Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Manilov.
Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I spent most of my childhood growing up in Minnesota. My family moved up there when I was 4, so naturally hockey was a huge part of my life, as was soccer. I honestly don’t know how my parents did it with both my older brother and I being involved in year round hockey and soccer- thanks Mom and Dad for driving us all over the Twin Cities for practices and games! Being as active as we were, injuries were bound to happen. Luckily, our family had found an excellent physical therapist, Brad, who became our go-to when one of us had an injury. Whiplash? Call Brad. Sprained ankle? Call Brad. Unsure what happened to my knee? Call Brad.
I had my first bout of physical therapy with Brad after injuring my knee playing soccer in middle school. This was when I first began falling in love with the field of physical therapy. I loved the idea of helping people get back to doing the things they loved to do and becoming their go-to, as Brad had been for our family. After finishing my undergraduate work, I headed off to Nashville, Tennessee to begin the Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program at Belmont University. Near the end of physical therapy school, we were to complete four rotations in various settings for eight weeks at a time. I took the opportunity to travel during these rotations, completing two of them in Tennessee, one in Florida and one in Boston. I had fallen in love with New England during those two months, so when I was offered a job near the end of my rotation I quickly accepted. Shortly after graduation, I moved up to Boston to begin work.
Fast forward to when I started my business. A friend of mine called me and told me I just had to listen to this podcast on cash-pay physical therapy practices. She was planning on opening her own cash-pay practice and encouraged me to look into it. I dove into the podcast and couldn’t stop listening. There were many physical therapists sharing their stories of how they started their own business, stopped taking insurance and were able to treat patients in the way they had always envisioned treating them. Many had been experiencing burn out and were trying to figure out how to stay in a career they loved while still feeling rejuvenated at the end of the day. They weren’t rushed for time, could see patients in a one-on-one setting for an hour or more, insurance didn’t dictate the patient’s care and most notably they would mention how incredibly rewarding and wonderful it was to be able to fully focus on the patient and their goals. Plus, they got the flexibility of being their own boss and making their own hours. I buckled down, pulled out my business-planning project from graduate school and began figuring out if I could in fact make this business model work. Luckily, my fiancé works in finance and he was able to help me with forecasting, budgeting and determining what realistic numbers were. I dove in head first and am incredibly grateful I made that decision. What began as something I thought would be a part time gig while I found another career on the side, has turned into my full time gig. I am proud to say that Resilient Physical Therapy and Wellness has continued to grow and we have developed many excellent relationships in the Needham wellness community. We are excited to be celebrating being in business for two years in October!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Absolutely not, starting a business always comes with challenges. I see those challenges as an opportunity and learning experience to better myself and my business. A struggle I’ve faced is that many people are unfamiliar with physical therapy practices not taking insurance, so they can be hesitant. If you look at the increasing cost of healthcare due to rising copays and deductibles, you may find that you actually save money by paying out of pocket at my practice. I always advise people to look at the numbers and their time to see what works best for them. At my practice, people typically come once per week and get a full hour of one-on-one care with me. Comparing that to going to a clinic that wants you to come 2-3 times per week with a $40 copay or a high deductible, the costs may add up quickly. At Resilient Physical Therapy and Wellness, we value both your time and money. That being said, the model of care is not for everyone and I will always help people find the right provider for them in the area if they do need to use their insurance. At the end of the day, the goal is for you to decrease your pain and reach your goals, no matter what avenue is best for you to get there.
Please tell us about Resilient Physical Therapy and Wellness.
Resilient Physical Therapy and Wellness is conveniently located in the heart of Needham Center. We offer one-on-one care that is patient-centered, evidence-based and individualized to help you achieve maximum results and get back to doing the things you love. Our primary focus is treating a wide variety of orthopedic conditions, but we also treat some neurological conditions. We utilize manual therapy techniques, therapeutic exercise, aquatic therapy and patient education to help our patients decrease their pain and learn lifelong skills to help them continue making gains long after they have completed their course of physical therapy.
The best way to describe what sets us apart from others would be to repeat the feedback I receive from my patients.
- Value: My patients tell me they feel their time and money is valued when they come see me. After one session with me, many feel they have gotten more care and learned more about their condition in that hour than they did in months of physical therapy elsewhere.
• Compassion: I’ve had many patients tell me that I am the first person who has truly listened to their complaints and tried to link the whole picture together. The whole body is connected and it is important to recognize that when looking for the cause of injury. They report that they feel relieved that someone is listening to their concerns and not placing them on a cookie-cutter plan.
• Understanding of sports: As an athlete myself, I understand the need and desire to heal quickly to get back to your sport. It does not matter what level the athlete is at, sports and recreation are a huge part of quality of life for many people. While it is not possible after every injury to get back to the sport of your choice, I do my best to help you get back to it and teach you ways to help prevent future injury. I believe it is important for both our mental and physical health to have an activity we love doing and even more important to have the knowledge of proper injury prevention techniques (from warm-ups to cool-downs, when to rest, when it is okay to push through, etc). My patients appreciate they can come to me and talk to me about various activities such as hockey, Olympic weightlifting, running, barre class, yoga, etc. and know that I have experience in performing the activity myself or knowing enough about it to be able to tailor their rehab experience to get them back in action.
• Results: My patients and I are always in communication both during visits and in between to make sure the plan of care is progressing as we want it to. If a patient is not getting the results we want, we assess why that may be and determine a new path to get there. A recent patient of mine had three months of physical therapy for an injury that was causing them constant pain and they never once changed the course of care despite the patient not making much progress. They were referred to me and were hesitant at first due to their recent physical therapy experience. In one visit, we made more gains than they had made in three months at the other clinic. They have since gotten out of constant pain and are able to get through their day after only two visits with me.
All of these points encompass what I am most proud of as a company: helping people feel better, improving their quality of life, helping them regain hope and getting them back to doing the things they love. It is incredibly rewarding to go home at the end of the day knowing you are doing these things for your patients.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
They always say hindsight is 20/20, but in all honestly I wouldn’t have done anything differently except for having a little more faith in myself from the get go. Starting a business is full of all kinds of emotions and can feel a bit like a rollercoaster, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. All of the learning experiences I’ve had along the way have only helped me grow both as a practitioner and a business owner. I don’t think I’d be where I am today without the speed bumps along the way and the amazing support system I have that includes my fiancé, family and friends. They have been nothing but encouraging through this entire journey.
Contact Info:
- Address: 992 Great Plain Ave, Suite 2
Needham, MA 02492 - Website: www.resilientphysicaltherapy.com
- Phone: 617-356-8221
- Email: sarah@resilientphysicaltherapy.com
Image Credit:
Zvi Jalfin of Zvi Jalfin Photography (headshot in blue shirt, treatment photos)
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