Active PT & Sports

Joan Kopacz

MSPT, OCS, CIMT

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Founder and co-owner of ActivePT, Physical Therapist, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, Certified Integrated Manual Therapist

Joan is the founder and co-owner of ActivePT.  She received her Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in 1999 and practiced throughout southeastern Minnesota for eight years before founding ActivePT in 2008. Her vision was to attract therapists who are passionate about specialized areas of care and who are driven to be the best. Joan believes that when physical therapists treat their favorite type of patient, the patient gets the best possible results.  The PT’s motivation, passion, and specialized skills invariably produce better results.

Joan’s areas of specialization are shoulder, ankle, and foot rehabilitation. She also has a passion for treating runners and triathletes. While many practitioners will instruct an athlete to stop training while injured, Joan believes strongly in the use of creative rehab and strategic rest to allow an athlete to continue training while rehabilitating their injury. Whether your goal is to run/walk your first 5k, to qualify for the Boston Marathon, or to race in the Kona IronMan, Joan will continue to work with you until you finally meet your goal.

Joan often refers to the shoulder as “her first love.” Thanks to the mentorship of many influential physical therapists, practitioners, and orthopedic surgeons, she continues to develop her knowledge and skills in the areas of non-surgical and post-surgical shoulder rehabilitation. She has a special interest in adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder syndrome).  She loves treating challenging conditions and helping people get their life back through physical therapy.

In her spare time, Joan can typically be found on the water fishing. She loves to build just about anything, weightlifting, and spending time with her family.

 

Certifications and Education

  • OCS – Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist
  • CIMT – Certified Integrated Manual Therapist
  • MSPT – Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse – 1999
  • Certified Clinical Instructor by the American Physical Therapy Association

Memberships

  • APTA – American Physical Therapy Association member since 1999

Surgical Observation

  • Reverse shoulder arthroplasty, anatomical shoulder arthroplasty, revision of shoulder arthroplasty (shoulder replacement and reverse shoulder replacement)
  • Arthroscopic, mini-open, and full open rotator cuff repairs, subacromial decompression, distal clavicle resection
  • Arthroscopic capsular release and manipulation under anesthesia for adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
  • Arthroscopic biceps long head tenodesis, tenotomy, and labral repair
  • Total knee and total hip arthroplasty