Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allyson Bratina (formerly Friday). We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Allyson , thanks for joining us today. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

There are countless. I will share one, which stands out for a few reasons. Not long after I had made a name for myself as a physical therapist in the swimming community, specializing in shoulders, a young swimmer with severe shoulder instability was referred to me to address shoulder pain. This swimmer had been told by his physician to quit swimming as it would be detrimental to his shoulders. After evaluating him, at which time he demonstrated his “party trick” shoulder instability with severe scapular winging, I told him that quitting swimming was not the answer but if he wanted to continue he/we would have to commit to working smart, hard, and consistently to improve strength and movement patterns both in and out of the water. He was on board. After the visit, his mom took me aside, thanked me, and shared that this young boy had recently lost his father and that swimming was profoundly important to him. I felt both humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to share in his journey and help this young boy stay on the path that held so much meaning and importance to him. With consistent PT and strengthening over several years, he grew into a strong young man and swam at the collegiate level. That was over 10 years ago. To this day, I have hung on my wall a gift he gave me. It’s the story of the Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley, framed. It is a heartfelt reminder of why I do what I do.

Allyson , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Shortly after college, I was in New York City floundering, as many twenty-somethings do, unclear as to what career path might fit for me. As a former collegiate swimmer, interested in med school or something of the like, with time on my hands, I was hired to teach an 11 year old girl with Cerebral Palsy how to swim. The intention for ‘swimming’ was to allow her assisted freedom of movement and participate in an activity that she enjoyed. I was more interested in using the water to teach her to swim and walk and my ignorance of her diagnosis prevented ideas of what she could or couldn’t do from getting in the way. That was a gift. After about a year of working with her once a week for about 45min in the water, she was able to take 5-6 steps in the water independently, which she could not do on land, and she was able to swim the length of a 25 yard pool independently on her back. The following year she participated in the Special Olympics and swam independently on her back in the backstroke event. It was this amazing experience that revealed to me how I wanted to work with individuals with injury or challenging diagnosis that were physically impaired.

This was the first experience of many which I have been presented with, where I saw possibilities when others didn’t. Whether born out of ignorance or obstinance, my perspective has served both me and my patients. I love looking into the complexity of what challenges and limits us physically, which unfailingly holds historical and emotional aspects of our lives. Experiencing injury, surgery, chronic pain or complex diagnosis, and moving through these challenges can relieve pain and foster confidence. It also often teaches us more about ourselves than we ever cared to know.

I am an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist and I founded Friday Physical Therapy. Without boring you with details, I have tried to create a practice model that will preserve time for meaningful care, attentive listening and customer service in the face of a challenging healthcare system that often times appears to be guided more by perverse incentives than care for the human who trusts in the system. Friday Physical Therapy works with insurance to the best of our ability to minimize costs to our community, already paying into a system with the promise of “excellence” and “quality”. I have been privy to stories that can keep me up at night. The physical therapists at Friday Physical Therapy will listen to you, advocate for you, and put every skill and resource we have available to us into your care in order to achieve improved health and wellbeing.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Possibly one of the most important lessons that I had to unlearn was the idea that I had the answers for the patients. That my knowledge was enough. I learned in my first several years, most pointedly from the patients who did not return, that the patients held the answers to how they needed to be treated. When I forged an agenda for the patient based on my knowledge without listening, truly listening, to the patient, that got in the way of how I could work with the individual in front of me collaboratively to create a path towards healing and recovery.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Listening.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Fridaypt.com

Image Credits

Headshot by Natasha Rigg with Heirloom Films and Photography
Logo by Alicia Potter with Faven Creative