Today we’d like to introduce you to Candace Harding.
Hi Candace, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Dr. Candace P. Harding PT, DPT, OCS received her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from The George Washington University in 2016 and a B.S. in Exercise Science from Rutgers University in 2013. She is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist with post-doctoral coursework distinguishing her as a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist. She is also Level 2 Certified for Dry Needling through the Institute of Advanced Musculoskeletal Treatments. As a former dancer, she has a love and passion for movement which led her to yoga. Since obtaining a 200-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) in 2015, she has taken her interest in yoga further to study Professional Yoga Therapy (PYT) and Integrative Lifestyle Medicine, at the Living Well Institute with Dr. Ginger Garner PT, DPT, ATC, PYT. She has also begun coursework to become an Institute of Clinical Excellence (ICE) Certified Clinician having completed courses for care management of fitness athletes, runners, and pelvic health, as of present. Her most recent area of continued study is surrounding the biology of female aging, the hormonal changes associated with perimenopause, and how to best support those with whom she works experiencing fluctuating symptoms.
Her passion for lifelong health, activity participation, and optimal aging comes from personal experience rehabbing and returning to competitive dance and watching her 83 year old grandfather (at the time) begin aging after making a decision to cease participation in home renovation projects for friends and family. Home renovations were his primary form of physical activity, requiring him to get on/off the floor, climb ladders, take impact through his upper extremity ties (hammering, etc), lift, carry, etc. Once that activity stopped, developed a fear of falls, stopped moving as much, and began to age.
Visibly watching what happens when people are inactive and knowing that research supports lifelong ability to participate at a variety of levels, has made it Dr. Candace’s mission to support people in working towards and achieving pie-in-the-sky dreams for their physical capacity, regardless of age.
After 6 years working in traditional, outpatient orthopedic physical therapy, Dr. Candace realized that providing the quality of of which she was capable and patients deserved wasn’t supported by the care delivery structure. So, she took the dive and opened Thrive with Dr. C- Integrative Physical Therapy, believing that there are people who want more support and care in achieving their goals and living a life full of joy and activity, regardless of age.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
In truth, I cried a lot for the first 6-8 months and I still cry sometimes 4 years in (less often, but it happens). The biggest, ongoing struggle, is knowing that many times growing into a new phase of business means “betting” on yourself before results are created. I’ve recently moved from a 250 sq foot office to a 2500 sq foot office. I didn’t make the decision to move swiftly. I looked at my metrics, and knew that I wanted the business to be able to serve more people. That wasn’t possible in my prior location. So the practice literally has to, “grow,” into this new office. It takes a lot of trust, and emotional stability! However, my most notable struggle was getting sick before I had a chance to bring on more team members. I was in the process of hiring another clinician when I ended up in the hospital for 4 days. It’s not often that I have to cancel patients, but I had a hard time working for about a month and I felt like I was letting people down. People were trusting me to take care of them and I, physically, couldn’t do it. The experience really reinforced the importance of having a team. Being a solo provider and business owner works as long as your healthy and there are enough hours in a day. I’ve now experienced how quickly that can change.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Thrive with Dr. C- Integrative Physical Therapy?
We help adults live full, active lives with confidence. We are a private-pay, orthopedic physical therapy practice with a focus on holistic health and performance. The human body has the innate capacity to heal, but that healing response can be blunted by some of our daily decisions, habits, and/or struggles we might have with sleep quality and managing stress. While what we do in the office is important in terms of the hands-on-treatment and exercises prescribed with the demands of your end goal in mind, we also support people in their ability self-manage. While we work with a wide population, we specialize in treating yoga practitioners, fitness athletes, runners, and sports enthusiasts. What sets us apart from other practices is that we treat in a way that allows us to narrow-in on what your body responds well to and what it doesn’t (yet). We’re not the provider that recommends you cease participation in activities you enjoy, but rather guides you in how to continue participation while reducing symptom exacerbation. It’s about progressive loading and bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be. We don’t wait a month to re-measure your progress. We check-in on it in every visit, often, multiple times. We look at the body regions above and below your pain, at minimum, to establish the root cause of your condition and go beyond getting people out of pain. When people work with us, it’s to reduce/resolve pain, address the root cause, and re-build resilience. When you come to see our practice, you’re there to see YOUR physical therapist, not to have “physical therapy.” We offer 1-1 physical therapy and preventative care in-person and telehealth, massage therapy, and quarterly in-house community events to bring people together. We are also in the process of developing an app that will allow people to have access to us at a distance. What I’m most proud of is that our patients and clients truly enjoy seeing us and vice versa!
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I love puzzles! I spent a lot of time with my maternal Grandmother and Great Aunt in my youth. They were “old school,” and didn’t “play” with children. They both enjoyed crossword puzzles and word searches; sudoku hadn’t made it into popularity yet. They didn’t want to share their books with me, so they gave me my own books to solve. We’d sit side-by-side doing puzzles. My paternal Grandfather, also, loved scrabble, sudoku, and geometric puzzles. Even into his 90s, he was kicking my butt at scrabble. We once used all of the letters in the bag, but our scores were nowhere near close! When I’m feeling overwhelmed or just feel the need to relax, I still turn to puzzles. It drums up fond memories and provides me a sense of peace.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thrivewithdrc.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thrivewithdrc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thrivewithdrc
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivewithdr.c4248
- Other: https://thrive-with-dr-c.mvt.so/
