Ironhorse Physical Therapy & Pilates

I was fortunate enough to receive a referral to Victoria at Ironhorse Physical Therapy from a trusted friend when I was diagnosed with frozen shoulder. I couldn't lift my right arm, had barely any movement other than being able to bend my elbow. Washing my hair, putting on a shirt, and so many other daily tasks were painful, or more accurately I was unable to perform them. I'd experienced the Kaiser PT system in the past, and decided instead of "online classes", I wanted to get real, personal results. Victoria provided them. With personal one hour appointments that quickly started "unfreezing" my shoulder through a method of pressure techniques and exercise, I had movement again within weeks! She'd suggest simple exercises I could perform at home to help with my recovery. Entering my fifth decade, it's of vital importance to me to continue to do activities I love, including waterskiing and snow skiing. Victoria was key in helping me achieve that goal. Within two months I was able to waterski! She will always be my go-to person for myself and my family.

A quick note to say thank you to Victoria Liu at Ironhorse PT and Pilates for helping to rehab my Achilles.I am a long-time triathlete and have completed over 20 Ironman events over the years.  I’ve been really lucky to stay fairly injury-free.  There have been a couple of self-induced bike crashes, but they don’t count :).In June of this year, I started feeling some mild discomfort in and around my Achilles.  I dialed down my running and tried my luck at Dr. Google for a while. By early August it was starting to bother me more and I began to take the injury a little more seriously as I was now sore most of the time.  Not really painful, but it was definitely getting worse.  I had an Ironman event on the calendar for early October.  I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, but if it did, I wanted to participate.  I dialed back my running even more.  By late August I knew it was time to get an expert involved.I booked an appointment with Victoria. I was really happy with her guidance last year when she helped me get back together after a bad bike accident.The first meeting was extremely helpful as she unwound many of the misconceptions I had developed trying to research the topic myself. I didn’t need to stop running and that was good to hear.  I was wearing flat shoes thinking it would help stretch the tendons and calves.  I was told to put them away and wear shoes with more of a drop to take some of the pressure off.  There were a bunch of other lessons learned that helped me a lot. I think half the session was a long Q&A with me asking all the questions.  I left with a set of exercises to do for 30 days or so.Within a few days of starting the program, my Achilles started to feel better. The daily aches and pains went away.  Within two weeks the issue was 90-95% better. It allowed me to increase my running mileage over the last weeks going into my race and it really helped with the confidence that I could compete and finish the triathlon.I went back for one more follow-up visit just before my race and was given a few more exercises to add to my repertoire.I’m glad to say that I went to Ironman Texas.  It wasn’t my prettiest race by far but I did manage to qualify for the world championship in Kona again :)I’m getting closer to saying I’m 100% better, but I’m not quite there yet.  Victoria did tell me that it would take some time to fully recover and I guess I will have to be OK with that!Thanks again Victoria for all your help and guidance.

I first came to see Victoria about lingering Achilles pain about 2 years ago. I was hesitant at first due to cost, but Victoria taught me things about my body that I had overlooked.I swam at the Olympic Trials and am currently a professional triathlete. I dabble in Ultrarunning. I have gone to see Victoria 7 times over the last two years due to a few lingering pains. None of these pains have prevented me from running, but Victoria was able to pin point areas of weakness and or tightness that I was not. I consider myself a student of injury prevention and Victoria is the best teacher I've ever had.Runners are always hurt. It's part of the game. Every time I go see Victoria, I leave feeling optimistic about my health. I haven't had any major injuries since I've first gone to see her, even with many 20+ hour weeks of training and numerous 80+ mile run weeks.Victoria isn't a magician, you have to put in the work to get better. If you are on the fence, or have lingering issues that prevent you from doing what you love, pull the trigger and get an appointment. The depth of knowledge she possesses about the human body is vast. You won't regret it.

Iron Horst PT & Pilates has helped me immensely in the last year. A year ago I was suffering yet another flare up in my low back that kept me immobile. Today I am running and hiking and I can do everyday tasks pain free. I went in feeling broken in spirit saying I was damaged and should accept it. Victoria is very empowering, she showed me how shifting the way I move along with strengthening can fix my back pain. I have been doing pilates with their instructor, Alli both in person and virtually along with PT exercises, and Victoria's return to run program. The freedom to move again is exhilarating.

I wanted to take a few minutes to let folks know about Iron Horse Physical Therapy. I happened upon Victoria because I was unhappy with the traditional physical therapy I have had before. You know, the kind where they give you a session a week while they treat the symptoms but not the actual problem itself?Its true that Victoria does not take insurance but she does have a service that helps you submit for reimbursement. People spend a lot on restaurants, vacations, etc. spend a little bit on yourself to be not only pain free, but gain mobility and peace of mind about injuries and exercise. You will be glad you did.I went to Victoria because of nagging back pain and an old ACL injury. I have been told by many doctors that “that is just how it is going to be”, its part of the ‘aging process” or my favorite, its arthritis. I am older, in my late 40’s but no body wants to be uncomfortable or feel old. After a few sessions with Victoria my back pain is basically gone, I have better range of motion, sleep better, etc. I had no idea how uncomfortable I was until I stopped being uncomfortable. I was very used to aches and pains that all the doctors said were “normal”.I am no athlete and frankly don’t love to exercise but now I have about ½ an hour of low impact exercises I can do at home that make me feel so much better. You owe it to yourself to have a session with Victoria to have a better quality of life and frankly be more “injury proof”.

