ABOUT

Early in my schooling and career in physical therapy I realized that I could make the biggest impact for the world by keeping the workforce working.

Gina Sandoval, Doctor of Physical Therapy & Founder of Spine Solutions

When I was about 13, my dad, who worked as a sheet metalist, got really sick.

I still remember feeling that fear and insecurity as we wondered if he was going to be able to go back to work. Were we going to be able to make it?
That event left its mark on me. Although I didn’t consciously recognize it until years later, this became a real core passion that eventually created Spine Solutions.

It is vital to keep people healthy and working.
It’s not only the foundation to a successful and productive business enterprise, but it’s imperative to the family unit being able to provide and thrive. And, in the end, people are providing for their families and contributing to the overall community.

After I had earned my Master’s degree in Physical Therapy, I initially traveled as a physical therapist, much like traveling nurses, across the United States. As I earned my Doctorate, I was also in the field, exposed to numerous different cultures and working methodologies.

After establishing my first clinics in New Mexico, I began working as a physical therapist at Boeing’s headquarters in Seattle. As I worked on actual airplanes observing the work practices of installing seats and implementing better safety protocols for physical health, I also worked with every range of injured employee, from custodians to fabricators and the pilots.

It was there that the epiphany landed and I created Spine Solutions into the full-service “health enabling” focus we provide to employers and their Industrial Athletes.

 

The Difference Between Traditional Physical Therapy and Spine Solutions

A traditional therapist works to get people back into a healthy physical state. While we certainly do this at Spine Solutions, too, we’ve taken it much further, creating bookends on either side of that therapy based on one foundational fact:

Every person’s job requires a different set of physical skills. Baseball players are not trained the same as football players and, custodians are not trained the same as roofers. Chefs and security guards are on their feet for endless hours a day, but their physical job requirements vastly differ. Someone who works in the accounting department has an entirely different physical requirement in the day than a front desk receptionist.

It’s our job to see that difference from the start so that in the end your worker can return to full duty with improved skills, more conscious awareness of the physical mechanics of the job, actually fulfilling the age-old hope: Work smarter, not harder.

 

Making a safe hire from the start is key.

At Spine Solutions, we provide unique preventative injury programs on the front end to help companies effectively sidestep down time due to injuries. And, on the post-injury side, we work to properly evaluate and re-immerse each individual client into what he or she can physically take on for the long term.

While this may sound like a standard offering, it is not.

We become long-term partners with our corporate clients, starting with very specific job descriptions that lay out the physical requirements needed for each position. We’re here every step of the way, from physical job descriptions and hiring application processes to pre-hire evaluations, job function matching assistance, and ergonomic assessments and regular plant walkthroughs.

In situations where workers do get injured, we offer custom programs utilizing our unique methodology that fully evaluate the therapeutic process. Then, we fully test the individual throughout the return to the workplace process so that any modifications, job changes or transitions are recommended and handled to keep that worker at his or her optimum.

Workers who feel and operate at their optimum means optimum productivity. Optimum productivity means less workers’ compensation, less insurance filings and, most importantly, a happier, confident workforce.

At Spine Solutions, we keep your workforce moving. Let us help you experience this better Solution.

In health and abundance,
Dr. Gina Sandoval, PT, DPT, CEASIII