What is your name?
Dr. Blake Johns, DPT, CSCS, cert. DN
What is your role at ARC Physical Therapy+?
Lead Therapist at Jeff City
Where are you from?
Born in Overland Park, KS
Where did you go to school?
K-State for B.S. Kinesiology, Spanish minor (EMAW!), KUMC for DPT. CSCS in 2022.
Who or what inspired you to get into the physical therapy space?
Tale as old as time – I tore my ACL in HS and after spending as much time in PT as I did thought it would be a great fit for me. I considered med school, but found that the amount of interpersonal time I have with my patients is nearly impossible to come by in any other medical profession, and that I highly valued having that proximity to my patients in their seasons of need.
What do you like most about your work in the physical therapy space?
Being able to address individual needs, concerns, and goals effectively and efficiently – but, most of all, personally. Healthcare, particularly within workman’s comp, can be impersonal and often difficult to voice individual concerns as completely as they deserve. I strive to treat each patient as an individual and, even when patterns emerge that may guide my decisions, apply treatments and my clinical decisions in a personalized manner.
What is one thing you wish everyone knew about the body or physical therapy?
Your butt can never be strong enough. However, our bodies are truly resilient and adaptive. PT is restorative, but it is more frequently optimizing and priming than “fixing” or “replacing”. I recognize the value that skilled PT holds, but my respect, both for what our bodies can do on their own right to protect us and keep us moving AND how it’s all meant to function, keeps me humble.
Are you involved with any outside organizations?
I earned an additional certification in strength and conditioning programming through the NSCA last year while working for the Navy. Even for those who aren’t Olympic lifters or sprinters, proper programming that challenges our muscles to get stronger is vital.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Spend time with my wife, Kelsey, and our blue heeler/golden mix, Asher. Chiefs, Royals (until they’re 20 wins below .500) and Formula One. Disc golf. Lifting. Gravel bike when I get chance.
How do you like to celebrate a win or a good day?
If it’s the super bowl – nice cigar and a Boulevard. Otherwise, a good steak & proper dinner will do just fine. A hard gym workout before can also be a plus (if not the reason for having a good day in and of itself!).
What is your favorite quote or saying?
“If only it were so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” – Aleksander Solzhenitzyn, The Gulag Archipelago
Favorite Sports Team?
Chiefs
Sweet or salty?
Both – I’m a Reese’s guy.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee, but tea is underrated.
Beach or mountains?
We just moved back from the beach after three years, and I think my answer is still mountains. Close call, again.
Go out or stay in?
I turned 30 this last year. I’ll go out to pick up takeout or resupply but that’s about it. Unless it’s disc golf, a bike ride, or a hike.
What is your best joke?
Why do pirates hate driving in the mountains?
…s’curvy.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Kelsey and I had a chance to go to India for two weeks in Aug. 2022 – incredible opportunity to explore a place with such a rich & diverse history and cultures. Food was unbelievable, but getting to hike in the (southern) Himalayas at the end of our trip was a highlight! (I’ve gotten my slideshow presentation to just under 2hr).
What patients/diagnoses are you most excited about treating?
I have had a lot of interest & success in treating shoulders, but typically get fired up by most orthopedic & sports-type injuries.
Can you share a patient success story?
Different company, but I worked with the wonderful lady in this video, Debbie, for most of her outpatient rehab. She was barely able to walk with a walker and we were able to achieve independent walking without any assistive device at all, after several long months of work! Her work ethic and determination not to accept where some of her previous doctors told her she more or less was forced to accept made it easy to go to bat for her, and remains my strongest data about human willpower, perseverance, and positivity.
What inspires you?
Seeing that my skillset provides value to others, both intrinsically and extrinsically. Helping a patient feel empowered to take control of their health (in ANY way) and seeing a piece of their fullest humanity restored is a genuine delight. I believe that we each were created with a purpose and intrinsic value that deserves to be taken hold of, and I count myself lucky that I get to be some small part of that.
So, fresh knowledge or perspective. Renewed vigor. Pursuit (and achievement!) of who each of us was created to be – a reflection of our Creator.
