Urbandale is about 15 minutes from my clinic. Whether it's a sore shoulder, a cranky back, or a knee that won't settle, I'll test it under load and build a plan you can train with.
Free ConsultationFortitude & Freedom Performance Therapy is a physical therapy clinic at 1040 SE Frontier Ave, Suite 120, in Waukee, inside Sisu Strength Academy, about 15 minutes from Urbandale. Jake Pawol, PT, DPT, OCS treats back pain, knee and hip pain, shoulder pain, running injuries, and lifting injuries one on one, in a fully equipped gym, with a plan that keeps you training where it can. Iowa allows direct access, so no physician referral is required.
From Urbandale, Hickman Road (US 6) takes you west to Alice's Road and into Waukee. The clinic is at 1040 SE Frontier Ave, Suite 120, inside Sisu Strength Academy.
Shoulder and back pain that hangs around for months is common. A session in a full gym lets me see the movement that hurts, not just guess at it.
From the gym to the job site, these are the problems I see most.
Pressing, pulling, and overhead work put a lot of load through the shoulder and the elbow. When pain shows up, it often shows up in the lifts you care about most.
We find the positions that hurt, change them for now, and build the capacity to get them back.
Dry needling can calm a sore, guarded muscle down fast, which gives us a window to load it. I use it for back, neck, shoulder, hip, and knee pain when it fits.
It is one tool in the session, never the whole session. The strength work is what makes the change last.
Back pain is the most common reason people book with me. Most of it is not damage. It is a back that got more load than it was ready for, and it calms down when the load fits again.
We find the movements that bother it, keep the ones that don't, and build the strength back so you stay in the gym while it settles.
Class workouts mix heavy lifts, gymnastics, and conditioning, often in the same hour. Shoulders, wrists, backs, and knees take most of it.
I scale the movements that hurt and keep the rest, so you keep showing up to class.
Knees that ache on stairs, squats, or the back half of a run. Hips that pinch at the bottom of a squat. These usually trace back to how much load the joint sees and how strong the muscles around it are.
I test you under load, not only on a table, then build a plan that keeps you training while the strength comes up.
The drive from Urbandale gets you a full one-on-one session with me, in a gym with the equipment to test what we're talking about.
We start with what you do and what changed before the pain started. Then I test strength, range, and the movements that bother you.
You leave knowing what's driving the pain, what to keep doing, and what to change for now.
Manual therapy and dry needling are used when they calm a sore area down enough to load it. They are never the whole session.
You get a plan for your training week, not only a list of exercises. We change it as the numbers improve.
What every visit includes, wherever you drive in from.
The clinic is at 1040 SE Frontier Ave, Suite 120, in Waukee, about 15 minutes from Urbandale. Take Hickman Road (US 6) west to Alice's Road, then head south.
No. Iowa has had unrestricted direct access to physical therapy since 1988. You can book without seeing a physician first.
In many cases, yes. Fortitude & Freedom is a hybrid practice. We accept Blue Cross Blue Shield and TRICARE, and we offer a cash option for everyone else. Our team will confirm your coverage before you book anything.
Usually not. Most injuries tolerate some training, and finding that level is part of the first session. I would rather change your workouts than cancel them.
Me, Jake Pawol, PT, DPT, OCS. I'm a Board-Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, and every session is one on one for the full visit.
This content is for general education and is not medical advice. It does not replace an evaluation by a licensed clinician, and reading it does not create a patient relationship. Talk to a qualified health professional about your own symptoms before you act on anything here. If you have severe, sudden, or worsening symptoms, seek medical care right away.
Book a discovery call and tell me what's going on. We'll figure out if I'm the right fit, then get you on the schedule.
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