Heather Herod Cole, PT, COMT, CPI, CMTPT – OWNER
Owner, Physical Therapist, Pilates Instructor & Educator
Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist
Pilates Graduate and former Educator – Polestar Pilates, STOTT PILATES trained
Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist – Myopain Seminars
Heather Herod Cole minored in Business Administration while earning her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College. She has extensive post-graduate experience in orthopedics, manual therapy and dance medicine, including completing the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries “Principles of Dance Medicine” curriculum. She is certified in orthopedic manual physical therapy via Maitland Australian Physiotherapy Seminars. She is the official physical therapist for New Dialect, helps with PT for Found Movement Group and has served as a physical therapist for Nashville Ballet. Heather is certified in dry needling for myofascial trigger points via Myopain Seminars.
Heather earned her rehabilitation-based certification in Pilates via Polestar Pilates and is formerly an instructor trainer/educator. She is trained in STOTT PILATES Level 1 Intensive Comprehensive program. Combining Pilates into her physical therapy practice had been a long-term goal of Heather’s and is what motivated her to start a practice that combined both modalities together. Heather is privileged to work with an amazing group of people that make P3: Precision Physical Therapy & Pilates what it is today. The superb continuity of care that patients receive is due to the talented team of Pilates instructors & physical therapists.
Heather’s passion for educating people is apparent to her patients and the Nashville community. She wrote the anatomy section of the teacher training manual for Simply Pilates in Nashville. She is privileged to work with athletes and dancers in the Greater Nashville area and provides educational seminars on injury management and information specific to dancer needs. As a former athlete, dancer, and musical theatre performer, Heather understands the impact that physical activity has on the body—both in good & bad ways. As a physical therapist, Heather is able to combine her passion for helping people with the knowledge she has gained from her education, professional career, athletic background and dance experience.
Originally from Buffalo, NY, Heather is a big sports fan, in general, but especially Buffalo Bills football. She loves living in Music City as music is a huge part of her soul – you will often hear her humming, singing and/or catch her dancing. Heather is constantly active and loves being outdoors, especially enjoying time with her fur-baby, Stoney.
Dance Physical Therapist
Heather is specially trained to care for the dance population. She is responsible for the evaluation of a dancer’s functional capacity and the analysis of movement dysfunction associated with injury. Together the therapist and dancer set goals leading to resolution of the dysfunction. The therapist, in cooperation with the physician and dance instructor/choreographer, plan the dancer’s discharge from treatment. The dancer is then able to meet the functional demands of dance, while demonstrating the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent re-injury.
Heather’s Professional Involvement & Membership:
- Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health, former Executive Committee member
- Physical Therapist for New Dialect and Found Movement Group
- Contracted Physical Therapist for Broadway series at TPAC
- International Association of Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS), member www.iadms.org
- American Physical Therapy Association www.apta.org Orthopedics Section Performing Arts Special Interest Group
- Successfully completed educational workshops at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries & Westside Dance Physical Therapy, both based in NYC
- Previous Physical Therapist for the Nashville Ballet
Heather’s Testimonials
“After three decades of struggling with orthopedic problems, Heather Cole, through her stellar coaching, has taken me out-of-pain and helped me gain strength to do daily activities I haven’t enjoyed in years!” ~ MN
Heather, “In case you didn’t already know, you’re magical and the best physical therapist ever. ‘Dance’ class tonight was a whole new world.. It was crazy. Thank you!” ~ AK
“When I was first referred to Heather Cole for Physical Therapy, I was full of mixed emotion, and skeptical to say the least. I knew little about Physical Therapy. What I learned and experienced over the coming weeks was amazing. There was a transformation in how I looked at my injury, felt about my injury, and ultimately about myself and how to deal with the pain.
Before my injury, I was active in the gym, extra circular activities consisted of softball & kickball, and my love of life was distance running. I enjoyed the outdoors – activities such as canoeing, white water rafting was a fun experience and I loved to snow ski when the opportunity presented itself. When I got injured, everything above came to a sudden stop. The impact of not being able to run was devastating.
I am very thankful that I took the initial step to walk into the Physical Therapy clinic and meet with Heather Cole for an evaluation. Day one, I literally limped into the clinic, eyes filled with tears (emotional and out of answers), and desperation in my voice saying ‘JUST FIX ME’.
Heather’s approach, while different from anything else I had seen or experienced, is simple: Add the words ‘listening, caring, understanding, empathizing, educating, treating, and follow-up’ to whatever science and medicine offers and now you have the fundamentals for Heather’s treatment plan.
Many in the medical profession are taught to treat & heal. Medical professionals study, spend tireless hours educating themselves, and try to stay abreast of the current research. They do it so they can be the best, they want to make a difference, they want to heal the injured, etc. Heather Cole is one of those individuals – but she sets herself apart by taking things further, particularly by placing emphasis on patient education. Heather understands that every person is an individual and their treatment plan should be constructed as such. Heather listens, cares, understands, empathizes, educates, treats the injury and sets the bar on the concept of follow-up care! Not only will Heather work with you to help you heal, she will help you understand why the injury likely occurred and how to prevent re-injury. She will work with you to help you maintain/gain balance and strength so that you are not only healed, but your body and quality of life is better than it was prior to your injury.
There are so many positive things that I could say about the care and treatment I received from Heather Herod Cole and what I have witnessed from others she has treated. I’ll sum it up this way:
Heather is treasured by the young and revered by the most senior. She has no strangers in her practice and has enriched the quality of life of all she’s touched. Respected not only by her collegues in the medical profession, Heather is devoted to her career as a Physical Therapist and loved by so many of her patients.
Christopher Reeve once said “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Heather is my hero – I was an overwhelming obstacle, and she found a way to change my life for the better! She will help you overcome your injuries and do the same for you.” ~ PH