She's a physical therapist (PT) who might be lucky to get 20 minutes with her patients, tops. And sometimes, there are lights and cameras to contend with. At other times, she has to be aware of the fact that if she uses taping, it must not be visible to the literally millions of people all over the world who will be watching her patient. That's just how showbiz works.
Welcome to the life of Gina Minchella, PT, DPT. Gina is the PT for "Dancing with the Stars," the immensely popular reality show that pairs celebrities and notables with professional dancers in a ballroom dancing competition.
Now available through ChoosePT.com's Move Forward Radio podcast: an interview with Minchella and "Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovsky on the rigors of the show, what it's like to be on a performance tour, and the ways physical therapy keeps Chmerkovsky and the rest of the cast able to crank out those foxtrots, tangos, and two-steps week after week.
During the conversation, Chmerkovsky doesn't hesitate to credit Minchella for the contributions she makes to the show.
"A lot of these accolades we get to enjoy are because of Gina," Chmerkovsky says, adding that the excellent PTs he's worked with, such as Minchella, "don't just take care of someone, they teach you along the way."
Minchella, in addition to being a top-notch PT, is no slouch at understatement. She describes her workplace as "not a typical clinical setting," and points out that "sometimes I have to get really creative." She tells Move Forward Radio that being part of the show has given her a great platform for spreading the word about the difference PTs can make.
"The public needs to know what we do," Minchella says, "Because they need to know, 'Oh, I could get physical therapy—I could use physical therapy for this.'"
Move Forward Radio is hosted at ChoosePT.com, APTA's official consumer information website, and can be streamed online or downloaded as a podcast via the Apple Podcast app, Google Play, or Spotify. Other recent additions to the Move Forward Radio podcast library include:
- Adapt to Overcome: A Young Woman's Journey to Paralympic Swimming. Alyssa Gialamas may have seemed unlikely to become a world-class athlete when she was born 24 years ago with a rare condition that causes affected joints to be rigid. In the water, though, Alyssa finds empowerment.
- How Physical Therapy and Pilates Enabled a Man With Crohn's to Overcome Chronic Pain. Ryan Hodgkinson was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when he was 11 years old and underwent nearly 50 surgeries. Chronic pain, an opioid addiction, and depression led Ryan's sister and physical therapist to intervene.
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest: What Every Person Should Know. Joe Farrell, PT, DPT, a physical therapist and survivor of sudden cardiac arrest, discusses his experience, the difference between a heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest, and shares what to do if you are ever in a position to help a family member, friend, or colleague.