Your Favorite PT

Christopher Thurston, PT, DPT, OCS, COMT, FAAOMPT
Physical Therapist
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Board Certified clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy
Certified Orthopaedic Manipulative therapist
Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy
Concussion Rehabilitation Specialist
Vestibular Rehabilitation Specialist
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

Dr. Thurston received his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of South Florida in 2012 after completing his undergraduate degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Florida.

He became recognized as a board certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) in 2015 and a Certified Manual Physical Therapist (CMPT) through the North American Institute of Manual Physical Therapy (NAIOMT) in 2016. In 2019, he became a Certified Orthopedic Manipulative Therapist (COMT) and a graduate of the NAIOMT fellowship program, earning the title of FAAOMPT (Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists).
 
He currently works at the University of Miami in the outpatient orthopedic setting treating patients with injuries related to orthopedics, vestibular dysfunction and concussion.

He has lab assisted for numerous NAIOMT's orthopedic manual therapy continuing education courses taught in the state of Florida. He is now a clinical instructor with ASPIRE OMT .  He hosts monthly journal clubs that are open to physical therapists interested in discussion of the latest research on topics related to the orthopedic setting.

​He has previous experience as a mentor in both sports and orthopedic residency programs and is an APTA Credentialed Clinical Instructor. He has successfully completed Emory and APTA’s Vestibular Rehabilitation: A competency-based course. He has also successfully completed the Complete Concussions Training Course for Healthcare Practitioners provided by Complete Concussion Management, Inc. As a mentor and physical therapist, he is involved in the University of Miami’s Pro Bono student run clinic. In 2018, he had an abstract selected for poster presentation at the AAOMPT conference titled, “The Manubrial Test: A Novel Assessment for Regional Interdependence in Adolescent Overhead Athletes: A Case Series.”

He is the creator of Your Favorite PT mentor program designed for physical therapists seeking to gain advanced clinical reasoning and manual therapy skills in their journey to become master clinicians. Throughout his career, he has been involved in creating learning opportunities for his peers and interdisciplinary team through journal clubs, case reviews and numerous department presentations. Early in his career he served as a blog writer for Florida's #1 hospital in which he illustrated the management of current sport injuries from a physical therapist's perspective, writing about athletes such as Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning and the late Kobe Bryant.

He considers himself a lifelong learner and truly enjoys devoting the time to helping others reach their full potential. As a University of Florida alumni, Dr. Thurston is an avid Gator sports fan. He also enjoys music, the adventures of being a foodie and a good laugh with his family and friends.

My Journey.

"As a new graduate in a clinic with only two physical therapists, my confidence was through the roof. All of my patients were getting better (or at least I thought so) and I knew it all. My fire was lit at my 2nd continuing education (CEU) course as my 1st CEU course was a waste of both, time and money. I sat in awe as I witnessed two PTs with 20+ years of experience have discussions of patient management that far exceeded what I had learned in school and that which was covered in the most recently published clinical practice guidelines. It was then, I was humbled like no other. Thankfully, one of those clinicians worked for my same organization and the other was part of the institution I ultimately chose to pursue fellowship training. From that day forward, I made it my priority to seek mentoring from them in every way possible.

When I started a fellowship program, I knew about the manual therapy certifications and benefits of one-on-one mentoring. However, I may have underestimated how much I would grow from venturing down this road only a select few have traveled. Choosing a program that I knew was rigorous, the COMT certification process pushed me to challenge myself outside of my comfort zone.  It had such a strong emphasis on my growth in being able to effectively communicate and demonstrate clinical reasoning at a high level, not just performing a manual therapy technique. To me, the value in this was priceless.

I now have a much more grounded treatment approach to patients. I have become very eclectic in how I approach complex patients and vastly expanded my ability to articulate my findings to my patients, colleagues and referring physicians. I am no longer intimidated by having the results of my assessment not fully match up with my initial hypothesis. I am more fluid in my thought process and thorough in application of my foundational knowledge. I find myself utilizing referral options more appropriately and confidently which is rewarding in itself knowing that I am providing my patients with nothing short of optimal care."