HIAWATHA — When Angie McCormick was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis eight years ago, her joint pain was so bad that she couldn’t even pick up her 10-week-old infant son.
Today, she is off medication and training for an Iron Man triathlon.
McCormick’s new business, Thrive Rehabilitation, is intended to teach others the lessons she has learned to overcome chronic pain so they too can thrive.
“I’ve been in the struggle and I know what people with chronic pain go through,” she said. “I want to be that person people can come to for options other than meds.”
Thrive Rehabilitation combines physical therapy, nutrition counseling and Pilates training to treat chronic pain caused by illness and injury.
“I’m treating people holistically and helping them make lifestyle changes so they can manage their health and live pain-free,” McCormick said.
McCormick’s own struggle with chronic pain — and her desire to help others work through it — began long before her rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis. After suffering a serious sports-related injury in high school, she decided on a career in physical therapy.
She graduated from physical therapy school and has worked as an outpatient physical therapist for 15 years.
Several years ago, chronic back pain from that old injury led her to Pilates. She saw significant improvement in her condition within weeks, leading her to complete Pilates instructor training.
“Pilates emphasizes deep breathing, core stabilization and the mind-body connection,” McCormick noted. “It helps your body feel strong and function efficiently.”
After her 2010 rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, McCormick started on the conventional course of steroids and other drugs, which brought the condition under control but left her feeling fatigued and nauseated.
In 2013, she decided she’d had enough. With the help of a functional medicine practitioner, she began an elimination diet and found that by removing certain inflammatory foods from her diet, she no longer needed medication.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me about this when I was diagnosed?” McCormick recalled asking herself.
Her revelation regarding the effects of nutrition on pain led her to complete a two-year course of study to become a certified nutrition consultant.
“Once I realized what nutrition was doing for me, I wanted to bring that information to my physical therapy patients,” she said.
McCormick launched Thrive Rehabilitation earlier this year. She contracts with two clinics in Hiawatha to provide physical therapy and individual Pilates sessions at their locations, but will meet clients in their homes or other locations for nutrition counseling.
She said her own clinic may be in the future, but for now her focus is on building her clientele while continuing to manage her own health.
“I’ve learned so much on my own health journey, and now I want to reach people who don’t know they have other options.”
l Know a business that’s been in operation for less than a year that could make a good “Ground Floor”? Let us know at michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.
At a Glance
l Owner: Angie McCormick
l Business: Thrive Rehabilitation
l Email: angie@thriverehabilitation.com
l Phone: (319) 721-1438
l Website: www.thriverehabilitation.com