Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Demirci.
Hi Heather, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was a competitive swimmer from the age of five and by the time I was nine years old, I was already in Physical Therapy for shoulder issues. I saw countless PTs that gave me the same exercises and treatments even though they never worked. I was convinced PTs couldn’t do much to help patients and wanted to be an orthopedic surgeons. When I was 15, right before my first shoulder surgery, I met a PT that was different. He looked me in the eyes when I spoke and wanted to see how the mechanics of my stroke looked. He was assessing everywhere in my body and not just the site of pain. It was this type of PT that convinced me to go into the field. After getting my doctorate in PT at Northeastern University, I completed a residency in Greenwich, CT to get my Certified Functional Manual Therapy (CFMT) accreditation and went on to complete my fellowship in Functional Manual Therapy in Midtown Manhattan. My husband and I moved out to OC in 2015 and I started my practice, Superior Performance Physical Therapy, in Newport Beach at 31 weeks pregnant in 2016 and opened my Santa Monica location in Sept 2018. The goal of the practice is to provide quality one-on-one care where we treat the patient as an individual where we assess all aspects of their health and life to get to the bottom of their pain and dysfunction.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We moved to this state for my husband’s job, not knowing anyone, and 14 weeks pregnant. It took until I was 31 weeks pregnant to get my CA license and then I had to start finding patients. I didn’t want to pay rent on a space knowing I was going to have a baby soon so I tried to find patients that wanted me to come to their house. I had a huge, pregnant belly carrying in my treatment table and bag until I was 39 weeks pregnant when my midwife asked me to take it easy. I opened my physical location when my daughter was five months old. I hated leaving my baby so my husband came up with the idea of renting two rooms where one would be a nursery where our nanny could care for my daughter and I could come over to feed and play with her.
I called so many doctors to see if they wanted to meet with me but there are so many PTs in the area that none of them wanted to meet. It took a while to show people that my approach to PT was a unique one that could really make a lasting change. I started off giving the moms from my mommy and me group free sessions in the hopes they would spread the word if they liked the treatments. It took what seems like forever to build up my practice and I felt defeated multiple times along the way but I’m so happy I persevered and stuck with it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Superior Performance Physical Therapy. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I always say injuries are like a leak through your ceiling. The ceiling tile that has water coming down from it is the site of pain, but the water didn’t just magically appear there and my job is to find the leak. More conventional medicine is about replacing ceiling tiles but I want to be known as the good repair person that will find the leak, stop the leak… then replace the ceiling tile. We assess the whole body, not just the site of pain, and take into factor their past medical history to weave together the story of how they got to our office. You can’t just take into account the musculoskeletal issues but also the viscera, nerves, and vascular systems if you want to effectively treat the body.
I specialize in Functional Manual Therapy and Barral Visceral and Neural Manipulation.
Our sessions are one-on-one with a manual PT, doing all manual work. Patients aren’t doing countless exercises with an aide when they are in our office. We don’t take insurance so our treatments are not dictated by what the reimbursement rates will be. Because of this, we usually see patients for an average of fewer than ten sessions.
What matters most to you? Why?
Finding the leak! Helping patients to get back to their full potential is the highlight of my career and it’s not the “big” wins. I work with professional athletes and people that want to get back to amazing feats but it’s the “small” wins that make my job worth it. One of my favorite stories is about a patient who had a hysterectomy because of cervical cancer, which she had healed from, but since the surgery, she couldn’t bend over without her back going on even after seeing multiple PTs and doctors. Her oldest daughter was about to get married and all she wanted was to be able to fix the bottom of her daughter’s dress when she’s getting ready. After a few sessions, she was leaving the treatment room and bent over to grab her purse without even thinking about it. She was shocked when she stood up without pain. Her favorite picture from the wedding was of her fluffing out the bottom of her daughter’s dress. That is what I love about my job! Helping people get back to what they never thought was possible, no matter how small the task because it’s not small to them.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.superiorperformancept.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/1685786468408433/united-states/newport-beach-california/superior-performance-physical-therapy/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHCYaVk5bS8ECKVsUvuikPQ
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-body-fusion-therapy/id1551744886
