Matthew Harwood PT, DPT, OCS – Physical Therapy
Professional Mission: “Life long learning through helping others”.
Education: Matthew has practiced physical therapy for 7.5 years. He is a board certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist by the American Physical Therapy Association. In 2008, he received his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Virginia Common Wealth University. He earned his Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Ohio University in 2003. Matthew is passionate about learning and teaching, “Every patient I touch provides a new opportunity to understand how the body works”. Matthew is a credentialed Clinical Instructor by the American Physical Therapy Association; “Teaching is passion of mine, to both students of physical therapy practice and to patients”.
Clinical Experience: Matthew joined Advance Physical Therapy in September of 2010, www.advance-physicaltherapy.com. Prior to joining APT, he practiced in the Washington DC region working at The Jackson Clinics, www.thejacksonclinics.com. This provided him the opportunity to specialize in treating orthopaedic musculoskeletal pathology of the spine and pelvis.
In his practice, Matthew views the human body as a complex system of moving parts. He understands that when these parts don’t work properly injury and pain can result. A thorough evaluation is critical to identifying the dysfunction. “I take the time understand how a person’s body is or isn’t moving properly and how this dysfunction and pain are affecting their life. Together with the client we create a plan of care that promotes healing, restoration of function and achievement of the patient’s goals”. His evaluations and treatments include assessing biomechanics of the spine, lower and upper extremity joints. “Identification of all the influences that can affect a person’s pain is critical for diagnosing and treating a person’s condition” says Matthew.
Matthew uses Postural Restoration treatment techniques in the management of musculoskeletal dysfunctions; Postural Restoration accounts for influences of posture, previous injury and movement dominance on a persons’ impairment. To complement this integrated treatment approach, Matthew incorporates modalities, orthopedic manual physical therapy techniques and medical exercise prescription to help the client manage pain/inflammation and return to the unique demands of their life. Additionally, his training in differential diagnosis, management of sports injury management, injury prevention, orthotic fabrication and casting, ergonomics, movement analysis and biomechanics is incorporated into his practice.
In addition to working at APT, Matthew specializes in dance physical therapy, working with the Carolina Ballet and local ballet studios in the Chapel Hill/Durham area. He provides physical therapy and in-services on injury prevention and movement training. His experience working with the ballet population has furthered his understanding of activity specific training and overuse injuries in young athletes.