Meet Dr. Jennifer Nelson
DPT, DScPT, FAAOMPT, CMPT, COMT, CMTPT, FSNp, CEAS I, RYT 500
My Path to Becoming a Physical Therapist
I grew up in Rochester, MN where the two largest employers are Mayo Clinic and IBM. My mother is a nurse, and my father is a programmer for IBM. This environment created my love for problem solving and heartfelt compassion for people and animals. While I originally planned to be a marine biologist and join Green Peace, my youngest brother was only 3 year old when I graduated high school and I wanted to be a part of his life as he grew up. Since there were no marine biology programs in the Midwest at the time, I took an aptitude test and it pointed me in the direction of health care and education. I was too obstinate to become a nurse like my mom, and I wanted more contact with my patients then most medical doctors have. Math was always my favorite, and I remembered how the physical therapist I saw for a torn calf muscle was able to combine the biomechanics/math skills and hands-on care. I decided I wanted to be a high school math teacher to represent women in the hard sciences and a physical therapist during the summer. This was the early 2000’s and Physical Therapy was undergoing a transition from a master to doctorate level profession which meant considerably more education then what is required to teach math in a high school forcing me to decide that I would need to pick between the two. After spending a couple of summers as a technician and scheduler on the inpatient rehabilitation unit for brain and spinal cord injuries at the Mayo Clinic, I knew physical therapy was the place for me. I felt like I was going to dance class everyday, learning and helping people learn about their bodies. I fell in love with the connection the therapist and patient make and problem solving they do together every day. I have been hooked on physical therapy ever since!
Training
I graduated from Winona State University in 2005 with a BA in Mathematics, BS in Allied Health Biology and minors in Statistics and Psychology. In 2008 I graduated from the Mayo School of Health Sciences in the second class of Doctorate level Physical Therapists. After all that traditional learning I was exhausted and swore I would never go back to school again. I dabbled in Qi Gong, energy work and meditation trainings for a few years which really helped to fill in some of the gaps in my training. However, three years later I started a fellowship program and was back in school to get a terminal degree doctorate. I took my time with this and explored all the “rabbit holes” I could. For example, orthopedic classes always discussed the fact that the pelvic floor muscles were important for function of the sacroiliac joint, hip joint, breathing, trunk stability and spinal stability, but they never explained how to evaluate it. I therefore took the pelvic floor classes from Herman and Wallace before they had a pelvic floor certification. I picked them because they also treated the male pelvic floor which is a very underserved area of medicine. I also took the first Myopain Dry Needling class ever offered in Minnesota in order to help understand muscles better as most of my orthopedic studies had focused on bones and joints.
I graduated from the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy (NAIOMT) Fellowship and became a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists (AAOMPT) in 2016. One year later I graduated with my Doctorates of Science in Physical Therapy from Andrews University in 2017. The better therapist you become the more complex your patients become. As I progressed through my studies I found that many of my patients didn’t get better even though their strength or flexibility improved. This is when I discovered pain sciences and looking more at how language, beliefs, past experiences with movements, lifestyle factors such as sleep and diet all play a role in a patient’s recovery, some more than others. The International Spine and Pain Institute (ISPI) was my first exposure back before there were certifications in pain sciences. Another area that I was finding the people who sought my help were struggling with was headaches, jaw problems, and dizziness. As a result, I started training with the Cranio Facial Therapy Academy (CRAFTA), which helped to further shape my understanding and approach to general pain.
During the first few months of the COVID pandemic I had a lot of down time, and the classes and training I was planning on being a part of were canceled. I had wanted to take a Yoga Teaching Training (YTT) for years since I had found yoga to be a helpful way to regroup over lunch on long work days and many of my patients practice. I wanted a better understanding of the philosophies for both my own practice and so I could help my patients better. Luckily Yoga Farms was able to transition their YTT to an online format, and I was able to take it. It has been wonderful to incorporate this more into my work with patients and clients.
For a full list of all my classes, publication and teaching please email me for a copy of my Curriculum Vitae.
