ABOUT
Jennifer Chudy Shepherd
FOUNDER
MSPT, CFMT, FFMT, FAAOMPT, IFMCP
Jennifer Shepherd began her private practice in Denver, in 2009, after her Fellowship and being frustrated with the limitations brought upon her by Traditional Physical Therapy clinics driven by Health Insurance and Medicare rules and regulations. The clinic has moved to Cleveland and now serves people from all over the country as Jennifer has continued to specialize in treating complex patients through her integrative lenses of Integrative Manual Physical Therapy and Functional Medicine. She has made her work available to everyone through her online coursework. As our healthcare systems continue to struggle and decline and there are more and more patients in need, she has expanded her work into training and mentoring the next generation of Integrative Manual Physical Therapists.
Jennifer is one of an elite group of physical therapists through the country who have advanced certifications and training in multiple paradigms and philosophies to help the most complicated patients.
INTEGRATIVE MANUAL PHYSICAL THERAPY
Integrative Manual Physical Therapy is an evolving speciality within Physical Therapy addressing Structural and Functional Health of the Whole Person. IMPTS are empowered by in-depth knowledge of anatomy and physiology, the relationships of structures and systems throughout the body, and the understanding of how traumas impact the body resulting in compensations. This is coupled with precise hands-on skills and knowledge to identify and restore the mobility of structures including, but not limited to joints, fascia, bones, muscles, organs, blood vessels, lymph vessels, and nerves and reintegrate them back into the functioning whole.
Practitioners of Integrative Manual Physical Therapy have advanced training in Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy, Functional Mobilization, Visceral, Vascular and Neural Manipulation, Fascial Health and Mobilization, Pelvic Organ Health, Lymphatic Heath, Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Re-education, Motor Control, PolyVagal Theory, and Trauma.
We equate the abilities of our hands to the palate of a sommelier. Our precisely and exquisitely trained hands can feel through the layers of tissues to identify areas of dysfunction. The trained hand can also identify the areas of the body that are under the greatest strain, which are often NOT the area of pain or trouble you experience, but are contributing to. When identify and address these primary areas of dysfunction, the rest of the body responds so much better.
Techniques may include, but are not limited to precise Manual Therapy techniques throughout the body, joint mobilization, precise facilitation of core stabilizers throughout the body, self care techniques, sleep positioning and optimization, sitting positioning, gait, both walking and running re-education, movement re-education, appropriate functional strength training, lymphatic techniques, cupping, periosteum mobility via vibration techniques, visceral emotional processing, stress management support and nutritional recommendations.
Different from Traditional Physical Therapy: Jennifer WAS a traditional Physical Therapist and quickly became frustrated with the results she was getting from stretch and strengthening and providing ineffective manual therapy techniques. Chasing pain was not helping people improve the health of their bodies. Today most Physical Therapy consists of chasing pain and exercise. While some patients do well in this model, many do not and need more precise problem solving and hands on restorative care.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
Functional Medicine was developed in the early 1990’s by Dr. Jeffery Bland and his wife Susan as a need to better serve patients who were struggling with chronic, lifestyle driven disease. Conventional medicine and its primary use of pharmaceuticals was and is still critical to fight infectious diseases, as it so successfully did in the early 20th century. However, today, this system no longer works for many of the chronic diseases and illnesses we see today and often creates additional imbalance to the health of one’s cells and many interconnected systems throughout the body.
- 60% of American adults have at lease one chronic condition (1)
- 42% of American adults have two or more chronic conditions (2)
- 90% of annual healthcare expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions (3)
Many of today’s health issues and diagnoses are developed overtime due to the combinations and accumulations of genetics, lifestyle choices such as the food we eat, how we move our bodies, sleep, toxin exposure, and how we experience and manage stress and relationships, which is unique to every person. Unfortunately, most medical systems are still focused on chasing symptoms and managing symptoms with pharmaceuticals instead of working to understand the reasons the body has reached a point of struggle and “dis-ease.”
Functional Medicine focuses on the body’s systems in addition to the symptoms you experience. When one system or organ with that system is struggling due to injury, lack of nutrients, toxins or other strains, other systems within the body will also struggle as they try to compensate. Functional Medicine provides a framework to systematically identify these underlying systems and processes that are contributing to current symptoms and disease.
The heart of treatment in Functional Medicine is identifying and supporting patients in lifestyle modifications and improvements that support the body and it’s ability to heal and restore. Cellular health is critical, in which we address inflammation, adequate nutrients for optimal cell functioning, exploring toxin exposure and the body’s ability to detoxify. Sleep, understanding stress and its impact on the nervous system, gut health, healthy movement, and healthy relationships are equally critical. For patients who have significant histories of health issues, further work on addressing structural health, and more in-depth lab assessment may by necessary.
In our clinic, many people who come in with chronic pain, chronic injuries, and other complicated health issues, also have previously medically diagnosed chronic diseases. Addressing inflammation and cellular health is critical to the success of Integrative Manual Therapy treatment.
For more information on Functional Medicine please visit The Institute for Functional Medicine or ask your health care provider.
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. About chronic diseases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated October 4, 2024. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/about/index.html
- Buttorff C, Ruder T, Bauman M. Multiple chronic conditions in the United States. RAND Corporation. Published May 26, 2017. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL221.html
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Fast facts: health and economic costs of chronic conditions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated July 12, 2024. Accessed October 22, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
We offer complimentary phone consultations to discuss your case and learn more about our process.
And get started with learning and implementing THE BASICS of your health through our online courses at The Foundations for Functional Health
OUR MISSION
The Shepherd Center for Integrate Health provides advanced, whole person problem solving and solutions to complex health concerns by restoring and optimizing the structural, functional and emotional health of humans so they can live healthy, vibrant lives.
OUR VISION
When we bring whole person problem solving and hands on healing back into healthcare, people are finally able to fully overcome injuries, restore the health of their bodies, and live healthy, happy, productive lives with less need for doctors visits, pharmaceuticals, and other interventions.
OUR VALUES
- We believe in the amazing human body’s ability to heal when well supported
- We work from a place of curiosity and utmost respect and reverence for every human
- We practice what we preach by taking care of our own bodies.
- We honor the complexity of humans
- We continue to seek knowledge and understanding of wholeness of humans
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“Jen offers a unique and amazingly comprehensive approach to movement, recovery and function. She is able to identify & address issues in multiple body systems that contribute to specific inefficiencies in movement and stability with extraordinary precision and effectiveness. After a single session, I could finally sleep and move in the morning without the constant and consistent back pain I’d had for several years despite previous PT, self-treatment and exercise. Someone finally could touch and treat “that spot” and the surrounding connections so I can not only move, but move without pain. The difference in my posture and walking was visible immediately and I can finally get those parts that felt blocked and inhibited to turn on. I am so excited and thankful to get out and use my back and legs. It feels like I can finally drive my body without the brake being stuck down.
Jen has the knowledge, education and training to address not only the orthopedic issues but to achieve to even greater levels of functional recovery for clients with her integration of the nervous and vascular systems to truly clear the drivers and contributors of dysfunction(s).”