is probably that if you are going to make a change, you need to do it slowly and prepare for it. Interestingly, that is also a take home point of a similar ‘myth buster’ article, Skip the Pre-Run Stretch, it Doesn’t Prevent Injuries

2. Biomechanical Demands

Secondly, softer or uneven surfaces (trails) do present different biomechanical demands. This must be recognized and trained for. In running, generally softer surfaces will correlate with more uneven terrain. Even if a softer terrain is not uneven, the body still has to find minimum amount of stability in order to maintain balance. So, in either case, the dynamic balance demand is increased. Theoretically softer surfaces would require more mobility, neurological awareness and strength in the foot and ankle as well as increased strength at the hip in all ranges of motion. Harder surfaces will require more strength in the knee and hip muscles that cushion landing. Based on these assumptions, soft surfaces may yield more injuries to the ankle joint, knee joint ligaments or hip soft tissues. Hard surfaces may yield more injuries to the foot structures, knee joint and tendons, knee & hip cartilage and spinal discs. All of these are structures that could receive excessive pressure if sufficient dampening of ground impact shock is not achieved. I am not aware of studies that have looked for these long term correlations; this is just based on biomechanical theory.

3. Adaptation

A final thought, we do know from research that the body will adapt running mechanics around impact force, and this article references that concept. The research into barefoot running and minimalist shoe design supports this theory. It forms one of the underlying tenants of why minimalist shoes can prove beneficial to some individuals. We do not know what the ‘optimal force’ is for an individual, but we do know that people adjust to find what their body ‘needs’. As people go to less cushioning in a shoe, they generally adapt their running form to absorb more impact. Some people adapt well, others not so well. There is a lot of information about what the variables are that determine these adaptations and why the adaptations are needed. To fully explain would take a small book, not a short article. However, I take all of this information and reach a different conclusion than “But with no evidence that softer surfaces prevent injuries, there is no reason to run on softer ground unless you like to” I think there are many valid reasons; they just have to be done strategically with proper preparation.

Saturday, July 9th
9-11:30AM

Balanced Physical Therapy will join Team Luna Chix for a hands-on cycling clinic designed to improve cycling body position, core stability and pedaling form and efficiency. Learn how proper body position and stroke form can not only make you a better cyclist but also help you avoid pain, numbness and common cycling injuries.

Brian Beatty, an avid cyclist and runner and the owner of Balanced Physical Therapy, will teach the course. Please bring your bike and cycling shoes with you to the clinic. And, if you have a trainer, bring that too.

This clinic is designed for women of all levels of cycling ability. Those who can are welcome to stay for a ride after the clinic so that they can put what they learn into practice immediately.

In lieu of a fee for the clinic, a suggested donation of $25 to the Breast Cancer Fund is requested and will be collected at the door, in cash or by check made out to the Breast Cancer Fund.

Clinic space is limited to Team Luna Chix members and will fill at 20 participants. Visit the Team Luna Chix website for more information about the team!

For the past 10 years, Jacquie has worked extensively with WVU, high school athletes, and coal miners in Morgantown, WV. She was the director of a clinic outside of Morgantown before she left to pursue intensive training in Osteopathic manual therapy and work for a manual therapy based physical therapy clinic in Ann Arbor, MI. She has since worked in private practice and a Spine Specialty clinic in North Carolina before joining the BPT family. She is trained in a variety of manual techniques including Maitland, Mulligan, and osteopathic methods and has completed all of her course work for McKenzie certification. Outside of work, Jacquie has been a Figure/Physique Competitor and has enjoyed participating in running and triathlon races.

We are excited to welcome Jacquie to the BPT family!

“I’m looking for a little advice about how to manage a driving trip this weekend. I’ll be in the car (driving) for 4-5 hours, depending on traffic. Any suggestions?”

This question was from a person recovering from lumbar disc surgery, but the answer is applicable to anyone with back pain aggravated by sitting.

There is a simple answer, but it is often harder discipline oneself to implement than it should be.

Are you driver or passenger? Either way, the answer is to not be in any one position for very long. Ideally move every 20-30 minutes. If passenger, it is easy, adjust the seat back to multiple angles so you are in many positions. If driver, it is more challenging. Ideally you would stop every hour, get out and move. It can be as simple as pulling off of an exit ramp, getting out and walking around the car a couple of times. The simple act of standing, walking, moving the spine through a comfortable, gentle range of motion will restore circulation, relieve pressure to the spinal discs and joints, and help a lot.

20-30 minutes extra on a trip beats the heck out of 2-3 days of discomfort and needless suffering.

Also congrats to Suzanna Dupee for being voted “Best Massage Therapist” in Orange County!

Let’s you know how long you have been on the computer and gently reminds you each hour with a Tibetan bell…get up!

How many of us need this?