Physical Therapy

Often, a general physical therapist will start from scratch by forming their own evaluation and assessment, without the benefit of knowing what the original physician found out through diagnostic tests.

This general physical therapist often sees a wide variety of problems every day, such as patients with sore elbows, sore knees, and sore shoulders. In most cases, this general therapist has a very limited understanding of how to treat specific types of back problems. At best, a general physical therapist has taken a couple courses on how to perform therapy for a back or neck injury.

A general physical therapist may also rely too heavily on passive "modalities," such as ice, heat or ultrasound, to treat back pain. This may not be a good choice, as research has shown that using these passive treatments is NOT the best way to return someone to activity efficiently.

How our spine center differs:

Instead of sending a patient across town, Texas Spine and Scoliosis patients will be referred to an affiliated physical therapy center that specializes in spine where they will be connected with spine-specialized therapists who have advanced training in therapy methods. Rather than starting from scratch, this therapist works off of information gleaned from the spine physician's evaluation, picking up where they left off.

What does this mean for you?

Instead of receiving a general treatment approach, our affiliated physical therapists are specialized in the treatment of back and neck pain. These therapists have advanced, hands-on skills that can help relieve your pain and get your injured muscles, tissues and spinal structures moving again. Instead of a single school of thought, you get the benefit of being treated by a specialist with a variety of skills who can choose the ones that best match your particular problem.
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Our Physical Therapists:

Our therapists are dedicated to evidence-based, goal-oriented outcomes with high quality customer service.  Services we provide include but are not limited to:  

• Spine and Extremity specific exercises
• Joint mobilization and manipulation
• Soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release and active release therapy
• Therapeutic exercises for tissue healing, strengthening and stabilization
• Neuro-muscular reeducation for functional restoration and balance
• Dry needling trigger point therapy
• Modalities for pain control during healing and strengthening

Chere Atkins, PT, CLT

Chere graduated from Texas State University in 1994 with a Bachelors of Science in Physical Therapy. She has vast experience in general outpatient orthopedics with times of special focus related to scoliosis, hands and the temporomandibular joint. Chere has spent her career obtaining education and techniques from various traditional evidence-based guidelines to holistic craniosacral, visceral and breathing techniques to provide a multifaceted care approach.

Jamie Galindo, PT, DPT, OCS

Jamie received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2017 from Texas Tech Health Science Center, and is a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. Jamie’s career has focused in outpatient orthopedics with a specific interest in vestibular rehabilitation and experience in acute care. She enjoys empowering her patients through education and improving their performance through optimizing movement strategies.

Morgan Laviolette, PT, DPT

Morgan received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2020 from the University of St. Augustine for Health Science in Austin, Texas. She is certified in Dry Needling and is working towards her manual and vestibular therapy certifications. She strives to provide empathetic care through exercise and manual treatments and foster her patients with knowledge, enabling them to reach their goals with less pain.

Trent McGinty, PT, DPT, Cert MDT

Trent graduated from Texas State University in 2002 with a Masters in PT and later his Doctorate in PT at Texas Tech University in 2013 along with his life coaching certification in 2016. He is certified in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (McKenzie), dry needling, and blood flow restriction. The most rewarding part of his job is working with graduate students as a Clinical Instructor.