Dr. Manny Kim, DPT, PRC is an integrative physical therapist licensed in the state of Maryland and Virginia. A Chicago native, Manny received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Kim is a member of the APTA http://www.apta.org/ and certified in Postural Restoration through the Postural Restoration Institute http://www.posturalrestoration.com/.
Dr. Kim approaches every patient using a multi-system paradigm to treat the human body as a ‘whole’ and not just a part. His goal is to identify underlying influences and ‘drivers’ to postural patterns and musculoskeletal imbalances that often cause pain, dysfunction, and faulty movement patterns. Corrective strategies and interventions can then be provided once the problem is understood.
Dr. Kim has extensive training and experience in a gentle hands-on technique called Fascial Counterstrain (FCS). FCS is essentially a multi-system approach to resolving pain and dysfunction in the entire body. Many other well-known manual therapy modalities (e.g. massage, joint manipulation, dry needling) focus on one (or maybe two) systems of the body (e.g. muscular).
However, fascia is all encompassing and envelops and interacts with every structure/system of the body. How to prioritize and sequence treatment is the key to finding the root causes of a problem. FCS has a unique diagnostic tool which involves sophisticated cranial motion assessment to have a “conversation with the body” that will accurately predict which anatomical system and location on the body needs treatment. This is something that has to be experienced to be fully understood and appreciated as it is so unique in the manual therapy world.
Once the primary system and region of the body is identified, diagnostic tenderpoints are used to confirm the dysfunctional anatomical structure. Gentle forces and/or comfortable positions are used to ‘reset’ deep fascial sensors to correct dysfunction, spasm, and pain in virtually every major system of the body. FCS treatment is an elegant solution to pain and dysfunction in the entire body.
Dr. Kim also has a special interest in airway management/respiration, restoring sleep, structural abnormalities, sensory integration (e.g. oral-motor function, occlusion, vision) and development as well as the autonomic nervous system due to its impact on all systems of the body. He is a strong proponent of interdisciplinary collaboration with other healthcare professionals to provide the best outcomes for his patients.
Dr. Kim is experienced in treating a wide variety of patients including chronic, acute, and complex pain patterns. His desire is for all his patients to achieve their full health and movement potential.
Dr. Kim enjoys spending time with his family, taking continuing education courses, and living an active lifestyle.