Local man helps patients ‘rally to rise’ at new physical therapy clinic

IDAHO FALLS – Understanding how the human body works is something Morgan Ricks has been fascinated with since his days as a track and field athlete in high school.

The 35-year-old Rexburg man launched Rally To Rise Physical Therapy in December at 939 South 25th East in Ammon. He co-owns the clinic with Mark Couch, who also lives in Rexburg. The two have worked together for years at Rexburg Rehabilitation and decided to launch their own business.

The clinic offers many of the same services as other physical therapy clinics — anything from “the toes up to the jaw.” The duo work with patients of all ages and focus primarily on sports or work-related injuries. They also help patients recover from a recent surgery. See what it’s like in the video above.

One of Ricks’ recent patients was a baby with torticollis — a condition that causes the head and neck to tilt or turn to one side.

“Your sternocleidomastoid (a series of neck and shoulder muscles) can tighten up and the baby’s head will get stuck (in one position). We stretch it out and encourage parents to get the baby to look in the other direction and switch which side they feed on,” Ricks tells EastIdahoNews.com.

Some patients have come in with jaw pain, which Ricks says isn’t something most people think about when they visit a physical therapist. He’s happy to help with any of these ailments.

Ricks has been working as a physical therapist for the last four years. He got his start at Rexburg Rehabilitation.

His interest in the human body started in high school, though becoming a physical therapist isn’t what he initially set out to do.

“I thought I wanted to study physics. One of my brothers taught physics and chemistry,” Ricks says. “I got to school … and it was a bit much. I took a career explorations class and they said, ‘You might be interested in this,’” referring to physical therapy.

Ricks switched majors and never looked back.

He and Couch have known each other since college and felt their career goals were a good match for running a clinic together.

Ricks recently got a job as the hurdles coach for the track and field team at Bonneville High School. He’s busy coaching students while seeing patients.

Ricks is excited to see his business continue to grow and evolve and hopes to eventually open another location on the other side of Idaho Falls.

“We’d like to eventually build our own building and get a pool. We had aquatic therapy in a heated therapy pool and hot tub in the clinic in Rexburg. It’s a little more expensive to maintain and build that, but it’s a huge benefit to patients,” he says.

Rally To Rise Physical Therapy is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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