In sports and everyday life challenges, personal experience helps to create a winning strategy. And, when faced with overcoming injury setbacks, the first hand experiences of the physical therapists at EXCEL Physical Therapy provide a game plan for total recovery.
Ryan Flanary, physical therapist and clinic director at the Mustang office for EXCEL, recalls the his own first hand benefits of physical therapy while growing up in Henryetta, Oklahoma.
“In high school, I played baseball, basketball and football and had some issues that involved me needing some therapy to overcome those,” recalled Flanary. “The great thing was that my cousin Mike Flanary, who is now a member of the Excel Therapy ownership team, was the one who helped me through those. Now today things have come full circle with both of us working together at EXCEL.”
A 19-year professional in outpatient physical therapy, Flanary enjoys the opportunity of giving back to today’s athletes by partnering with the Mustang Public Schools.
“When you’re there you see the actual injuries happen and you know exactly how it happened giving you more of a personal relationship with the athlete,” Flanary said, “so when they come back for therapy, you’ve seen them in action so that you can better treat them and know what they’re going back to.”
The experience of Flanary and the team of physical therapists at any of Excel Physical Therapy’s 13 clinics across Oklahoma insure the development of an individual game plan. Regardless the injury, EXCEL PTs tailor to specific needs of each athlete on the high school as well as collegiate levels.
“Whether it’s cheerleading, tumbling and gymnastics or other times it’s football, soccer and baseball, it’s still the one-to-one relationships that get them back to the action,” Flanary explained regarding the wide variety of patients trusting EXCEL for their complete recovery.
“You see a lot of sprains and strains but there’s not one common injury, males or females. I also see a lot of ACL injuries, which are season ending injuries where you deal with the physical side of recovery as well as the emotional side of that athlete not being able to come back for that year. That’s again where the one-to-one relationship helps out to give the athlete complete trust in the plan to see their progress understanding there’s a process to getting that injury better and that we are going to get them returned to the field of play is our goal.”
Ryan Flanary has been voted Mustang’s Best Physical Therapist three years in a row based on producing excellent patient outcomes.
And just like Flanary wanted to know when his setbacks required therapy, the first question remains the same no matter the age or the injury.
“I’m always asked how fast can I get back to playing my sport,” Flanary confirmed. “I tell everyone I’m going to return you back to action as soon as it’s safely possible. That way they know my goal is the same as theirs, to get them back, but we want to get them back safe.”
From youth, high school and college sports to the outdoorsmen as well as female athletes still competing in competitive adult leagues or everyday workers, Flanary and the team of specialists at EXCEL continue to meet the needs of all ages, treating the person not the sport while developing a relationship first and forever.
“I have a lot of people that saw me 12 or 15 years ago that are still coming in and now send their own kids or their nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles and other family members because of the individual care and therapy we provide at Excel,” said Flanary. “It’s a family of therapists who are solely focused on helping our patients find a way to total recovery in order to get back in the game.”