Welcome back!  In our next interview, we speak with Gregg Johnson.  He is co-founder and co-owner of the Institute of Physical Art (IPA) with his wife, Vicky Johnson PT, FFFMT, FAAOMPT.  Gregg is also one my main mentors as I have completed some of my manual therapy training with the IPA’s curriculum in residency, but also because I got to spend a year with him as a mentor during my fellowship with the IPA.  As well as the years since, as an instructor for several IPA continuing education courses.  Below is his biography as seen on the Institute of Physical Art’s website:

Co-Founder Functional Manual Therapy®
Co-Founder/Co-Director Institute of Physical Art
Co-Owner Johnson and Johnson Physical Therapy, Steamboat Springs, CO
Partner/Owner IPA Manhattan, A FMT® Physical Therapy Services Clinic
Partner: Vardan Functional Manual Therapy® Services, New Delhi, India
Board Member, Functional Manual Therapy® Foundation
Director, APTA Credentialed AAOMPT Functional Manual Therapy® Fellowship Program
Honorary Fellow:  AAOMPT:  November 2012

Gregory S. Johnson, PT, FFFMT, FAAOMPT, graduated from the University of Southern California in 1971 and completed a one year residency program at Kaiser Vallejo under Maggie Knott.  He remained as senior faculty for six years.  Mr. Johnson is best known for his identification of the need for Physical Therapists to integrate treatment of the facial system into manual therapy and the development of the first Soft Tissue Mobilization course for Physical Therapists in 1980.  In addition, Mr. Johnson utilized his extensive background in PNF to adapt standard manual therapy techniques of Joint Mobilization and develop the dynamic techniques of Functional Mobilization^TM and Resistance Enhanced Manipulation™ (REM) techniques for joints, soft tissues, and neurovascular restrictions.  Mr. Johnson has trained or directed the training of over 40,000 therapists in the USA and internationally.  Gregory Johnson is the co-founder and President of the Institute of Physical Art, the co-developer of the Functional Manual Therapy® approach to patient care, and the Director of an APTA credentialed AAOMPT Fellowship program in Functional Manual Therapy®.  He has published multiple chapters and articles on Soft Tissue Mobilization, PNF and the Orthopedic Patient, Functional Mobilization^TM, and Functional Test for the Lumbar Patient and is currently involved in several research projects on Functional Manual Therapy®.

Enjoy this interview as you get to experience wisdom and insight from a truly unique figure in the world of manual therapy.  From my time with Gregg over the past six to seven years, I’ve heard many stories.  Plenty of our conversations have been in a personal setting while together teaching (or during my fellowship) where it was just the two of us.  I can honestly say there are stories in this interview that I had not heard before!  Oh, and I added a little bit of intro music to this interview [other interviews will have the same thing from now on]  🙂

Cheers,

Matt