We recently connected with Dominique Tull and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dominique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an anecdote or story from your schooling/training that you feel illustrates what the overall experience was like?

My three years of training at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University were some of the best years of my life. Having the opportunity to obtain my Doctorate from a Historically Black College filled me with a sense of pride and purpose. My time at FAMU was the beginning of my path towards trailblazing. Following FAMU, I moved to Jacksonville, FL to participate in Brooks Rehab’s Orthopaedic residency program. After a year of intense training at Brooks, I learned the very fine details of the anatomy and function of the body and the practices & techniques to best promote healing. This training made me the ideally trained physical therapist to work in the outpatient setting. Following this year, I was given a wonderful opportunity to join Brooks’ two-year Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy Fellowship, which focused on taking a deeper dive into what was taught in residency, with a focus on metacognitive practices designed to develop more thoughtful, flexible and well-rounded clinicians. The most important aspect of my fellowship training was associated with teaching and mentoring orthopaedic residents. The path toward becoming a skillful teacher allowed for true mastery of the material.  My three years at Brooks, were truly life changing.

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

So I graduated from college in 2014 with a B.S. in Psychology with no specific path essentially. I had just been denied by three Sports Psychology programs and I started off my summer by taking a job as a staff member at the Oak Mountain Ampitheatre. I was apart of the maintenance crew and would clean up the theatre before and after concerts. As you can imagine, this was not the ideal post grad work I would have expected, but it served its purpose for those few months of the summer. Although I was not sure of my specific career path at the time, I wanted to get involved in some form of neuro-biological research. My statistics teacher was able to bring me on as a volunteer for a research study that he was a part of. The research team was made up of behavioral psychologist, physical therapist and occupational therapists. I worked as a tech, taking patients through a specific protocol of something called Constraint-Induced Therapy. CI Therapy was designed for individuals who lost the use of one of their limbs (primarily due to stroke). The therapy involved tying up/ “constraining” the working limb while intensely training the weaker limb. Which was designed to improve its function by essentially tricking the nervous system. The mentorship that I received from the physical therapist involved inspired me to apply to physical therapy school. After nine denials and one single acceptance letter, I began my path towards being a physical therapist.

My interest in footwear design began as a child, I always loved wearing and drawing sneakers. Around the age of 11, I began drawing my own custom Nike shoes. I never saw my self pursuing this as a career. I did not realize that this was possible until I learned that the standard orthopedic shoe cost anywhere from 500-1200$ for someone who was un-insured. I personally felt that it was ridiculous that such big and ugly shoes could cost so much. I told myself that I would surely be able to make something more stylish and affordable; this was 2016. Fast forward to 2019, I was doing my residency training with Brooks. I took a CEU course entitled “Thinking on your Feet” that was taught by Tony Bare. He had been the head physical therapist for the Army for over 20 years. During his time served, he developed some amazing clinical pearls, techniques, and strategies for managing the foot and ankle. When I took his course, I learned how poor the standard arch supports were, as they did nothing to improve the function of the foot. This was when I figured out “how” I would create the perfect piece of footwear.

I currently offer concierge physical therapy services to the Jacksonville community. I specialize in any type of orthopaedic problem ranging from back pain to chronic headaches. Basically, if someone has pain or limitation on in any part of their body, I am the Doctor that you need to see. Some of the more unconventional services I offer are treatment of jaw and also treatment of chronic and more mentally associated pain. If you have experienced countless people misdiagnose your pain, or have never been able to get relief, there are ways we can improve the health of the body and mind to limit pain and improve function. I am most passionate about the health of all human beings; we live in a society that does not truly want people to be well. We have the tools to heal ourselves, by improving how we think, what we do, and what we put inside of our bodies.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think that the clients who I have served thus far can tell that I care deeply about their well-being. I have always been someone who will go above and beyond for things that I am passionate about. I love healing people, and it is my life’s mission to help as many people as possible to live long and healthy lives without limitation. I can say confidently that my clients recognize that passion through my efforts and my level of expertise.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

100% yes. The story of how I very organically found physical therapy to me displays how I was destined to be in this field. I love what I do, I have become equip with the knowledge and skills to take care of our most amazing possession; ourselves. I take physical therapy with me everywhere I go, and I have studied to become one of the top physical therapist in the world. It is very easy to enjoy something that you are good at. I am even more so convinced that I am doing the correct work as I have found a way to mesh my professional knowledge with my creative interest by getting into the footwear industry. God has his hands all over me and my work for sure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://drdomphysionexus.clientsecure.me/
• Instagram: @physio.nexus
• Other: www.physionexus.org @_drdom04

Image Credits
Khalliah Bryant