Brenda McKenzie, MPT, COMT

Brenda McKenzie became a practicing physical therapist in 2000. She earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Washington and her graduate degree in Physical Therapy from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. Her career began at Harborview Medical Center in-patient department working with a variety of neurological and orthopedic patients. Later she transferred to the University of Washingtonʼs Medical centerʼs outpatient outreach clinics working with primary orthopedic injuries and post-op rehabilitation. Brenda’s post-graduate work has been in various manual therapy techniques.

 

Brenda recently completed her Certification of Manual Therapy (COMT) program through the Ola Grimsby Association.  She has studied with the North American Institute of Orthopedic Manual Therapy (NAIOMT Level 1-II), the URSA foundation and Brian Mulligan Mobilizations for the upper extremity. Her love of running has propelled her to complete the Road Runners Club Of America (RRCA) Level 1 Coach Certification in November 2016 while continuing to study the biomechanics of the foot and treatment of running injuries through various classes and clinics. Brendaʼs emphasis in her practice is to work on your needs and abilities, working on correcting muscle imbalances and efficient movement patterns so you can return to your activities.

 

Brenda participated in a 4-year soccer study with Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. This study assessed functional abilities to predict the risk of injury in female soccer players. Involvement in this study enhanced Brenda’s use of video technology for biomechanical assessments. Brenda is a clinical instructor for UW physical therapy graduate students. Brenda facilitates the graduate student physical therapy clinic during Spring quarter at Hall Health PT clinic.

Brenda leads a full life at home sharing her time with her husband and two children. When not helping with her children’s sporting activities, Brenda is busy running & biking (with and without kids in tow), swimming, training for triathlons, weight lifting to prevent injury, trail running, playing in the snow, and traveling. Brenda has competed in and finished IRONMAN triathlons! She enjoys working with other runners/triathletes on running form and mechanics for treatment/prevention of training injuries.