Joan is the founder and co-owner of ActivePT. She received her Masters of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 1999 and practiced throughout southeastern Minnesota for eight years before founding ActivePT in 2008. Her vision was to attract therapists who are passionate about specialized areas of care and who are driven to be the best. Joan believes that when physical therapists treat their favorite type of patient, the patient benefits; the PT’s motivation, passion, and specialized skills invariably produce better results.
One of ActivePT’s missions from the beginning was to provide outreach orthopedic care. Our rural locations allow patients to minimize driving and inconvenience, while still receiving high quality orthopedic care for their pain or injury.
Joan’s areas of specialization are shoulder rehabilitation and foot/ankle rehabilitation. She also has a passion for treating runners and triathletes. While many practitioners will instruct an athlete to stop training while injured, Joan believes strongly in the use of creative rehab and strategic rest to allow an athlete to continue training while rehabilitating their injury. Whether your goal is to run/walk your first 5k, to qualify for the Boston Marathon, or race in the Kona IronMan, Joan will continue to work with you until you finally meet your goal.
Joan often refers to the shoulder as “her first love.” Thanks to the mentorship of many influential physical therapists, practitioners, and orthopedists, she continues to develop her knowledge and skills in the areas of non-surgical and post-surgical shoulder rehabilitation. She has a special interest in adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder syndrome) and loves the challenge of treating such a debilitating condition and helping people get their lives back.
In her spare time, Joan can typically be found on the water. She is an avid fisherman and loves to build just about anything. She enjoys spending time with family, running, and weight lifting.
Certifications
- OCS – Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
- CIMT – Certified Integrated Manual Therapist
- Certified Clinical Instructor by the American Physical Therapy Association
- Member of the American Physical Therapy Association since 1999
Surgical Observation
- Reverse shoulder arthroplasty, anatomical shoulder arthroplasty, revision of shoulder arthroplasty (shoulder replacement and reverse shoulder replacement)
- Arthroscopic, mini-open, and full open rotator cuff repairs, subacromial decompression, distal clavicle resection
- Arthroscopic capsular release and manipulation under anesthesia for adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
- Arthroscopic biceps long head tenodesis, tenotomy, and labral repair
- Total knee and total hip arthroplasty