I reached out to Iron horse PT after several years of frustrating. I'm a long time athlete, but had stopped running for a few years and wanted to get back into it. However, when I started running again I had significant left hip pain that would turn into calf pain which would cause me to stop. I have ad PT previously for other ailments, so I tried some different things to manage it myself and took some time off to work on it. When I tried again, I still had the pain and would need to stop running.Victoria and her team worked with me to identify my goals and assured me I could run again, pain free. They identified what my real problem was (vs my perception and how I felt it), which turned out to be my right knee and my quads. They assigned exercises and came up with a plan to build a good foundation to strategically start running again.I'm happy to say that I am back running a couple miles a week now, pain free, and am building up a good foundation to keep going. I'm very thankful for Victoria and her team and wish I would have gone straight to her instead of suffering many months (years really) of frustration and thinking my running days may be over.

I had severe back pain after my second delivery which stopped me from doing my regular chores. I would like to thank Victoria for analyzing the root cause of my back pain and also guiding me by providing various strengthening exercises for me to do at home. After doing the exercises for weeks, I feel much better now. The best thing about Victoria is that she explains and encourages the patients to do the exercises regularly which helps them in the long run rather than temporarily removing the pain. I highly recommend her place.

Victoria is amazing to work with. I had developed sciatica at the age of 27 and after almost a year of going to a chiropractor, Occupational therapist and physical therapy programs. I could not exercise, limited mobility and lack of sleep due to the pain. I saw little to no improvement to my injury. I was in chronic nerve pain and was a negative daily impact on my life. Victoria does a very detailed assessment to put you on the correct plan on the road to recovery. After 8 weeks I have seen major improvement. I am able to exercise again 3-5 times a week with no hinderances. Sleep much better. Do not have chronic pain daily. It will take time to heal on the road of recovery but Victoria will set you on the right path.

After experiencing pain from an Achilles tendon tear for well over 2 years, I finally had Achilles tendon repair surgery in Jan 2020. Four months after surgery, with my right foot immobile in a boot for 4 months, I began research for a physical therapist to help me through my rehab process. My objective however was to find a physical therapist who would not only help me to regain use of my right foot via a PT plan, but to find someone who also focused on full body health and well being. After reading numerous websites, patient reviews and ratings, I called Ironhorse Physical Therapy & Pilates and Victoria (owner) answered my call. After my phone consultation that day, I knew I'd found a therapist who was not only an expert in her field but one who was equally focused on full body health and well being of her patients and was perfect for me. In discussing my goals with Victoria during my first appointment, she assured me that with my commitment to work as hard as possible during my appointments and in between my appointments, following the plan she outlined, achievement of my goal of running was well within reach. Victoria not only provided expertise, guidance and encouragement regarding my physical therapy plan; she also pushed me appropriately ("Without Challenge there is No Change" :-)) to ensure progress toward my goals. Additionally, Victoria provided insight and information regarding proper nutrition, rest, and recovery with an unwavering focus on full body health. This approach to full body health and wellness was exactly what I was looking for in a physical therapist professional. In recalling just how far I've come, I remember during my first appointment with Victoria, I literally could not lift my foot off the ground. Nine months into my journey with her, I am now jogging comfortably, working out with weights and bands, and making progress everyday toward my goal of running a 5K by mid-summer!! With helpful insights from Victoria, I have also changed my lifestyle to include significantly improved nutrition with resulting weight loss of 40+ lbs to date! I could not have reached these milestones without Victoria.... she has been an amazing partner to me on my journey and I am beyond grateful to her. I highly recommend Victoria. She is simply excellent....an expert in her field, an accomplished athlete in her own right and an inspiration!

After a series of unsuccessful PT sessions, I was faced with a suggestion and decision of IT Band surgery to release to IT Band. Upon investigating this surgery, I looked for a second opinion or option. IronhorsePT & Pilates was recommended by some friends. IronhorsePT & Pilates found that I had very weak core strength and very weak left hip. Victoria suggested a plan of PT, deep massage and Pilates(PTDMP) to strengthen my core. Now after a dozen sessions of PTDMP I'm getting stronger and pain in the knee and hip area is diminishing. I believe this plan of PTDMP will lead to a strong core, strong hip and elimination of knee pain. And not need IT Band surgery.Update: During my work outs with Victoria and Stephanie they found that my left hip was not releasing so Victoria suggested I get a hip X-ray, I did, and found I had bone to bone in my left hip. Now my routine has been changed to none load bearing on my hip and I'm getting stronger without pain. The coordination with Stephanie and Victoria compliment my needs. I'm now scheduled for hip replacement surgery in several weeks. I have worked on PT with Victoria and Gigi along with Pilates once or twice a week over the last 2 years and rebuilt my core strength up. To where on our recent trip to Croatia I walked the wall in Darobnix managing 2 miles and over 1500 stair steps. I felt great afterwards. I could not of be able to do this 2 years ago