At Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers, The Goal Is Prevention, Not Just Repair
For more than 20 years, Mike Graves has been on a mission to change the way people look at their health.
“Imagine a world where physical health and vitality is the rule rather than the exception,” Graves said. “That’s a pretty exciting world.”
But he realizes that world can only exist by properly educating people about their health. While Graves feels as if he’s making progress, he admits that he has a long way to go before reaching his goal.
Graves’ mission began in 1998 when he started Gold Coast Physical Therapy Associates. Over time, his business interests in the physical therapy profession have changed.
Currently, he is one of the original shareholders, leaders and entrepreneurs behind Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers, a national franchise with 450 locations in 46 states, including 10 locations in Palm Beach County.
Graves and his partner Bruce White remain the sole owners in Palm Beach County and are hard at work innovating and creating prevention-oriented services for patients, with a particular focus on senior citizens.
Graves and White said their company’s mission is “to prevent needless suffering and do all in their power to help seniors flourish.”
“We do this by educating our therapists through proprietary training programs, educating our clients and leveraging new patient treatment technologies in our centers,” Graves explained.
“Helping older people improve their balance is a huge issue today,” added White, whose career in the profession started while he was recovering from an injury to his shoulder blade back in 1994.
Since its founding in 2013, Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers has grown and expanded. Clients range in age from 5 to 105, but 60 percent of the patients are at least 60 years old. Beyond the condition they are receiving physical therapy for, the vast majority of his clients suffer from medical and health issues that Graves refers to as “diseases of affluence.” Fortunately, that scenario can change.
“Depending on the study you read, between 75 percent and 98 percent of diseases of affluence are preventable,” Graves said.
He explained that diseases of affluence are, in large part, the result of conscious decision-making. Two of the more common ones are obesity and diabetes, which are preventable with lifestyle decisions and are often tied to poor dietary choices and physical inactivity.
The physical inactivity issue is a big one, as more than 80 million U.S. residents are classified as physically inactive, according to the Physical Activity Council.
Improving those unhealthy statistics requires equipping patients with the knowledge to make their own lifestyle changes. “Getting weaker is not a byproduct of aging,” White said. “Instead, it’s a consequence of not moving. Exercising in life is like putting money away in the bank for the future.”
“We can’t mandate behavior change,” Graves added. “Instead, we must educate and provide customized, evidenced-based programs that address our clients’ specific needs. When people are armed with knowledge, and have access to trusted resources, they can make the right decisions.”
One of the company’s newest product offerings is a medically based fitness program for older patients called Fyzfit. The Fyzfit programs are currently available at the company’s locations in Boynton Beach and western Lake Worth.
“The Fyzfit program will help anybody do the basic movements in life, such as safely getting around the house, putting food away in the cabinets and picking up something from the floor,” White said.
Graves noted that one of the other big issues that seniors have to cope with is avoiding falling down. Even a fall which does not result in an injury can be costly.
“When all is said and done, the costs of a non-injury fall can average in excess of $20,000,” Graves said.
Sadly, too many falls do result in injury, which can eventually lead to an untimely death.
“When we prevent a fall, we save a life,” Graves said. “We can prevent that fall. At the very least, we can prevent a whole lot of suffering and costly medical intervention.”
At Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers, Graves said each facility has technology designed to counter falling. It’s a specialized vestibular system technology that specifically targets a patient’s balance system, which is tied to the inner ear.
“We have technology that can improve your vestibular system and deal with dizziness,” Graves said. “We can treat people with technology and educate them about what they can do to prevent falls. We have the most advanced technology available.”
The company’s leadership is also focused on re-educating the physical therapy profession. According to Graves, too many physical therapists traditionally focus solely on episodic care, treating the client’s body part rather than seeing them as the complete individual that they are. Physical therapists can and must do so much more, he said. By looking at clients in their entirety and engaging them on those issues, lives can be changed and suffering can be prevented.
Graves said that roughly 85 percent of his company’s current clients are walking in the door seeking help to recover from an injury. Currently, only some of those patients are getting fall prevention and balance care assistance. But the percentages are changing in favor of more care designed to prevent future problems.
The joint approach by Graves and White confirms the validity of the age-old cliché, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of care.”
“We have a sick care system in the U.S., not a healthcare system,” Graves said. “We’d like to see our physical therapy education system change, but change takes time. This is a cause worth fighting for.”
White said that his goal is to change the attitudes around aging in the United States.
“Successful aging in place does not just have to be about building access ramps and grab bars,” White said. “It’s about taking control of your physical health to live the longest possible quality-filled life.”
Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers has 10 locations in Palm Beach County. To find the nearest location to you, visit www.fyzicalpbc.com or call (561) 331-3636.
