Business of the Week: Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin

Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin   

220 Greenfield Ave., San Anselmo

(415) 457-4454; sstmarin.com 

What do they offer? 

is a privately-owned physical therapy clinic providing services to people suffering from orthopedic or sports injuries. This includes those with back or neck pain, and those recovering from surgery on their shoulder, knee, hip or even spine. 

During the course of care, highly-trained staff provides a detailed evaluation of the client's overall condition including posture, range of motion, joint mobility, and strength and functional tests relating to the person’s activity level so that they can help the client get back to a prior level of activity (or even better). 

The purpose of specific exercise instruction is not just to get clients stronger, but to help them stay healthy for a lifetime. 

Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin offers an independent exercise program in their gym (for those who choose not to return to a former gym, but want to keep getting stronger). They also offer Pilates mat classes and one-on-one training on the mat and Reformer.  

In addition, Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin has begun to expand their wellness expertise to help people who want to get stronger, be more flexible, or prepare for a return to sports. They also offer ACL injury prevention programs. 

Who are they? 

Owner Steve Thompson has been a Marin resident since 1997. He married a Marin native and moved to San Anselmo, because the couple wanted to be a part of the community. Originally from San Jose, Thompson left there to attend UC Davis, where he majored in physiology while playing Division II football. 

He had a brief stint in the NFL and the World League before “getting serious” (as he says) and going to physical therapy school at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland. 

Physical therapy fits perfectly with Thompson’s desire to help people. He has  coached in the San Anselmo Baseball Association for three years and also in West Marin Youth Soccer. 

How long have they been here? 

The clinic has been at the San Anselmo location for five years and hopes to be a part of the community for a long time. The Novato office, originally called Novato Back Care, has been open for 24 years. Thompson became a partner there in 2001 and the sole owner in 2008.  

Patch readers are invited to the grand opening party with Thompson and the staff. The new Novato clinic location is having its grand opening on April 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The flyer next to article provides details.   

Why are they business of the week? 

Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin sees the young and old, youth athletes with sports injuries, all ages of people who have injured themselves running, cycling or swimming, patients who have undergone knee surgery or joint replacement surgery for the knee and hip, people who have worked at a desk most of their life and now have neck and back pain.  The age ranges of clientele has been from 5 to 99 years and clients are from various backgrounds, fitness levels, and injuries.  The clinic takes most insurance including Medicare. 

“Many of our clients are active and, as Marinites, we live in an active area at the base of Mt. Tam,” said Thompson, who feels good that the clinic can provide extremely high quality physical therapy to help people get over their injuries.

Expanding into the area of injury prevention for the past three years, they have begun working with West Marin Soccer and Ross Valley Grizzlies Lacrosse on ACL injury prevention, helping the leagues develop a better understanding of injury prevention and proper warm-up. In the past, they worked with the Branson High School Mountain Bike Team on improving their core stability. 

Thompson also sponsors and coaches a little league team in the San Anselmo Baseball Association and a girls softball team in Novato. The staff has spent time helping young athletes know and understand their bodies and they will be working with the new competitive soccer league Ross Valley Breakers FC.   

“I am passionate about helping people overcome injuries but mostly I am focused on helping prevent injuries from occurring via our wellness and fitness programs,” said Thompson.   

Note: Sport and Spine Therapy of Marin (San Anselmo and Novato locations) should not to be confused with a different business of similar name, Marin Sport and Spine Physical Therapy in Kentfield