What is your name?
Jeremy Cash Graddy
What is/will be your role at ARC Physical Therapy+?
Lead Physical Therapist for Joplin, Missouri
Where are you from?
Born in West Plains, Missouri. Grew up in Evening Shade, Arkansas and Republic, Missouri.
Where did you go to school?
Graduated from Republic A+ High School in 2006.
Graduated from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri with a BS in Exercise and Movement Science with minors in Nutrition and Biomedical Sciences in 2011.
Graduated from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2014.
Who or what inspired you to get into the physical therapy space?
My dad was in a work injury when I was around 5 that paralyzed him. An integrated group of people helped him to heal, re-learn to walk, and get well again over many years.
He went on to become a K-9 officer for the Sharp County, Arkansas Sheriff’s Department.
I wanted to do something similar to that integrated group to give back.
I explored Chiropractic, Doctor of Osteopathy, and Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy became and still is a passion of mine.
I model my career on doing what is going to achieve the best and fastest results for my clients to get back to normal. Personally, I continue the integrated model frame of mind treatment to every client I see.
My personal mission is to do everything I can to give back to the people that gave me a dad back who could carry me on his shoulders again when I was a kid. Doing this I have found a passion for helping people rehab from all walks of life, but with a personal interest in work injuries.
What do you like most about your work in the physical therapy space?
I really like to serve people through investigation and teaching. You get to know people and their problems by investigating through our conversations as well as working with a person on a hands-on basis. Then with the information we find I get to serve them by teaching them to be well, first with a little help, and then independently.
I also enjoy getting to work in an integrated manner with our physicians, chiropractors, dentists, nurses, and workers’ compensation folks to achieve a client’s best outcomes.
What is one thing you wish everyone knew about the body or physical therapy?
The body is an amazing, big energetic unit made from multiple parts that is self-healing. It requires balance and flow of the parts so that the body can do this best.
Physical therapy isn’t just exercise and we cannot do the work for a client. Physical therapy is about helping people learn how to regain balance and flow so that the body can heal itself.
What patients/diagnoses are you most excited about treating?
I am excited about treating any motivated client. I feel successful with shoulder diagnoses consistently. I feel successful with post-op clients consistently.
Can you share a patient success story? Is there a patient you worked with that made a significant impact on your as a therapist/leader?
I recently had a client state that he was 100% sure he could not do his job prior to our STRIVE Work Conditioning program, and afterwards he was 100% certain he could because he went through that program.
Are you involved with any outside organizations?
Most of my involvement in outside organizations is participating with a variety of groups to promote physical therapy education and sharing of ideas. This tends to spillover to other health care providers like massage therapists, athletic trainers, coaches, occupational therapists, et cetera. Most recently this has primarily involved the NeuroKinetic Therapy and International Association of Healthcare Practitioners groups.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Spend as much time as possible with my two children and wife. This usually means putting together Legos, transforming Transformers, playing soccer in the backyard, shuffling UNO cards, or chasing our 2-year-old daughter in every way (through the house, across the yard, around the Gold Medal gymnastics gym).
I spend most of my personal free time studying and/or reading. These are almost 100% therapy related.
I also enjoy cooking, grilling, and smoking foods. My most frequent cooking involves Gumbo, Tri-tips, and breakfast items for the kiddos.
How do you like to celebrate a win or a good day?
Share it with my family. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat! Maybe get a Boot Daddy Concrete at Andy’s Frozen Custard (add pecans!).
What is your favorite quote or saying?
“And…how did that work out for you?” – Dr. Phil
All manner of Seinfeld quotes:
- “Serenity now, insanity later.”
- “These pretzels are making me thirsty!”
- “Yada, yada, yada.”
I also like, “Breathe as deeply as you want to live,” and “Perseverance, furthers.” -Michael Reed Gach.
Lastly, “If you were supposed to watch your mouth all of the time, I doubt your eyes would be above it.” – “Mike” Cooley
Favorite Sports Team?
The Kansas City Chiefs
Sweet or salty?
Salty. Unless it’s ice cream.
Coffee or tea?
Morning coffee, afternoon tea.
Beach or mountains?
Mountains. Beaches are too close to sharks. Not today, sharks!
Go out or stay in?
Go out with friends. Go out to the rivers. Go out to see a band. Go out to new places like Arizona, New York or Brazil. Stay in with family. Stay in with the kids. Stay in to get caught up on laundry. Stay in to rest, relax, and recover.
What is your best joke?
Anything that makes my wife laugh.
I don’t think I have a particular best joke. Although I do like, “Confucius say…man who stands on toilet…is high on pot.” That just tickles me.
