Inspiring Conversations with Dr. Slava Shut of Back 2 Health Physical Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Slava Shut

Hi Dr. Slava, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a young boy when I immigrated to the US with my family from Ukraine. We came to this country with nothing, and I watched them work very hard for everything. I learned hard work required perseverance and through perseverance anything could be earned. I learned about taking risks and success often comes from taking risks. I always dreamed of becoming a doctor and when it was time, I enrolled in college to pursue my dream. I needed a job so I became a life guard. Being a life guard taught me how to observe life and protect it. It also taught me two very valuable life skills: communication and leadership. I was soon asked to teach swim lessons. I didn’t know how to teach but I learned. While life guarding and teaching swim lessons, I was asked to take over teaching the geriatric classes. These classes were taught by a very well-known fitness instructor. With little training, I accepted and taught intuitively. Before long, I achieved my Bachelor of Science degree and began working with athletes. I worked in the training room covering different sporting events. I picked up several certifications along the way. Two of those were Strength and Conditioning and Sports Medicine. My previous experiences, teaching and training, taught me to trust my intuitions and led me to pursue my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. I started with doing more personal training and learning different massage techniques. With the same tenacity, I achieved my Masters in Sports Medicine. Not long after I received an invitation to an open house for a Doctorate program, which led me to apply and be accepted. During my last clinical in the program, I worked side by side with my instructor at a physical therapy practice. He saw the volume I was producing and turned my unpaid position into a paid position. Having completed all of this, I achieved my dream and received my Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Every experience combined with hard work and perseverance brought me to this point. Shortly after graduating, I was hired to run a physical therapy clinic. Like my previous employers, they saw something in me that I didn’t see. They believed in me, a kid fresh out of school with no experience, so of course I had to accept. I did what I had always done, worked intuitively, as the clinic’s director. I attended business meetings and learned from the other clinic directors. I began marketing on my own, reaching out to doctors in the area, and in just one year, I increased their volume three fold. In 2006 I opened my first clinic on Wilshire, with my college friend, Dr. Ian Novotny. In 2008 we moved to a new location on Sunset, where we built our own pool for aquatic therapy. From there we opened our three clinics currently in operation today; Hollywood, Burbank, and Encino. Encino is my baby and where you can find me treating patients Monday – Friday. I work with students all the time, teaching and guiding their clinicals. I look for the same drive and perseverance I had back in the day and accept nothing less.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been anything but a smooth road. Opening a business is an investment. There is the monetary aspect in which you must come up with enough equity to open a business. It was a huge investment; more than anyone could imagine. Then there is the investment of knowledge; the knowledge it takes to treat the patients as well as the business acumen and all the fine details that entails. Of course, the patients come with their physical challenges, but they also come with their different personalities and dispositions. That in itself is a challenge. Then there are the employees which come with their own problems. However, the most difficult aspect of running a business is the work-life balance. I had to make a lot of sacrifices in the beginning and those sacrifices affected my wife and kids. I missed several school and sporting events. Let’s just say I sacrificed a lot to be the provider of my family. To put things into perspective, I had a heart attack at the age of 45 and only missed one day of work!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). I am the co-owner of Back 2 Health Physical Therapy. My partner is Dr. Ian Novotny. We have three clinics: Hollywood, Burbank, and Encino. I treat a variety of patients who vary in age from 6-106. I specialize in the neuromuscular skeletal system treating all orthopedic conditions, including sports medicine and neurological disfunction. I specialize in chronic conditions and post-injury recovery, whether that be from sports, repetitive strain, or other accidents. I also specialize in women’s health treating the pelvic floor and other gynecological conditions. I treat patients post plastic and orthopedic surgeries utilizing decongestion techniques and scar management. I am known as a holistic diagnostician because I diagnose holistically, and I treat holistically. When I say holistic, I mean I treat the body as a whole and not just the body part experiencing pain. My influence on the body affects all its systems. These systems include myofascial, muscle fascia, bones, nerves, lymphatic, and skin. What sets me apart from other therapists is my holistic approach and my ability to identify multiple effects from a single problem. With this approach I stimulate the body’s own natural processes to promote healing. Additionally, I utilize a transformational approach with my patients for a total mind body experience. Something we do at Back 2 Health, which is unheard of here in LA, is we take walk-ins. If you are an existing patient, you can walk-in at any time up to 2 hours before we close. Here in Encino, we are open 5 days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 am – 4 pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 11 am – 7 pm. I am most proud of the results my patients achieve and truly getting them Back 2 Health.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love about LA is the diversity. We have beaches 10 minutes away, countless beautiful, natural landscapes, the best restaurants, and endless attractions. The year-round warm weather isn’t bad either. What I like least about LA is the traffic. To be honest, I also do not like the politics. It’s not made for free enterprise. The policies for people who invest in real estate are not favorable. The policies, however, are favorable to criminals and people who do not want to work. Crime is through the roof and, of course, there is the homeless crisis.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.back2healthpt.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.slavashut
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/vshut/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.slavashut?