Dynamic Physical Therapy Chicago

10/22/2026

Meet Sarah K! 👋

Sarah is one of our board certified orthopedic clinical specialists (OCS), and she brings something special to every session: she's been on the patient side of the table too.

💬 What do you love treating, and why?
"I love treating Achilles ruptures, low back pain, TMJ pain, and hip pain because I've personally had injuries in all of those places. I know what it feels like, and I know what it takes to get back."

📚 When she's not in the clinic...
You'll find Sarah reading, writing, traveling, or out on a hiking trail.

💡 Her favorite advice for patients:
"The mind body connection is more important than more reps. If you can't feel and control the exact spot we want, you won't see as much progress."

Quality over quantity, every time. 🙌

Want to work with Sarah?

https://dynamicphysicaltherapychicago.fullslate.com/employees/943

10/19/2026

Meet the Team: Luis Sanchez, PT, DPT 👋

Luis loves treating orthopedic and sports injuries, especially helping active people get back to the activities they love. He brings about five years of experience, including time at a spine clinic. His sessions combine hands-on manual therapy with strength training. “I love to see patients regain their confidence, move better, and achieve things they initially thought weren’t possible.”

Luis also specializes in dance medicine, and he knows the demands of dance firsthand. He’s a former professional Irish dancer and now teaches Irish dance as a certified TCRG instructor. Outside the clinic you’ll find him traveling, trying new restaurants, or at the theatre.

His favorite advice for patients: “Movement is medicine, and progress doesn’t happen overnight.”

Luis sees patients in English and Spanish. Every visit at Dynamic PT is a full hour, one on one, with the same therapist. Book with Luis 💙

https://dynamicphysicaltherapychicago.fullslate.com/employees/1539

10/16/2026

Flexible isn’t always a good thing. 🤸‍♀️

If you can bend your thumb to your wrist or drop into the splits with no warm up, you might be hypermobile. For some people that’s just how their body works. For others, it comes with joint pain, instability, and a constant feeling of tightness.

Here’s the surprising part: if you’re hypermobile and feel tight, stretching more usually isn’t the answer. Your muscles are often working overtime to stabilize joints that already move too much.

What helps instead:
✔️ Strength around unstable joints
✔️ Balance and proprioception training
✔️ Pacing your progress, especially with POTS or fatigue

Our new blog covers hypermobility, EDS, and HSD, plus how they connect to POTS, TMJ, and pelvic floor issues.

https://dynamic-pt.com/hypermobility-physical-therapy-eds-hsd/

Sarah Kemmerer, DPT, OCS, works with many of our hypermobile patients and builds plans around strength, control, and pacing so you can move with confidence. 💪

Every visit at Dynamic PT is a full hour, one on one with your physical therapist. No referral needed in Illinois.

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

Meet Mary Buzzard, PT, DPT, OCS 💜

To kick off National Physical Therapy Month, we’re introducing the people behind Dynamic PT, starting with Mary!

Mary is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist and has been part of our River North team since 2019. The hip is one of her favorite areas to treat, and she knows the recovery road firsthand. She’s been through a hip labral repair herself.

Her top tip: “Don’t forget to develop strength with rotation. The half kneeling chop is one of my favorite exercises because it gets so many different parts of the body working together, and it translates well into so many different activities.”

When she’s not in the clinic, you’ll find Mary working out or painting. 🎨

Dealing with hip, knee, or back pain? Book with Mary.

https://dynamicphysicaltherapychicago.fullslate.com/employees/6

10/12/2026

Chicago, you did it! 🏅

26.2 miles through 29 neighborhoods, and we were cheering for every one of you. Whether you PR’d, hit the wall at Pilsen, or just soaked in every mile, you should be proud today.

Now for the part nobody trains for: recovery. A few tips for this week:

👟 Keep moving. An easy walk today beats a day on the couch.
💧 Rehydrate and refuel. Your muscles are rebuilding.
😴 Prioritize sleep. It’s when the real repair happens.
🚫 Skip running for at least a few days, then ease back in slowly.
⚠️ General soreness should fade in about a week. Sharp pain, swelling, or pain that gets worse is your cue to get it checked.

If something still doesn’t feel right, we’re here. One on one care from therapists who run, too.

10/09/2026

2 days, Chicago. 🏅

That finish line feeling is the goal (throwback to my niece and nephew finishing the Minneapolis Marathon!). But what you do in the next few days decides how fast you bounce back.

Right after you finish
🚶‍♀️ Keep walking. Don’t sit right away
💧 Rehydrate and get some carbs and protein in within an hour
🧥 Get warm and into dry clothes

The next 2 to 3 days
🛌 Sleep as much as you can
🚶 Easy walks beat lying on the couch all day
🦵 Gentle movement, not deep stretching

The next 2 weeks
⏸️ Hold off on running until your legs feel normal again
🚴 Easy biking or swimming is great for recovery
⚠️ Soreness should improve every day. If it doesn’t, or one spot keeps hurting, get it checked

We’ll be here after the finish line too. Post race manual therapy, dry needling, and cupping can help you recover faster and get back to running sooner.

Good luck Sunday, runners! 💜💙

10/05/2026

It's race week, Chicago! 🎉

Our #1 rule this week: nothing new.

👟 No new shoes (yes, even if they're the same model)
🍌 No new gels, drinks, or breakfast
🧘 No brand new stretching or mobility routine
🏋️ No "just trying" a new class

Race day is about running the race you trained for. Stick with what got you here.

Running Sunday? Drop your goal pace in the comments and let us cheer you on! 👇

10/02/2026

9 days out. 🏃‍♀️

The hard work is done. Your fitness is banked, and nothing you do this week will make you faster, but plenty of things can make you slower.

Taper week reminders:
✅ Cut the miles, keep a little speed
✅ Prioritize sleep over one more workout
✅ Feeling sluggish or "off" is normal. Your body is repairing.
❌ Don't cram in a long run to "test" yourself

Nagging calf, hip, or IT band that showed up during peak training? Our PTs use hands on tools to help calm things down before race day:
💪 Manual therapy to restore motion and ease tight tissue
📍 Dry needling to release stubborn trigger points
🔵 Cupping to help with muscle tension and recovery

Timing matters. Needling and deeper work can leave you a little sore for a day or two, so this week is the sweet spot. Don't wait until Friday!

River North | One on one PT | No referral needed

https://dynamic-pt.com

09/30/2026

One of our favorite exercises for the shoulder is not really a shoulder exercise.

Bear plank shoulder taps. Start on hands and knees, hands under shoulders, lift your knees a few inches off the floor. Push the floor away so your upper back stays broad. Then slowly lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder.

The moment one hand leaves the ground, your body wants to rotate. The serratus anterior on the side still holding you up has to keep that shoulder blade pinned to the rib cage, while your trunk resists the twist.

The goal is not to eliminate every bit of movement. It is to control it.

Slow it down. Most people can do these fast and sloppy. Doing them slowly is where it gets hard, because you cannot use momentum to cover for poor stability.

Six more progressions on the blog, from quadruped presses to bear crawls.

https://dynamic-pt.com/serratus-anterior-trunk-stability/
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