A bit about me
Hannah DePaul, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Sports Certified Specialist
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Hey! I’m Hannah, a sports-certified physical therapist and endurance athlete enthusiast. I am passionate about helping athletes perform at their best, from returning to your sport after a frustrating injury to improving your next race performance, I’m here for you!
After graduating physical therapy school from Duke University in 2013, I found my niche specializing in endurance athletes, likely due to my individual endurance sporting pursuits. I deeply understand the importance that endurance sports brings to an athletes’ life, and all the highs and lows involved in getting to the start and finish lines.
Sport has played a vital role in my life and shaped who I am today. From being the competitive second born and wanting to beat my sister in age group swimming, to swimming for the University of Michigan and competing in the 2008 Olympic Swimming Trials, I have experience in all levels of sport.
Prior to opening my own practice, I worked at Athletic Advantage in North Carolina for two years and Adams Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy in Novi, Michigan for ten years. These two experiences and the colleagues I was surrounded by helped foster my growth and confidence as a clinician. It’s where I honed my skills working with complex endurance athletes, and gained a clinical interest in the rehabilitation of female endurance athletes with bone stress injuries. At Adams Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy I enjoyed teaching physical therapy students (and learning just as much from them), sharing my knowledge with local high school girls cross country, track, and swimming teams, and serving as the Adams Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy Sports Residency program director.
Currently, I’m enjoying being a self-proclaimed endurance athlete junkie, having dabbled in many endurance events, including the Ironman World Championships, Boston Marathon, Swim To The Moon 10K, Woodstock 50 mile ultramarathon, and the Iceman Mountain Bike race. So, when you come to me and say you are preparing for the Woodstock 100 mile, I won’t look at you like you’re crazy or tell you to stop running (unless you have a bone stress injury, then you will need to stop running). I’ll meet you where you are at in life and sport, work with you based on your unique needs, and help you take charge of your rehabilitation to reach your goals!
Outside of the office I am in mom mode, spending time with my family (husband, two boys, and chocolate lab), and getting out for runs on the dirt roads and trails whenever I can.
Photo by Julie WiebeMy Why
Being in the world of endurance athlete physical therapy for many years now, I have seen way too many examples of poor management of endurance athletes. I can’t count how many times a runner has come to me having already tried every medical intervention out there (physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, injections, laser therapy, etc.), and having seen countless doctors to still be incorrectly diagnosed, treated with all sorts of passive interventions, and be given easy cookie cutter exercises. The runner isn’t getting better, is beyond frustrated, and it’s affecting every aspect of their life. A big part of my why is to help runners move out of this faulty system and be given the tools to take charge of their rehabilitation journey. The end result is not just pain-free running, but also optimization of their health and well-being, making them a faster, happier athlete. Because I truly agree with my college swim coach when he said, “A happy swimmer is a fast swimmer”.
Endurance athletes are a unique group of individuals (I’ve been called crazy a few times). We show up, work hard, do what’s written (even if maybe we shouldn’t), but often times fall short in fueling and recovery (I am talking about sleep, not how often you foam roll). Although we can typically perform well for a period of time, unfortunately, those behaviors may lead to negative health and performance consequences (see picture of me running Boston Marathon with unknowingly very low iron). Another aspect of my why is to have the time to work one-on-one with athletes, to be able to communicate and connect with them, and be able to identify when an athlete might be sliding towards unhealthy tendencies. I will do everything I can within my scope to help the athlete and refer to other appropriate healthcare professionals to treat the whole athlete. My goal as a physical therapist is for my athletes to not only return to being healthy and fast, but also have more knowledge and a better connection to their bodies, and what they are feeling, to avoid these common pitfalls.
