DGS parent Rebecca Johnson is a certified athletic trainer and has obtained her Masters in physical therapy from Midwest University in 1998. While practicing, Johnson has also completed certifications in Manual Physical Therapy (CMPT) through the North American Institute of Manual Physical Therapy in 2010, Orthopedic Certified Specialist (OCS) through the American Physical Therapy Association in 2010, and Functional Manual Therapy (CFMT) through the Institute of Physical Art in 2016.

While Johnson is a certified athletic trainer and physical therapist she uses non-traditional methods of practice. She continues to follow the concepts first studied by the Barral Institute by continuing to understand the deeper relationship of the human body systems.

Johnson “listens” to the body by placing one hand on the head of her patient and is able to find the pain point the patient is experiencing. She explained this concept in more detail.

“I refer to this as ‘listening to the muscle tissues.’ Most of us know when we feel our muscles tighten, I just ask the question: how far away is the source creating this tightness and what support do you need to heal,” Johnson said. “These may not be typical questions you hear a physical therapist ask, yet this is what helps enhance healing, increase client awareness and allow them to stay ahead of future injuries.”

Johnson’s son, senior Zander Johnson, has been an athlete for the majority of his life and has experienced many of these practices first hand.

“This method has benefited me because if I have pain in my body, I can’t figure out why my mom is able to listen to my body and treat it as it seems appropriate. Oftentimes the pain is not caused by the area you feel pain, it is caused by tightness or restriction somewhere else and my mom is able to locate that area. This is very helpful because my mom is able to get me feeling back to normal with only one treatment,” Zander Johnson said.

These practices have been proven effective however aren’t common among traditional trainers during treatment. Freshman Nathan Peake compared and contrasted these two different methods of treatment.

“Both are trying to accomplish the same goal of making you feel better. A regular therapist focuses more on exercises to build strength and fix the problem like that. However [Johnson] has the ability to read and sense the problem then tunes into the body to try and fix it with sense and in a sense manipulating the body to fix the body,” Peake said.

While there may be a clear right or wrong way in the industry, Johnson continues to master her craft in a variety of ways. While doing this she continues to make an impact on many people’s lives daily.

“Collectively, my passion for curiosity and the ability to integrate new information is the catalyst to serving my clients. I am able to impact the lives of so many through my attention to detail, understanding the body systems and empower my clients to heal,” Johnson said.

Johnson now runs her own clinic, TLAR Physical Therapy in Warrenville, after stepping away from her long time job at Body Gears Physical Therapy in Wheaton.