Fitness Ambassador - Crossing the Bridge

Dr. Vijay Kumar practices physical therapy in West Branch, Michigan, where he owns and operates five outpatient rehabilitation clinics. He leads an active personal life that includes a lot of exercise, and was appointed Michigan’s Fitness Ambassador.

“Being the fitness ambassador, I had the opportunity to run the Labor Day Bridge run across the Mackinac Bridge,” he says. The Labor Day Bridge Run is a non-competitive run across the Mackinac Bridge, which at some five miles in length is the third-longest suspension bridge in the United States, and one of the longest in the world. The run itself is a distance of about 4.3 miles, and takes place each Labor Day weekend before the annual Bridge Walk.

The Labor Day Bridge Run is a big deal in Michigan, and participants look forward to it at the end of each summer. To keep down congestion, only six hundred people are allowed to participate each year. The Mackinac Bridge is an engineering marvel, spanning the Straits of Mackinac and connecting Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. As soon as the last wave of runners depart, the annual Labor Day walk begins. The 2015 edition of the Bridge Walk was the 58th walk, and took place on September 7th. An estimated thirty thousand people took part.

Dr Vijay Kumar West Branch is committed to his personal fitness, so completing the run was not a serious challenge to him. He is a non-smoker and a non-drinker who exercises five days a week, and works with a personal trainer one day a week.

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Physical Therapy - People from All Walks of Life

 Dr. Vijay Kumar is a physical therapist and a highly accomplished health care provider. He has a Doctoral Degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University and a PhD in Social Science. He earned a Medical Doctor degree from the Xavier University School of Medicine, and is currently attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C. for his Masters of Public Health degree.

In his physical therapy practice, Dr. Kumar sees people from all walks of life. As he knows, physical therapy can address a wide range of issues. Something that a patient might think requires medication can more successfully be treated with physical therapy, thus not resorting to the use of drugs. It is a high benefit, low risk solution to many different ailments and conditions.

People who have sought the help of a physical therapist include those of all ages and backgrounds, who have medical conditions, injuries or illnesses that limit their physical mobility. Successful physical therapy treatment helps restore them to their previous level of functioning.

Primary care physicians often refer their patients to physical therapy, and with good reason. Because working with a physical therapist does not involve medications, it is considered a conservative option, and the conservative option is often the best one. For most patients, once they have been treated by a physical therapist and experienced its benefits first-hand, they become believers.

Dr. Vijay Kumar owns and operates five outpatient rehabilitation clinics in the West Branch, Michigan area. He also donates his time and services to the Ogemaw Hills Free Clinic, providing free physical therapy services to people who could not otherwise afford it.
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Food and Flavors

Dr Vijay Kumar West Branch is a native of India, but is now an American citizen who lives in West Branch, Michigan, where he has owned and operated a physical therapy practice for more than fifteen years.

He still loves Indian food, and is probably aware of the power food and flavors have to transport us back to another place. Dr. Kumar also loves to travel and to date has toured four continents. And an essential part of international travel, for most people, is sampling a wide range of local cuisines. There are those who say that people who travel internationally but restrict themselves to foods that are familiar to them, are doing themselves a real disservice.

It is through food, and shared meals, that people truly get to know about the people and cultures that they are traveling in. Food is an easy way to connect with the people who live where you are traveling, and once a conversation begins there is no telling what it might lead to. The common denominator of food thus serves multiple purposes.

But of course, sampling local cuisines isn’t for everybody. Some people may have dietary restrictions that limit the types of food that they are able to eat, and others might be content to eat those foods that are familiar. When he traveled to India as a member of the Beatles, drummer Ringo Starr recalls bringing along a huge supply of canned baked beans, because he was so concerned he would be unable to eat the local foods.

But whenever he ventures out from his home in West Branch, Dr. Vijay Kumar can look forward to sampling whatever cuisines he finds interesting.
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Coaching Soccer - Have Some Fun

Dr. Vijay Kumar has been in practice as a physical therapist in West Branch, Michigan since the summer of 2000, when he opened ADAPT/Agility, his Physical Rehabilitation clinics. He also volunteers his time as a free clinic in West Branch, providing physical therapy to patients who would otherwise be unable to afford the treatment they need.

Dr Vijay Kumar West Branch

But he is a devoted family man, too, and looks forward to spending as much time with his family as possible once he completes another day at the office. “I try to keep up on the world soccer teams,” he says. “I have coached my daughter’s soccer team, and in our spare time we practice some kicks and moves.”

As he knows from personal experience, coaching a soccer team at any level involves a lot more than designing plays for free kicks, or creating team formations. It is an enormous responsibility, perhaps more so when it’s a team of kids. Coaching involves a lot of trust, and the coach of a youth soccer team must wear many hats.

As he knows, it’s important for the kids to remember that even though they want to win every game, soccer is only a game, and the most important things is to get out on the field and have some fun. And this can be reflected during soccer practice, with fun yet productive practice sessions. Many of the game’s rules can be taught during practice too, as well as how to make good tactical decisions, and how to be a good sport, whether you win or lose.

Dr. Vijay Kumar has extended his commitment to youth sports by donating first aid kits to a West Branch high school in 2014.