Some of us are still stuck at home quarantining, hesitant to return to the gym right away (totally understandable), or just looking for new exercises. Following PT accounts help give us ideas for exercises to give our patients down the road, or even use for ourselves at home or at the gym. I know, especially now being in a SNF, I am guilty of getting stuck in an “exercise rut” where I am just prescribing the same exercises to my patients over and over. (In my defense, you can’t get too creative/crazy with these patients, b/c getting them to do a simple LAQ properly can be difficult). These accounts help give us fresh ideas for rehabilitative exercises for ourselves and our patients! In this post, I will include 3 accounts I enjoy. I will add information about each person as well as their social media handle to search and check out! No, I am not getting paid to endorse these pages/therapists (though, that would be dope), I AM basically paying THEM with my friendship. 

• @dr.reestore: Taylor Rees is a DPT and 500RYT (this means she has earned her 500 hours in teaching yoga and can now teach a yoga school). Taylor was also accepted to do research and earn her PhD through the Rehabilitation course at the University of Kansas. Her posts are great because they really hone in on exercises you can do at home (which is especially great right now). She usually focuses on 1 area of the body for the week and makes a few posts throughout the week on the subject. For example, this week she is posting videos for stretches to do to address plantar heel pain.
  • Taylor is in the Kansas City, Mo area and also teaches at local gyms. So if you follow her, you will be able to keep up to date with where she is teaching that week (usually yoga or a strengthening class). Pop in and take a class! She and her mother opened a clinic in the Overland Park, Kansas area called Revitaliz3. If you are around this area, you should definitely follow Taylor as she hosts different yoga events at this clinic. She has started a monthly “Hip hop yoga” class the first Friday of every month where all levels of yoga will be provided, as well as boozy bevs (I’m in). Tickets are usually free or a “pay what you can” for now, so this would be a great event to check out if you enjoy yoga, or have been interested in trying it out! Taylor has always been great in establishing a “judge-free” and welcoming space for new-comers. You can also find her on Facebook at Reestore Movement and her new website can be accessed at www.reestoremovement.com 
  • If you have a special interest in yoga, she has another instagram dedicated to yoga practice called @theraflowyoga. On a personal note, Taylor was my roommate during PT school and we became fast friends. We definitely had to fight some battles in PT school together and I wouldn’t rather do it with anyone else. Taylor loves me SO much that she basically tricked me into dating her brother (her words, not mine) and I have been with him for over a year now. So yeah, big fan of Dr. Rees. 

• @dr.josh.elzey: Josh is currently working in an outpatient clinic that’s inside an athletic club in Ogden, Utah. He sees orthopedic patients of all ages. Previously, he was a N.A.S.M certified personal trainer at Utah Valley University while he was working on his undergrad in exercise science. Also, he taught PE at a local charter school for a year. He started his instagram during the pandemic in order to be able to reach out to more people and provide education on rehabilitating the body. His goal is to get the CSCS certification this year. Josh’s instagram is great because it shows interventions that can be performed at the gym or home. Some of his posts are even for specific diagnoses such as tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, patellar dislocation, etc. He provides a brief description of the diagnosis, what all is affected, and exercises to address deficits caused by said diagnosis. In some of his videos, he also shows how NOT to perform the exercise correctly. This is good because some exercises are commonly performed incorrectly at home such as the infamous chin tucks, and he gives us examples of what not to do so we could even try in front of a mirror or record ourselves and help correct our form based on his videos of how and how not to! He may have started the page during the pandemic, but Dr. Elzey’s page is full of helpful tips and creative exercises to use for yourself and prescribe to your patients! And if you are in the Utah area, stop in the athletic club and say hey to him. 

• @alphil4305 : (This is his personal account handle, though he posts a bunch of swimming videos, and some cool resistance band exercises to do at home to work on different swimming strokes.) His PT account is @thekettlebelldoc which I claim the rights to this name because I always called him “Kettlebell Al” in school. Allan is an overachiever. When I reached out to him, I asked to list a few of his certifications, because I knew he would have like 30 already. This man sent me a list of like 13 certifications! And I fully believe he has several more. That being said these certifications include: NSCA, CSCS, NSCA TSAC-F, SFMA, FMS, Graston, Dry Needling, TPI level 2 Golf medical professional, SFG Level 2 kettlebell and bodyweight, USA Triathlon LEvel 1 Coach, and Rocktape. What’d I tell ya…. He teaches StrongFirst Kettlebell and Bodyweight certifications and courses around the county and he teaches at over 25 events in 12 different cities. He currently resides in Tucson, AZ and specializes in helping endurance athletes recover from injury and return to peak performances without injections, surgery, or unnecessary time off. He owns a cash based practice at two fitness training studios (before quarantine). He helps athletes safely transition out of rehab and into performance via in person training and online programming. He ALSO serves as a PT for the Army reserve combat support hospital in San Antonio, Texas. I just want y’all to know that he and I GRADUATED TOGETHER… talk about feeling like a slacker. However, Allan is awesome, very knowledgeable, and has a calming vibe/demeanor as well, which he needed since my extroverted butt forced my friendship on him. (who am I kidding, I forced my friendship on Taylor too). He is an elite athlete himself as he not only is a triathlon coach but also competes in triathlons as well. Allan is also a professional speed golfer. I swear, when does he ever have down time. If you love kettlebells or are interested in learning more about observing running gait, check out Dr. Phillips account @thekettlebelldoc. 

Okay, I’m done bragging about my friends. I hope you check out and enjoy their accounts! I love how their accounts are different and unique to their own passions in the world of physical therapy. They are also located different parts of the country so if they are somewhere near you, I highly recommend reaching out to them. All 3 of them are knowledgeable therapists who are eager to help you and answer questions. 

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