Gaining Inspiration From Tragedy

When Rhode Island native Pablo Rodriguez was a sophomore in high school, he and his family were returning from a trip to Belize. During a layover in Dallas, Texas, their airport shuttle bus was struck by a drunk driver on the highway. Tragically, Pablo’s cousin was ejected and killed. His father was in a coma for a month. His brother and aunt were both in intensive care.

Fortunately, Pablo’s father came out of the coma and was transported back to Rhode Island.

“I watched my dad go from completely bed- and wheelchair-bound to returning to full mobility thanks to physical therapy,” said Pablo. “I helped out with his exercises at home and noticed I was really good at it. That’s how I decided to become a physical therapist.”

Now age thirty-three, Pablo is credentialed as a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), a Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist (CMTPT), and a Credentialed Clinical Instructor (CCI). He has been practicing since 2014.

Pablo is a graduate of Northeastern University for both his undergraduate and physical therapy accreditation.

He grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island and attended Warwick Vets where he holds to this day the school record in pole vault. He won state title his senior year and went on to compete in pole vault for Northeastern.

Pablo attributes his pole vaulting experience to a greater understanding of physicality, technical movement, and how the body works.

“Pole vaulting is one of the most technical events in track and field,” said Pablo. “You need tremendous core strength to lift your body upside down after catapulting off the ground. And you only have a few well plotted steps to get everything right.”

Pablo currently serves as Clinical Manager for the Providence JCC office of Bay State Physical Therapy in Rhode Island. He specializes in the treatment of chronic pain, dry needling, differential diagnosis, and works from the understanding that pain is not an indicator of injury.

Pablo explains the level of pain a patient experiences is not related to the extent of injury.

“People have different pain thresholds, for example, and how they respond to pain is variable,” said Pablo. “As a physical therapist, I listen to my patients. It’s so important to grasp what the patient is thinking, then educate them about expectations and outcomes as therapy gets underway.”

On a typical day, Pablo oversees a variety of patients, ranging from professional athlete injuries to complex neurological cases. He identifies potential myofascial causes of their pain and, when necessary, utilizes dry needling to reduce those pain points. He also performs patient evaluations to create mutual goals and a course of care to return patients to full function as fast as possible.

Gaining career inspiration from personal tragedy, Pablo embraces the fact he is now able to help people of all ages overcome acute and chronic pain and restore comfortable functionality.