I have seen a change in my profession over the past 30 years. Prior to the days when health insurance hacked away at the quality of care delivered, physical therapists were able to see their patients for at least an hour. Lately, and heartbreakingly, clinicians are rushed through treatments, often deferring much of the patient training to a therapy technician. Each therapist has multiple patients at one time. In these assembly-line atmospheres, when a patient walks in with shoulder pain, the patient gets their shoulder worked on. But many times the pain is manifested from somewhere else in the body. Did you know there are 13 muscles that can refer pain to the back of the shoulder blade? And that the majority of them are not actually shoulder muscles? Without having the time and/or skillset to truly diagnose and treat, patient progress often gets lost in the shuffle.

Throughout my professional career, I have had the privilege of working with Professional Athletes, DN1 Athletes, Musicians, Circus Aerialists, Ballet Dancers, Recon Marines, Weekend Warriors, Gamers and Pickle Ball Enthusiasts. My expertise in treatment of adults with Ehlers -Danlos, hypermobility and myofascial pain has resulted in therapists and physicians sending me their patients from all over the world.

My expertise in Dry Needling has allowed me to be a contributing author to the accoladed medical textbook Trigger Point Dry Needling, and has resulted in my being a guest lecturer to the Maryland Physical Therapy Association. I have several different certifications in dry needling, each with its own approach. My teachers include Sue Falsone (Structure and Function) and Ken Cooper (Master Dry Needling) and Jan Dommerholt (Myopain Seminars). For the past few years I have had the pleasure of working alongside Jan Dommerholt, one of the world’s leading experts and researchers in Dry Needling.

Teaching is another passion of mine, and I am an instructor and faculty member with Myopain Seminars, where I am fortunate enough to travel the country teaching myofascial trigger point dry needling to physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, physicians, chiropractors and acupuncturists. Additionally I assist in teaching a course in Orofacial Dry Needling to dentists and other medical practitioners who specialize in jaw, face and head disorders, including TMJ disorders.