One of the best parts about working with kids is getting to watch them grow up and turn into their own person, mentoring them along the way as best you can. This is what Brian Kratz loves most about being a pediatric physical therapist, seeing them overcome tough challenges and injuries and witness that look of pride on a patient’s face after overcoming a tough injury. Having fun and telling jokes with patient's while helping them recover is just one of the many perks of the job.
Brian's main goal as a physical therapist is to always have the patient's best interest at heart. It's important to him to get the athletes he works with back to their sport as quickly as possible, but only if they can be safe, smart, and have a little fun along the way.
One of his favorite patient stories involved a young girl who unfortunately tore her ACL a year before but was determined to get back onto the basketball court and worked tirelessly to do so . On the day she passed her return to sport test she was so excited and overwhelmed with emotion on accomplishing what seemed impossible a year ago. There was not a dry eye in the clinic and it was a true example that you can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it and have an amazing support system surrounding you.
The thing Brian values most as a physical therapist is knowledge and education, so he is always trying and reading the latest research in physical therapy. This helps him work with his patients to make the most informed and evidenced based decisions that they can to promote safety and health. There is always more to learn and Brian prioritizes knowing as much as he possibly can for the betterment of his patients.
We're so happy to have Brian here at CTPO, both for his amazing skills as a physical therapist but also for his fantastic and extensive collection of crazy socks! We cannot wait to continue to see him do great things here.