We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Leah Ellis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Leah below.

Leah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

Usually in everybody’s last year of physical therapy school, they are required to do number of weeks at a particular setting of their choosing. The goal of these clinical rotations is to gain experience, learn what setting you like or dislike, or work on landing a job post graduation. For my particular schooling we do two 10 weeks and one 12 week (and a 8 week one earlier in our schooling). Long time to go unpaid however that’s not the point. I knew the rotations were going to be a learning lesson and I was going to soon find my foot into what kind of physical therapist I was going to be. Right at the beginning of my first 10 week experience I found out I was pregnant and that truly changed my experience. Not only was I trying to navigate who I wanted to become in my career but I had to start preparing myself to become a mother. I learned a lot about myself, my capabilities, and my strength that I still carry with me today in my career.

I had different experiences in all three of my clinical rotations with how my pregnancy was navigated, one not so very positive. That one not so positive experience helped me recognize the type of physical therapist I wanted to not be, but also to be for my future mentees that come after me. Everyone deserves a chance no matter their circumstance and I believe through my last year of physical therapy school, I was made to eventually give those chances back to others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Leah pronounced Lee-UH which most people seem to get wrong quite a lot. I am a former athlete myself which led me to my profession of physical therapy. My favorite sport is basketball which is the one sport I am very interested in helping athletes succeed and become better in. However my journey to physical therapy did not begin with a basketball injury.

In high school, I was very involved with my athletic trainer and spent a lot of time in the athletic room as an athlete but also as a student trainer for the football team and one year for the soccer team. I loved it. I loved being with my classmates, I loved helping people and it was just so very exciting to see those we helped get back out on the field. I knew 100% I was going to college to become an athletic trainer. Until I got to college and realized my passion was more for the rehabilitation part which led me to physical therapy.

Though physical therapy is very versatile, I enjoy treating the orthopedic population and incorporating strength training when appropriate. Which led me to my business. Most people see physical therapist for their issue and once the issue is solved, usually a few visits later they are encouraged to continue on their own in the gym or at home. Some find it difficult to find their foot on their own and eventually return to the same problem. I personally find it difficult to do anything alone and prefer working out with others or in a class setting, it’s very motivating! So my goal is to bridge that gap between traditional physical therapy and return to activity/sport with my performance aspect and make sure people are confident in their return.

I enjoy strength training and I think any and everybody can benefit from it. It is hard to offer those services in a traditional settings as most clinics are dictated by what insurance will pay for. I also will offer injury prevention services to athletes of all types who want to remain healthy at their selected sport. I plan to be that one stop shop from injury to recovery without the interruption of care.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

No. I would definitely choose the same profession however I think I would have done my journey a little differently. I do wish I stuck with athletic training during undergrad and worked harder at securing different clinical opportunities in school.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Being a people person and willing to just put yourself out there. I am an introvert extrovert but once you get to know me, the extrovert is real! I enjoy speaking with people and really connecting with my patients and I believe that helps them feel comfortable with me. It helps build trust between us and improves the patients experience simply because they have a positive outlook on their recovery process.

Contact Info:

• Website: toughenoughpt.com
• Instagram: @toughenoughpt
• Facebook: facebook.com/toughenoughpt

Image Credits
JaToya Lanisha