Alternative content

June/July 2012

What’s up with those toe-shoes?!

I get that question more and more often.  Vibram, Fila, Reebok, Nike and many others are offering “minimalist” shoes, and its becoming more and more confusing what the “best shoe” really is.  Although there is no simple answer, I’ll list a few guidelines that I tell my patients when they are considering a different shoe.

What is it for: If you’re looking for a new shoe, consider what you’ll be doing with it.  Flip-flops and a job in construction clearly don’t go together.  If you have to stand most of the day and want more support, then a bare-foot shoe might not be right for you.  If you’re looking for a cross-trainer, think about the terrain.  Soft grass and dirt are more forgiving than Camelback’s rocky terrain.

What does your foot look like:  If you have a very low arch and consider yourself to have a “flat foot,”  chances are you need a bit more support than you’ll get from a pair of Vibram 5-finger shoes.  Although you could strengthen your foot from wearing a minimalist shoe, you should be careful not wear them for too long.  A minimal shoe won’t give you the support you’d need if you wanted to walk in them for an 8-hour day.  If you’ve never had a foot problem, then try something new and see if it makes anything better or worse.

In the end, you should always listen to your body. If you make a drastic change to footwear and start experiencing pains in places you’ve never felt pains before, then it might be related to those new Skeletoes you just put on. -E. Curtiss Young, PT, MPT, OSR Gilbert Clinic Director

A native of upstate New York, Kristen moved to Arizona in 2001 as a teenager. She graduated from Peoria High School in 2004 and attended Apollo College for Physical Therapist Technician Certification which started her career in outpatient physical therapy. Kristen later continued on to graduate from GateWay Community College (2008) with an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Physical Therapy Assisting. Kristen joined our staff in December of 2011, after working for an outpatient physical therapy office for 7 years. Kristen has taken a variety of continuing education courses to stay up to date with current treatment techniques, including shoulder, knee, ankle, and Kinesio taping courses.

Kristen enjoys treating a variety of patients, although her passion is lower extremity strengthening and teaching patients how to walk again. Her main goal in working with her patients is to educate them and improve their quality of life.

Kristen and her husband spend their free time traveling, watching movies, and exploring new ways to have fun with their daughter Keylea. She also enjoys jammin’ out at Christian Rock concerts. As a Youth leader at her church, her spunky personality helps her guide the teenagers she has the opportunity to hang out with every week. She also stays busy at church where she is the Media Producer for all church services.

New to North Phoenix and working in Anthem, Kristen is “thrilled to be part of the kind, community based people that make up Anthem.” We are very pleased to have Kristen on our team!

Congratulations, Mike Beebe

We want to recognize Anthem Clinic Director Mike Beebe, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS on recently reaching a career milestone. Mike has successfully completed extensive course work and examination to be recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as a Board-Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist (OCS). This distinction identifies Mike as a physical therapist who has completed study and examination based on the Description of Specialty Practice in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. Specialization is the process by which a physical therapist builds on a broad base of professional education and practice to develop a greater depth of knowledge and skills related to a particular area of practice. Clinical specialization in physical therapy responds to a specific area of patient need and requires knowledge, skill, and experience exceeding that of the physical therapist at entry to the profession and unique to the specialized area of practice.

The specialist certification program was established to provide formal recognition for physical therapists with advanced clinical knowledge, experience, and skills in a special area of practice and to assist consumers and the health care community in identifying these physical therapists.

Mike can proudly call himself one of a select few in Arizona, where, as of 2011, there were only 117 physical therapists having obtained this level of certification. Mike has always made it priority to know his patients well, to further his own clinical knowledge and skills, and to teach his students and employees alike the value of correct and appropriate care when working with our patients. Mike, we at OSR appreciate your dedication, your hard work and your commitment to excellent patient care. We encourage our patients and staff alike to congratulate Mike on this accomplishment, and to be sure to ask him for one of his new business cards with the “OCS” designation. Congratulations, Mike!

Here we grow again...

