Meet John Kummrow of Integrative Physiotherapy in Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to John Kummrow.

Thanks for sharing your story with us John. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first really found my passion for movement after being diagnosed with a life-threatening autoimmune disease at the age of 13, which restricted all physical activity. I remember asking the doctor if I could just pick up a weight to start moving again. This led to involvement in other physical activities like football, martial arts and powerlifting. Then life really hit me, and I incurred a spinal cord injury during a football game my senior year of college football at Colorado State University. The medical community at that time, including many physical therapists and chiropractors, concluded that due to the severity of the injury, I would never regain full function in my right arm.

Despite popular opinion (I like to think outside the box), I believed I could recover. This led me to graduate school to get my Doctor of Physical Therapy. While I was completing my undergraduate degree in the Health and Exercise Science department with a concentration in Sports Medicine, I was running a niche kinesiology and physiotherapy clinic working as a massage therapist for six years and personal training for seven years prior to going to grad school. I was under tutelage of mentors that combined had over 60 years of experience and power that transferred an incredible amount of life knowledge that facilitated my graduate experience. I applied my experience, education and creativity to my own injury leading to 95% functionality of my arm and shoulder. I can’t quite hold my handstand yet, but I can pretty much do anything else.

I started my clinic, Integrative Physiotherapy almost eleven years ago and to this day we continue to offer physical therapy that is unprecedented almost anywhere in the world. It’s just a normal day at the clinic to walk in to find people suspended upside down in the air, or dangling doing the splits. Any age, all walks of life, any lifestyle… if the attitude and the will to put in the work are there. You will get better from the “I.P. Approach”.

Active traction is my baby, which is used in conjunction with an exercise library that I’ve developed (that is over 500 exercises & counting). The movement is one piece and the manual work is the other integral piece of my systematic approach to rehab. Manual therapy modalities include, but are not limited to – joint mobilizations, active & passive soft tissue work, dry needling & imaging coaching. You never know what your session will hold at I.P. It’s fun and it’s effective – it is a dream that I am excited to begin to really disseminate the benefits to a larger population.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Running your own business is a lot harder than people think. Finding enough fish to not be in famine, and refining skills both professionally and personally involves riding a lot of waves. Both high and low. You have to be willing to compete with the best in your field and make it a constructive challenge to be one of the best at what you do. Especially in my field, we hold people’s lives in our hands. It’s a big responsibility to do right for the patient’s health and well-being.

Please tell us about Integrative Physiotherapy.
Integrative Physiotherapy is a physical therapy clinic. We specialize in orthopedic and neurorehabilitation… for anyone of all ages. At I.P., we do things differently. Our clientele spans from ages 4 to 96 and is effective for pathology ranging from high-level sports injuries in professional athletes to wheelchair-bound individuals. It’s important to me that each patient is given a clear diagnosis based on evidence-based specialized testing and imagery/blood tests if needed. We as clinicians, make sure we take our time, are always one-on-one during sessions, gather comprehensive history, leaving no stone unturned, and perform a battery of tests to ensure we know what we’re treating and how we’re treating it. If clinical red flags indicate symptoms that are not amenable to physical therapy, we help you find an appropriate healthcare practitioner that we trust.

The way in which we treat patients – clinically and interpersonally – is what I’m most proud of. We don’t short our patients, we are always directly treating our patients and my clinic is an environment where anyone is welcome without judgement. I love hearing patients telling me like they feel like they’re coming to a community when they come for an appointment at I.P. I like to use the expression – ‘All matter, none divide’. A little physics pun. But it really is indicative of how I see each person that walks through my doors. If you know me at all, you know my alliterations and play on words can spin you in circles if you don’t keep your halo over your hoola-hoops…

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Never being complacent and always continuing to expand. In knowledge, in business, in movement, in approach to rehab.

Contact Info:

• Address: Flagship Location: 2020 S College Ave Ste C1 Fort Collins CO, 80525
  Wellington Clinic: 8017 First St Wellington CO, 80549
• Website: www.fortcollinspt.com
• Phone: 970-430-7055
• Email: www.fortcollinspt.com

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