Here is a full list of all of the certifications I hold:
Doctorates of Science in Physical Therapy (DScPT)
Doctorates of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Fellow of American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT)
Certified Manual Physical Therapist (CMPT)
Certified Orthopedic Manipulative Therapist (COMT)
Certified Manual Trigger Point Therapist/Dry Needling (CMTPT)
Fu's Subcutaneous Needling practitioner (FSNp)
Advanced Certified Clinical Instructor (CI with the APTA)
Clinical Fellowship Instructor (CFI with NAIOMT)
Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist (CEAS I)
Registered Yoga Teacher 200hr. (RYT 200)
Pain as a Part of My Personal Life
I always struggle with how much of my own struggles I should share. Everyone’s path is unique, and I am not a purist in any one technique for my own life. Just because I chose and did well with one path does not mean I believe you need to make the same choices as I have or have the same beliefs. That said, I have found that many people want to work with someone who has a personal understanding of what it is like to have Hypermoblity, Autonomic Dysfunction, pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, pain, headaches, hip labral tears, TMJ dysfunction, etc…
While I don’t believe these things define me, here are a few things I have overcome through my life:
Hypermobilty: I still score a 9/9 on the Beighton hypermobility scale. When I was two years old a family friend swung me around by the arms causing me to dislocate both of my shoulders and elbow. When I worked in rehab and home health and transferred patients up to sitting my wrists would often sublux, and I would spend the next day or so trying to self-manipulate the joints. When doing manual therapy, my fingers would hyper extend often until I learned new techniques and built up the strength. I once tore a ligament in my thumb breaking chocolate.
TMJ/Headaches: My jaw locked shut for a year due to one of the disks subluxing (sliding forward and not letting the bone move). I was unable to open my mouth more then ½ an inch and it was too painful to chew. I was living in the college dorms so my food options were limited. I was pretty much only eating peanut butter, yogurt and Ensure. It hurt to talk and sleep. I was given a night splint and told there was nothing more they could do. Thankfully it unlocked by itself about one year later, but it was still painful and would at times get stuck. The headaches started after this. There were times they were so bad that I couldn’t see or think. I had to leave work a few times they were so bad.
Urinary incontinence and pelvic pain: The leaking started early when jumping in ballet class at age 13. In 8th grade I peed my pants running sprints on track and field day and had to ask my teacher to let me back into the locker room (that was locked) so I could change into a spare pair of shorts. It was better through high school and only happened with sneezing and laughing but got worse a few years after graduating undergrad and sex was sometimes painful.
Autonomic Dysfunction: Constant stomach pain and bloating but endoscopies were normal and antacids had no effect. Insomnia both falling asleep and staying asleep. Dizziness or passing out when standing up or bending over to pick something up off the ground. I would sometimes get up off the ground while treating a patient and have to sit/lean against something and just pray I didn’t pass out in front of them. My body used to hurt for days after doing a minor workout (5-10 reps of 1-3 exercises,) but I wouldn’t feel any discomfort while working out. Fatigue, never having enough energy to do things even when you get enough sleep and have enough food.
Joint problems: I have sprained my ankle so many times I can’t count, with some of the sprains being so bad I was on crutches. I have labral tears in both hips that can lock and pop. On my wedding day, my right hip locked so bad I couldn’t put weight on it. I had to teach someone in my wedding party to manipulate it. The wedding photographer got quite a kick out of it.
I can happily say that with a few lifestyle changes, staying consistent with cardio and strength training, well-timed manual therapy treatment and learning to set boundaries, these thing are not a problem in my life anymore. Yes, manual therapy and massage still help to enhance my life for the positive and are helpful when I over do something, but I’m no longer reliant on it.
Interests outside of work.
Dr. Jen became a bonus mom to 3 wonderful kids in 2023 and has one spoiled rotten cat but loves all animals. She loves spending time with her family and friends eating a nice meal or working out. She runs, bikes, does body weight strength training, yoga and pilates on a regular basis. Before she became a bonus mom she also loved to go rock climbing, hiking and paddling whenever she got a chance and she still loves to just be outside. Most of the pictures on the site are from trips Dr. Jen has taken. She also loves going to musicals, dance performances, the symphony and various concerts and pre-COVID would go to once or twice a month. She also loves going to live sporting events with baseball and soccer being her favorite but really loves the experience of any live sport or performance. Really Dr. Jen just loves life and will likely join in with anything as long as it is not cleaning.