Pivoting With a Purpose: FYZICAL's Balance Program Sparks Career Change Rooted in Family

"My dad passed away in 2021. He had a 20-year health decline that began with a stroke," Thakrar said. "This was a man who used to exercise every day, swam all the time, was at the gym constantly, walking, running, everything, so the fact that he had a stroke shocked all of us."

"After his stroke, he fully recovered, but year after year, there were noticeable declines," she said. "Eventually, he was walking with a cane and a walker and had two or three falls before he passed. Those falls scared him."     

Not wanting to burden his family, he asked them to let him sit. She agreed.    

"He went from being that very active person to more of a couch potato, and that was the worst thing I could have done for him," she said. "With my dad's decline and health, I realized FYZICAL has something that I could have used for my dad. If we had known about FYZICAL’s Balance Program, we would have taken him. We would have done anything – we just didn't know."

After discovering FYZICAL's exclusive Balance Program, Thakrar redirected her life's path and mission to ensure others could reap the benefits of FYZICAL's proprietary therapies.

"Of all the franchises presented to me, FYZICAL felt like it fit like a glove. It was a service-oriented way for me to give back to my community, and a way for me to do something that I felt was true and honest and a genuine give-back rather than something commercial and material." 

"I have NEVER in my career met a group of operations folks who are more knowledgeable, supportive, and focused on your success than I have with this group at FYZICAL." 

-Kalindi Thakrar, FYZICAL Master Franchisee

FYZICAL’s Balance Paradigm and Sensory Mismatch Theory, two revolutionary treatments only available at FYZICAL, offer innovative solutions and proprietary balance and fall prevention therapies for patients with balance deficiencies. These therapies help patients retrain their balance, rebuild strength, and reclaim independence.

Forty percent of the U.S. population will experience clinical dizziness or balance difficulty in their lifetime, and 69 million Americans aged 40 or older have experienced some form of vestibular dysfunction. FYZICAL's Balance Program is the only one of its kind in the country to meet the needs of balance patients. 

Grasping FYZICAL’s profound impact on millions of Americans who have an unmet need for balance therapy, Thakrar embraced the opportunity to offer these exclusive therapies.  

"That was the closing deal for me," said Thakrar. "Once I understood what FYZICAL had to offer, I found my mission in life. Why would I want anyone else to suffer through what my dad suffered through? Why wouldn't I want to give them back their independence?"

Thakrar was committed to helping people in her community and recognized the substantial opportunity for scalability due to the need for specialized balance therapy.

Here's why:

The fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population in the last 100 years is individuals aged 65 and older, according to the U.S. Census. This group has been driving the urgent demand for healthcare services and prompting a need for innovative approaches to meet their healthcare needs efficiently.

 According to the Centers for Disease Control, unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury and injury death among older adults in the U.S., resulting in nearly 39,000 deaths in 2020. 

Adding to this, the impending retirement of the baby boomer generation is a looming concern. By 2030, this cohort will hit "Peak 65," constituting the largest wave of Americans entering retirement age in history.

Balance issues stand out as a paramount health threat unfolding across the U.S. in every age demographic, and the public health concern for falling is not limited to seniors.

Statistics show: 

• 90 million Americans visit healthcare providers because of vertigo, dizziness, or balance problems. 
• 33.4 million adults in the United States reported a dizziness or balance problem between 2007-2008.
• 35% of Americans have vestibular dysfunction.
• Each year, nearly 28% of adults over 65 experience a fall, resulting in over 38,000 deaths and over 8 million injuries requiring medical treatment. 

Thakrar felt inspired to make a meaningful impact in her community, and her passion for bringing proprietary therapies to her area fueled her determination to create positive change on a grand scale.

To do this, Thakrar saw scalability opportunities with multi-unit ownership in a $59 billion physical therapy industry as a way to effectively make a difference in her community and create profit opportunities along the way. 

"I went from a single unit purchase to a Master Franchise purchase – and bought the 95 corridor – and the demographics are phenomenal. The math is simple; the numbers don't lie." 

"I don’t have any FYZICALs around me – I have an entire territory that I can purchase the rights to," she said. "I can open one or two of my own or sub-franchise. I'm not clinical, but that's okay. This was meant to be." 

Leveraging FYZICAL's Partnership Advantage Program, she offered a physical therapist equity stake in a future clinic in Maryland.    

"Many physical therapists walk out of PT school hungry to help others but are saddled with student loan debt," Thakrar said. “They may have the gumption or desire to own their own practice, but they don’t have that investment. Give them stake, equity, and ownership in the business, and that will build a good culture. Help them get out of student loan debt, be independent, see the benefit of the franchise model, and you will have a commitment for life."

"The partnership has really blossomed and is growing exponentially.”  

With FYZICAL, Thakrar has made substantial strides toward realizing all her wellness goals. 

"The successes I've experienced and the growth the area has seen has been tremendous in just a year and a half," she said. “We have two centers open, another location coming soon, and five more locations coming in the next three years. And we're just getting started!"   

And it doesn't stop there. Thakrar is working actively in her community to help rebuild the physical therapy profession.

"The number of physical therapists has declined over the last several years due to COVID," she said. "Lives were thrown completely off balance. Howard Community College is building an apprenticeship program, so I wanted to build a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) apprenticeship program from that," she said. 

"If we can build this PTA apprenticeship program, we will give people the opportunity to learn on the job and bring them back into the career because the growth for a PTA is to become a PT," she said. "We'll be the first ones in the state to do that."

"We're not just giving them a job while getting their associate's degree; we're introducing them to a career path," said Thakrar. "We could even begin this at the high school level, build a bridge program with prerequisites, and save them thousands of dollars of college debt." 

Thakrar said FYZICAL's robust support system has been a cornerstone of her ambition and achievements. 

"I have never in my career met a group of operations folks who are more knowledgeable, supportive, and focused on your success than I have with this group at FYZICAL," she said.  "They're willing to work with you. That's the amazing level that you get. That's why I am so satisfied. And I am a tough customer."

Thakrar said she's excited to make a difference in the community and hinted at more incredible things to come.

"I've seen some of the testimonials our fellow franchisees will post, and they continue to reinforce exactly what my initial conclusions were," she said. "A lot of good will come if we're just able to reach the right people. The fact that we haven't scratched the surface yet gives me so much hope that there is so much more that I can accomplish, that we all will accomplish. 

"My dream is that my dad's story becomes a thing of the past, that all of our teams and franchisees are aware of why I started with FYZICAL, and that we bring patient stories to public awareness to continue to grow these beautiful patient outcomes," said Thakrar. "So that doctors are aware of what we do at FYZICAL. So that people can tell their neighbors what we've done for them. So that friends or family who fall or have an elderly parent can be independent. So that these continuous situations become part of our everyday business."

"Those stories will bring me peace and happiness," she said, "and will make my dad proud."

"Every day is a step - you decide the direction."

-FYZICAL Master Franchisee Kalindi Thakrar

About FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers

FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers stands at the forefront of the health and wellness industry as the nation's fastest-growing physical therapy franchise, boasting an extensive network of over 600 locations that span across 46 states. Committed to a holistic approach, FYZICAL provides top-notch, personalized care plans to treat patients of all ages experiencing muscle, joint, and neurological conditions, including balance and vestibular issues. As an advocate for patient choice and direct access, FYZICAL empowers individuals to take control of their well-being to achieve optimal physical health and balance. For more information about FYZICAL or to find the nearest location, visit fyzical.com.