Team
Marci Benda,PT

Marci Benda, MSPT

How Marci Thinks…

Marci Benda is a licensed physical therapist.  She has over 20-years of experience helping get people back on their feet and back into their game.  Marci has been a team member for over 10-years.  She helps get her clients back to doing what they love.  Whether it is running, swimming, or walking around their home and/or community, Marci knows how to help.

Marci realizes time is important.  She strives to educate each of her patients on how to manage and treat their own injury.  This allows her patients to feel empowered over their condition.  Additionally, They are not dependent on someone else to “fix“ them.  Through education, daily exercise, and activity modifications Marci’s patients immediately improve their condition and get back to what they love. 

Marci disagrees with the “one-size-fits-all” traditional  model prescribed to every patient, no matter what their diagnosis.  While appropriate for some, she realized better effectiveness with educating her patients on targeted exercises and how to manage their condition.  Consequently, patients needed fewer visits each week and improved more quickly because they can manage their condition themselves.

Who Marci Is…

Marci grew up as a competitive swimmer through Division 1 college program.  Unfortunately, she was plagued with chronic shoulder pain starting at the age of 15.  She spent a lot of time in the training room rehabbing her shoulder.  Marci was never taught the mechanism of her injury.  She never understood why or how she would continually reinjure herself.  While in physical therapy school, Marci learned the biomechanics of the shoulder joint.   Hence, she understood why she was chronically injured.  Armed with this knowledge, Marci has swum in a Masters training group for 20-years without reinjuring her shoulder. 

Marci is an avid runner, and has completed over 40 marathons.  She is a yoga enthusiast and enjoys treating all athletes. 

Marci graduated in 1993 from The University of South Carolina with a B.S. in Biology.  Subsequently, she completed her Master’s of Physical Therapy degree at The University of Maryland at Baltimore in 1996.

Alex Ewart, DPT

Alexander “Alex” Ewart, DPT

How Alex Thinks…

When most people think of physical therapy, they think of the rehabbing from an injury until they return back to normal. This is where Alex thinks differently. When finished with your physical therapy plan, Alex believes you should come back better than before. Alex utilizes education, manual therapy, and specific exercises that address his patients deficits in order to improve their performance. 

Alex believes in using an evidence based approach with his patients, where he takes into account the patient’s values, his experiences, and the latest research to create the optimal treatment plan for each patient.  With this approach, patients are able to get back to what they love faster and stronger than before. 

Who Alex Is…

Alex grew up as a competitive swimmer, swimming at various club teams in the Baltimore area and eventually swimming at the division 1 collegiate level. After graduating, Alex started to race in various running races and triathlons. With over 15 years of training in endurance sports, Alex is familiar with being injured. After numerous injuries, Alex developed a passion for working with endurance athletes as a physical therapist and a coach.  He not only helps them return to their sport but also enhances their performance. 

Alex graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in health science. After graduating from BU, Alex graduated from University of Maryland-Baltimore with Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Alex is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a certified running coach through the Road Runners Club of America. Alex also has experience coaching both the summer league and club team swimmers. When not in the clinic, you can find Alex on his bike or running around Towson.

Scott Heinlein, PT

Scott Heinlein, P.T.

How I think…

“Whether you swim for fitness and fun, or you swim for competition, I can help you reach your goals. I’ve helped swimmers reach their goals of getting faster, earning college scholarships, competing at the National and/or International levels, and even competing in the Olympic games. “

How can I help you?

Over my years of practice, I have seen the frustration when you are injured and unable to do what you love to do.  Sometimes you have been told to stop doing what you love, with no clear plan on how to return to that activity.  I have shared in that frustration, especially when you have seen many health professionals without improvement before coming to Lifestrength Physical Therapy of Towson, MD.

The improvements you seek are often much simpler to attain than you have realized. Sometimes the improvements take a longer time, but knowing what to expect and having a clear path to reaching your goals are paramount to the success of your program. It’s much easier to stay faithful to your program when you understand the process, are a part of the decision-making process, and begin experiencing your improvements quickly.

Who Scott Is…

Scott is a Maryland-licensed Physical Therapist with extensive training and experience in manual therapy techniques. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland, Baltimore with a B.S. in Physical Therapy in 1992.  Scott has a special interest in the assessment and treatment of the spine and upper quarter in the competitive swimmer. He was nominated to the USA Swimming Sports Medicine and Science Committee for two consecutive terms and was also awarded The High Performance Award in USA Swimming’s Sports Medicine and Science Network. In that capacity, he participates with a network of health care professionals to provide care and treatment of Olympic and National Swim Team members.

Scott has presented to other professionals at continuing education courses, along with presenting to USA Swimming’s Sports Medicine conference regarding the role of the collarbone and ribcage mechanics on shoulder girdle function, and the importance of proprioceptive rehabilitation in swimmers. He was recently published in Sports Health, a peer-reviewed journal, with his article”Biomechanical Considerations in the Competitive Swimmer’s Shoulder.”

Terri – Front Office

Michelle – Front Office

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Always moving forward

Celebrate progress!

~Matthew Kelly