We would like to welcome some new friendly faces to OSR Physical Therapy.

Harvey Shapira, PT - Physical Therapist Anthem/Peoria Clinic

Jesse White - Physical Therapy Tech - Gilbert Clinic

Devyn Zebe - Physical Therapy Tech - Gilbert Clinic

Paul Vocca - Physical Therapy Tech - Anthem Clinic

Colleen Kukulski - Administrative/Marketing Staff

Bonnie Santos, PT, ATRIC - Aquatic Physical Therapist Gilbert

Pam Dillenbeck, PTA - Physical Therapist Assistant Anthem

OSR Gilbert – Three Years and Going Strong

One June 1st, the OSR Gilbert Clinic, along with Mountainside Fitness, celebrated three years in business. From that first patient on Day One, our patient base in Gilbert has grown and grown as we continue to focus on delivering the best in patient care and customer service, each and every day. We appreciate that you (our patients) have taken notice of what we do and have shared your good results with friends, family and physicians alike – without your continued support, we would not have grown as we have nor would we have been able to help so many. On behalf of Curtiss, Sarah, Jan, Dulce, Kamila, Andrew, Jesse, Devyn and Colleen, we want to say Thank You! to our Gilbert patients for their continued support of this wonderful location.

OSR Win-A-Trip Winner!

OSR’s Refer-a -friend and Win-A-Trip promotion has produced yet another big winner! Michael Sandlin, a patient at our Gilbert clinic is our most recent winner. Michael referred a friend to OSR, entered the promotion, then won a $500 Visa card to help pay for his upcoming trip to Hawaii. Michael and his wife, Mary, are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year, so he was incredibly grateful to have won. Congratulations to Michael and his wife Mary on celebrating 50 years together. We appreciate your referral and wish you a wonderful trip! You could be the next winner!

Take advantage of the Summer Win A Trip Beat the Heat promotion at OSR During July and August, submit a Win-A-Trip entry and receive a Starbucks or Harkins Movie Card for each entry - no limit! We hope you had a good experience at OSR and ask you to take just a moment and think about those you know, then share that good experience with someone else! After all, you send us your referrals and we could be sending you on vacation!

Goodbye to Rachelle Shaver, PT, MPT

On May 24th OSR hosted a farewell lunch for Rachelle Shaver and her family. Rachelle has been working as a Physical Therapist at OSR for 3 years. It has been a pleasure having her be an important part of our team. I know many of you were very found of Rachelle and were extremely pleased with the care she provided. The Shaver family has moved back to where they come from. TEXAS! We will miss Rachelle and will always be grateful for the wonderful work she did for OSR over the years. Good Luck in Texas!

Farewell to Ben Klein

In July we will be saying farewell to another great OSR employee. Ben Klein has been the Head Athletic Trainer (ATC) for Boulder Creek for 2 ½ years now. When he isn’t working on the field or in the training room, he was a member of the Anthem clinical staff. When Ben was asked what aspect of being an ATC he liked the most, he replied, “Being able to see the athletes come back after an injury and succeed, knowing that I helped them along the way was a great feeling.” Now, he is leaving us to begin medical school at Midwestern University! Ben is going to miss working with the great staff and patients we have at OSR. He admits he has learned a great deal about patient care and he will take that knowledge with him on his path to becoming a doctor. We are very proud of his achievement and wish him nothing but the best in his journey.

OSR Car Sticker!

Do you have yours yet? It has been a couple of months since the launch of the OSR Car Sticker. Show your friends and neighbors where you get the best in Physical Therapy care! Stickers are free to all of our current and past patients. You can benefit from showing us that you “Like” OSR, as we will be giving away prizes throughout 2012 and you are eligible to win by simply having your sticker visible.

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick up your OSR car decal at any of our 4 locations
2. Place decal on your vehicle
3. Be sure to “like” us on Facebook
4. Let us do the rest! Follow Us on Twitter and Facebook to find out about Car Sticker promos and contests
5. Hint: Also give decals to your friends to double your chances