Dr.

Being an athletic family, my husband, sons and myself are prone to having muscle issues in various levels of intensity and quite often. These range from shoulder pain, back, knee injuries and recovery from operations. Kathy Braun has been a source of great relief, as she is the first person we always return to downtown and now in her new location in Spring Valley, DC. Kathy Braun is strong in analyzing the problem and clear in her instructions for exercise outside the office. We religiously follow her program. Her approach has been life altering for us.

In late 2022, I learned that I had severe spinal stenosis in the lumbar region of my back. I consulted with a top orthopedic surgeon in Washington and a top neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Both said that I wasn’t yet a candidate for surgery because, at this time, my quality of life was not sufficiently diminished to justify surgery. Both agreed surgery would almost certainly be necessary in the short-to-medium time frame. When I asked what I should do in the interim, they both recommended physical therapy to become more flexible and strengthen my core. I asked my internist, a back pain specialist, and the surgeon I consulted in Washington for recommendations. All three recommended Kathy Braun. I started working with Kathy in December 2022, and it didn’t take long to understand why she came so highly recommended. When we started, I had trepidations about whether I—78 years old, moderately overweight, having had a sedentary work and home life, and with an MRI showing severe stenosis—could improve enough with physical therapy to keep the pain manageable and possibly delay surgery. Kathy said I could. From the beginning, she gave me the confidence I needed. After reviewing my MRI reports, she explained how this diagnosis would affect my life and what I needed to do. She started by explaining the changes I should make in my daily life, such as how to walk in a back-friendly way, get in and out of a chair, lift heavy objects, get in and out of bed, and even load and unload a dishwasher. Then, she assessed my core flexibility and strength and developed a stretching program. A few months later, she added strengthening exercises. Then, every few weeks, she would change the exercise program to reflect my progress. In addition, she would work on my back muscles and joints at each session. It’s been sixteen months, and I have made tremendous progress, thanks to Kathy. She kept me motivated in a positive way, explained how to do the exercises and why each was important, and never made me feel like I was letting her down in any way. This week, I “graduated.” I will continue with my daily exercises and check in with Kathy periodically and on an as-needed basis. My quality of life in the coming years will be much better than it would have been without the physical therapy. I am convinced that I have given myself a good chance to delay the surgery for as long as possible and maybe even avoid the surgery if I’m lucky. I highly recommend her.

Kathy Braun is an experienced and excellent physical therapist who succeeds in making sure her patients, even on the elderly side, can safely continue an active lifestyle despite injury or arthritis issues. I have seen her many times over the past year, and have been wonderfully pleased with her keen ability to diagnose my issues (knee, back) and develop effective exercises tailored for me that really work!