Meet Derya Anderson | Physical Therapist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derya Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derya, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
No pain no gain! It’s simply not true, at least not when healing from an injury. Pain is your body signaling you to stop what you are doing, or to change how you are doing it. Also, pain does all sorts of things to our nervous system, one of which is making your muscles more tense. This is always counterproductive to healing from an injury and just generally unhelpful- we never want everything to be tense!

I take the approach that when things start hurting that means we are going in the wrong direction. This may seem obvious, but the way I was taught in physical therapy school and from other physical therapists early in my career is that sometimes you just need to “push through the pain.” I think this comes from a lack of understanding as to what is really going on that is causing the symptoms. Nothing I do with patients in clinic or ask them to do at home should ever be painful. If it is, then that is a sign that we need to change what we’re doing or try something else. This way, the nervous system stays relaxed and open to take in new information, and we aren’t aggravating the issue they came in with or creating new problems. Since I’ve taken this approach I have seen patients getting better, faster, and having an enjoyable experience instead of a painful one.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Essential Physical Therapy is the practice I started because I was frustrated working in the traditional physical therapy model. Insurance companies were dictating what I could do, not what I thought was best for my patients. That didn’t sit right with me. I knew there had to be a better way to treating patients- a lot of physical therapy tends to be a “guess and check” approach, chasing symptoms without addressing the root cause. I wanted to get to the root of the problem. I have the best patients who work hard at getting better. I love being able to provide an approach that makes sense to me and to my patients. It has been a long road of searching and many many hours of learning and studying to be able to provide a unique and holistic approach to PT, but it has definitely been worth it for my patients who deserve the best care and to understand and address the root cause of their pain.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When we first moved to Durango we lived in Rockwood, about 30 minutes north of town. We loved going to the Nugget for a cold beer after a long hike. It has a great view of Engineer Mountain and a relaxed mountain vibe. Also the live music there was so fun! Now that we live in town we still make it a point to go up there after our weekend hikes. The trails in town are also varied and fun, my favorite is the Skyline Trail because it gets in the Pine Trees and has some shade, and you can connect to other trails from there to make a variety of different loops. Our family also loves to take the dogs down to the river and throw sticks for them to swim after. We are pretty low key and don’t go out much at night, especially now that we have a new baby. But when we do get a date night we love going to El Moro for drinks and Burgers. My favorite store downtown is Maria’s Bookshop. I have always loved books and bookshops, and with the friendly staff, great book selection and recommendations, Maria’s does not disappoint!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I practice physical therapy with the PRI approach, which is pretty complex and challenging to master. I am so grateful to the Postural Restoration Institute and the community of PRI providers who have all been so helpful, welcoming and encouraging while I was getting started, and supportive even now as I continue to advance my learning. Lisa Kelly, another PRI provider took me under her wing when I was getting started and she helped me so much. Since I moved to Durango in the beginning of 2021, the community of providers in my building have been so welcoming. I am grateful to them and to the friendships I have made with other healthcare providers in this community. And of course to my husband who has always supported me in my goals and dreams of doing physical therapy differently and holistically.

Website: myessentialPT.com

Instagram: @MyEssentialPT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myessentialPT

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDJaP9u1Z9Uma__MpjgTn9w

Image Credits
Jenna Rice