Susan Heald, PT, DPT, MS
Specialization: general orthopedics with biomechanics approach; shoulder, hip, knee, foot/ankle problems; functional core stabilization; postural and gait training; running injuries; return to sport; TMJ; Fascial Counterstrain
Susan Heald has developed a comprehensive biomechanical approach to assessing and treating each of her patients. She addresses her patients’ movement system problems with an integrative perspective rather than treating isolated joints or body regions. She particularly enjoys designing personalized and creative home exercises accompanied by detailed explanations to optimize her patients’ understanding and participation in PT to assure their best outcomes. Her focus on activity-specific, corrective exercise provides her patients with the tools they need to return to their regular activities.
Susan has been working as a Physical Therapist for the past 33 years in primarily outpatient physical therapy settings including an outpatient private practice in Delaware, UVA Medical Center, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital, and currently is with PT@ACAC.
She has been a lifelong learner since she earned her B.S. in Physical Therapy from the University of Delaware in 1988, then her post-professional Advanced M.S. in Orthopedic Physical Therapy from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 1995 and finally her clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy from VCU in 2008. She continues to advance and update her clinical practice skills by attending PT continuing education courses, attending workplace in-services, and reading professional journal articles.
Her Master’s degree thesis research paper studied a functional outcome measure designed for shoulder patients and was published in the Physical Therapy Journal in 1997 (The shoulder pain and disability index: the construct validity and responsiveness of a region-specific disability measure; SL Heald, DL Riddle, RL Lamb). She received the APTA Dorothy Briggs Memorial Scientific Award in 1998 for her research and publication.
For 20 years, Susan was a guest lecturer in the VCU DPT program. She has led a community workshop on running gait training and running-related exercises, has presented her research work regionally and nationally, and led many journal clubs and clinical update in-services with her colleagues. She has coached running and conditioning workouts for the WAHS Crew team and was a youth soccer coach.
In her downtime, Susan enjoys spending time with her husband, their 2 adult daughters and wildly-energetic, Muppet-like goldendoodle, Mollie. She is most content when she is active and outdoors and loves running the roads of Albemarle County with friends, playing tennis and gardening. She also loves to go hiking, paddleboarding, biking, and skiing in Virginia or when visiting more distant beautiful places with mountains and water.