Meet Dr. Mike Simon, and the first thing you might notice is his hands. They’re on the … strong … side. Which might cause some concern when he tells you his premise behind Crossover Physical Therapy, located in St. Michael.
“It’s definitely a hands-on approach,” he said of his work with patients. “From diagnosing the pain to treating it to getting people back out there and active, I work a lot with these.”
The comfort in letting those strong hands get a patient back on track comes with Simon’s knowledge of his field. An athlete himself, Simon has done most all of it – from football to track and field, softball to CrossFit, he stays active.
But his true passion, he said, is helping keep other people active. Crossover Physical Therapy’s mission is to do just that – move people from rehabilitation to health. Or, in short, getting people active again.
“Here in the STMA community we have a lot of people that are very active. Whether they are weekend warriors, young athletes, active on the job site or working hard raising kids and keeping up with their activities. I have experience working with all walks of life. Whether it’s youth sports to people in their later years trying to keep up with their grandkids,” Simon said. Really, my goal is to help breakdown barriers for those who can’t get to the activities they want to due to pain or weakness and fatigue. Because you don’t want to say ‘I can’t do that anymore’ because of an injury or just because it’s too hard to keep up.”
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A typical appointment with “Dr. Mike” starts with an assessment. Simply, “what hurts and what might have happened,” or, “what do you want to do better?” From there, Simon will check everything from structure and foundation to range of motion, before moving into manual, deep tissue message (if required) and, finally, exercise suitable to get a patient back on the road to recovery.
“Realistically, I shouldn’t have to see a patient for weeks on end to get them going again. The goal here is to get the problem identified, get a plan into place and get the patient back out there as quickly as you can, as safely as you can,” he said.
It’s a tactic that works.
“You leave feeling like a new person, like you’ve got a second chance,” said a patient. “It’s pretty incredible. And the great thing is he helps you identify what you might have done wrong so you don’t repeat the injury.”
Simon, who also resides in St. Michael with his wife, Heather, and two kids, located his practice inside EffectUs Athletics/CrossFit STMA, which is at 13060 43rd St NE, near J&B Meats. He’s a CrossFit athlete, having participated in local and regional competitions. But he’s not pushing athletes to any preferred activity.
“I enjoy it because I’m competitive and I know it can be beneficial,” he said. “But, really, whatever people can do to stay active and stay healthy, that’s the goal.”
Here’s a tour of Crossover Physical Therapy with Dr. Mike: