Dynamic Physical Therapy Chicago

10/14/2026

10/14/2026

Meet Mary Buzzard, PT, DPT, OCS 💜

To kick off National Physical Therapy Month, we’re introducing the people behind Dynamic PT, starting with Mary!

Mary is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist and has been part of our River North team since 2019. The hip is one of her favorite areas to treat, and she knows the recovery road firsthand. She’s been through a hip labral repair herself.

Her top tip: “Don’t forget to develop strength with rotation. The half kneeling chop is one of my favorite exercises because it gets so many different parts of the body working together, and it translates well into so many different activities.”

When she’s not in the clinic, you’ll find Mary working out or painting. 🎨

Dealing with hip, knee, or back pain? Book with Mary.

https://dynamicphysicaltherapychicago.fullslate.com/employees/6

10/12/2026

Chicago, you did it! 🏅

26.2 miles through 29 neighborhoods, and we were cheering for every one of you. Whether you PR’d, hit the wall at Pilsen, or just soaked in every mile, you should be proud today.

Now for the part nobody trains for: recovery. A few tips for this week:

👟 Keep moving. An easy walk today beats a day on the couch.
💧 Rehydrate and refuel. Your muscles are rebuilding.
😴 Prioritize sleep. It’s when the real repair happens.
🚫 Skip running for at least a few days, then ease back in slowly.
⚠️ General soreness should fade in about a week. Sharp pain, swelling, or pain that gets worse is your cue to get it checked.

If something still doesn’t feel right, we’re here. One on one care from therapists who run, too.

10/09/2026

2 days, Chicago. 🏅

That finish line feeling is the goal (throwback to my niece and nephew finishing the Minneapolis Marathon!). But what you do in the next few days decides how fast you bounce back.

Right after you finish
🚶‍♀️ Keep walking. Don’t sit right away
💧 Rehydrate and get some carbs and protein in within an hour
🧥 Get warm and into dry clothes

The next 2 to 3 days
🛌 Sleep as much as you can
🚶 Easy walks beat lying on the couch all day
🦵 Gentle movement, not deep stretching

The next 2 weeks
⏸️ Hold off on running until your legs feel normal again
🚴 Easy biking or swimming is great for recovery
⚠️ Soreness should improve every day. If it doesn’t, or one spot keeps hurting, get it checked

We’ll be here after the finish line too. Post race manual therapy, dry needling, and cupping can help you recover faster and get back to running sooner.

Good luck Sunday, runners! 💜💙

10/05/2026

It's race week, Chicago! 🎉

Our #1 rule this week: nothing new.

👟 No new shoes (yes, even if they're the same model)
🍌 No new gels, drinks, or breakfast
🧘 No brand new stretching or mobility routine
🏋️ No "just trying" a new class

Race day is about running the race you trained for. Stick with what got you here.

Running Sunday? Drop your goal pace in the comments and let us cheer you on! 👇

10/02/2026

9 days out. 🏃‍♀️

The hard work is done. Your fitness is banked, and nothing you do this week will make you faster, but plenty of things can make you slower.

Taper week reminders:
✅ Cut the miles, keep a little speed
✅ Prioritize sleep over one more workout
✅ Feeling sluggish or "off" is normal. Your body is repairing.
❌ Don't cram in a long run to "test" yourself

Nagging calf, hip, or IT band that showed up during peak training? Our PTs use hands on tools to help calm things down before race day:
💪 Manual therapy to restore motion and ease tight tissue
📍 Dry needling to release stubborn trigger points
🔵 Cupping to help with muscle tension and recovery

Timing matters. Needling and deeper work can leave you a little sore for a day or two, so this week is the sweet spot. Don't wait until Friday!

River North | One on one PT | No referral needed

https://dynamic-pt.com

09/30/2026

One of our favorite exercises for the shoulder is not really a shoulder exercise.

Bear plank shoulder taps. Start on hands and knees, hands under shoulders, lift your knees a few inches off the floor. Push the floor away so your upper back stays broad. Then slowly lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder.

The moment one hand leaves the ground, your body wants to rotate. The serratus anterior on the side still holding you up has to keep that shoulder blade pinned to the rib cage, while your trunk resists the twist.

The goal is not to eliminate every bit of movement. It is to control it.

Slow it down. Most people can do these fast and sloppy. Doing them slowly is where it gets hard, because you cannot use momentum to cover for poor stability.

Six more progressions on the blog, from quadruped presses to bear crawls.

https://dynamic-pt.com/serratus-anterior-trunk-stability/
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09/28/2026

You might not have the overhead mobility you think you do.

Reach both arms straight overhead. Now check what your ribs did. If the front of your rib cage flared forward and your lower back arched to get there, you did not get that range from your shoulder. You borrowed it from your spine.

This is one of the most common things we see with shoulder pain. The shoulder blade sits on the rib cage, so when the rib cage shifts, the shoulder blade's starting position shifts with it. The serratus anterior, which controls the shoulder blade, is suddenly working from a moving base.

It is why cueing someone to "push the floor away" in a plank does not always fix their mechanics. If they cannot control the trunk underneath the shoulder blade, they will just find a different way to compensate.

New on the blog: how the serratus anterior and trunk stability work together, seven exercises that train both at once, and why holding a plank longer is not the goal.

https://dynamic-pt.com/serratus-anterior-trunk-stability/
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09/25/2026

Here is what nine years of the same model actually buys you.

Your therapist remembers what your shoulder did three weeks ago without reading it off a screen. They notice when your gait changes before you mention it. They know you have a race in October and what that means for how hard to push.

That is not possible when you are seen by whoever is available, for twenty minutes, in a room with three other patients.

It is also why people stay. Some of the patients we saw in 2017 are still coming back when something flares up, and several have sent us their families.

If you have been putting something off, whether it is a knee that has bothered you since spring or a shoulder you have stopped using overhead, come in. In Illinois you do not need a referral to start.

Thank you for nine years.

09/23/2026

What nine years actually looked like.

2017: one therapist, a shared space, and a lot of hoping the phone would ring.

2019: two therapists in a small clinic on Huron. Mary Buzzard and Joni both joined that year and are both still here.

Today: five physical therapists in a larger River North space, two of them board certified orthopedic clinical specialists with residency training, one a former professional Irish dancer, and a office manager that knows your name before you get to the door.

The thing we are proudest of is not the growth. It is that the model survived it. Every visit is still a full hour, still one on one, still the same therapist throughout your care. That gets harder to protect as you add people, not easier.

https://dynamic-pt.com/