Alex Lanton, owner of the new Atlas Physical Therapy practice on Quebec St., shows how a balance platform should be used.

When your body fails to measure up to your lifestyle, a physical therapist may be able to help you regain your stride.

“Our patients are ages 6 to 90,” says consulting physical therapist Alex Lanton at Atlas Physical Therapy. “We see everyone from the weekend warrior to someone with back pain, ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) problems or someone with Parkinson’s disease. Stapleton is an active population, but sitting for 40 to 60 hours a week and then physically pushing the body on the weekend can be a tough transition. We give people relief through therapy and then get them back to exercise as soon as possible.

“We offer individualized one-on-one care,” says Lanton. “We do a combination of massage, dry needling and an individualized manual therapy program. We strive to give people the tools to excel with a program to work on at home. We’ll make you feel better, but we want you to feel better long-term. We’ll make you feel better with whatever fits your lifestyle.”

Atlas Physical Therapy’s specialty is the spine and everything that negatively affects it, like low back pain, neck pain, headaches, pinched nerves and bulging discs, according to Lanton.

“Our other specialty is pediatric sports medicine,” he said. “With any active sport, there are going to be moderate risks. If a child gets a concussion, they need to lay off sports for a while and go to a doctor. We see a lot of kids with concussions.”

The goal is for people to have a minimum number of visits with Lanton and to work on a therapy program at home.

“The average for all diagnoses runs around seven visits,” he said. “If a person has big surgery, there are going to be more visits, but with back sprains, it won’t take too long. We’ll be able to get them back to normal quickly.

“The first session is a full evaluation, finding the cause of pain, noting how they move and developing a plan for the future. The goal is to make them feel better, even in that first session. I like to talk and laugh a lot. People come in with pain, so we want them to have a good time while they are there.”

Lanton, his fiancée, Rachel Whitten, and their Labrador mix dog currently live downtown but are planning a move to Stapleton soon.

“One of the draws is the green space,” Lanton said. “We’re both mountain bikers, so accessing the trails and running with the dog will be great.”

Atlas Physical Therapy is located at 3401 Quebec St., Suite 5005. For more information, go to www.atlasptco.com or email Alex Lanton at alex@atlasptco.com. The office is open from 7am to 7:30pm Monday through Thursday and 7am to noon on Friday. For an appointment, call 303.322.4900. Referrals usually are unnecessary, and the office accepts most insurances.