As it does for most of us, for Chirag and Harnisha Shah, autumn in Michigan means leisurely walks, to marvel at the dazzling array of fall colors.
“We have our route that we always take,” Chirag reveals.
“Our love for nature is immense,” Harnisha adds.
But as our bodies age, many of us feel the need to forego those breathtaking autumn walks. Simply put, we’re too afraid of falling to enjoy a Michigan fall.
Harnisha and Chirag say it doesn’t have to be that way. They own FYZICAL, an innovative physical therapy clinic in Troy that restores physical well-being by improving balance. FYZICAL’s “Fight the Fall” campaign touts the transformative power of balance therapy.
“Balance is the primary reason why patients fall,” Harnisha notes.
Harnisha has a master’s degree in exercise physiology.
“I always had a passion for the human mind and body working together, especially as we are aging,” Harnisha shares. She says FYZICAL’s focus is on getting the mind and body to work in conjunction with each other.
I ask Chirag the biggest challenge FYZICAL clients come in with.
“Compensating for a lack of confidence in their balance by using other body parts, which then creates other issues in the body. So we’re sort of retraining the whole body to get back to the way it should be.”
Chirag agrees with his wife that balance therapy is about the mind-body connection.
“Physically, they're experiencing limitations,” Chirag explains. “But mentally those limitations are causing them concerns, or they’re feeling embarrassed. So when we rebuild that physical confidence, that they can take that next step and not fall over, not feel wobbly, that embarrassment starts to go away.”
Utilizing cutting-edge technology, Chirag says FYZICAL gamifies the therapy process, to motivate their clients to participate in their own healing.
“Obstacles courses, machines that light up different colors, ‘find the blue one and step on it’—our program forces clients to not only walk, but also figure out where they need to go and go there. We have balance boards, we have goggles that monitor eye movements. It's a lot of functional training.”
FYZICAL’s therapists always discuss each client’s goals with them before beginning therapy.
“We have patients who want to go on a family vacation,” reveals Chirag, “or take their dog out for a walk, or simply ‘I don’t want a walker—I want to be able to walk on my own.’ So we help them try to get there, session by session.”
Chirag tells me stories of clients who’ve been able to ditch walkers and canes, others who’ve relearned to walk despite vertigo, after strokes, and more.
“We had a patient come in,” Chirag recalls, “and all doctors had given up on them. They were wheelchair-bound. They came to us as an ‘I’ll give it one last shot’ kind of thing. But we were able to get them up and moving again. It's very very uplifting. That’s what we’re about. We keep you moving forward.”
To schedule a free 30-minute consultation at FYZICAL, call (248) 918-4966.