Meet Adelle Smener | Doctor of Physical Therapy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adelle Smener and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adelle, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
The idea of work life balance is a difficult concept for many people to understand and navigate – myself included. I used to be under the impression that work life balance meant a perfect 50/50 balance – a delicate game trying to keep my work life and personal life an equal priority. But as time has gone by I have learned to understand that not only is that a misconception but it is unrealistic – there will be times that your work-life “balance” looks more like a 70/30 split, or even 90/10, and guess what sometimes even the other way around 20/80 – and that is okay. If you are passionate about what you do or work in a high-performance environment, there will undoubtedly be weeks or maybe even a month of 80/20. The key is recognizing that this “balance” isn’t always going to be perfect – grinding 24/7 just isn’t sustainable and setting boundaries to balance a busy work week with a weekend of self care, friends, fun, and things that fill you up is equally as important in the long run.

The other factor that drastically helped me understand how to find a healthy work-life “balance” was to really solidify my identity outside of work – aka as a human. In order to leave space in your life for things other than work, it’s important to identify as more than your career or your job title. When someone asks us about ourselves, our go to is our job title – but what about everything else? What about a wife? An athlete? A coffee-enthusiast? An animal activist? Etc. Creating an identity for myself outside of my work, no matter how passionate I may be about my profession, truly opened the door to being at peace with setting boundaries and getting comfortable with the ever-oscillating concept of “work-life balance”

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Prehab Physical Therapy is a clinic that was born out of necessity. After working at 3 different physical therapy clinics in Los Angeles, I was sick of seeing patients being treated like just another back, knee or shoulder with 15-30 minute turnarounds to ensure the clinic made enough off the atrocious insurance reimbursements that ultimately ended up predicating the type of care I was able to deliver. I had the pleasure to work with so many amazing people but couldn’t help but feel I was doing them a disservice by not giving them the quality of care I felt they deserved.

After 3 years, enough was enough, and Prehab Physical Therapy was born! At Prehab Physical Therapy we ensure that every single patient that walks through our door feels like family, feels empowered, and is excited about their rehab and performance journeys. Because they are no longer just a back, knee or shoulder – they are a human being with goals that are distinctly theirs. As a team, we are there to support our patients unconditionally to provide them with a safe space to heal, push themselves beyond limits they never knew they could, and come out of their rehab stronger than ever!

In addition to your traditional reactive physical therapy approach, we predicate ourselves on the idea of Prehab. Many people think physical therapy is for people who just had a major injury or surgery, but that is not always the case. What about the weekend warrior with minor aches or pains that they’ve accepted as normal, or the mom that wants to be able to pick up her baby without back pain, or better yet, what someone just like the readers of this magazine who just wants to learn more about their bodies to maximize their health and wellness for the long haul. That’s where Prehab comes in – why wait until our pain is debilitating to give our body the attention it deserves. Imagine how many injuries we can prevent and the performance goals we could hit, if we took care of our bodies like we took care of our teeth? We don’t wait to go to the dentist until we get a cavity so why should we wait to see a physical therapist until a small pain ache turns into a debilitating injury?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
This question – I love. As an LA native through and through I am not going to lie – I am as basic as they come sometimes (hence the IG handle). There is nothing I love more than being outdoors on a sunny day soaking up rays with a nice drink in hand surrounded by good company. Luckily for us there are plenty of places to do that here in LA. First comes the beach, a given if you are coming to LA, but which beach makes a huge difference so no trip would be complete without a visit to Malibu and/or Manhattan Beach. As for boozy brunch or sunset drinks – nothing tops Calabra or Elephante. If you are wanting something a bit more casual for a true beach vibe you can’t miss out on Big Deans in Santa Monica for a burger and beer. As for food – I stay close to my neighborhood and recently have been loving all the up and coming restaurants in Culver City – Etta, Roberta’s, Margot – can’t go wrong with any of them! And for a night in there is nothing better than BAD sushi – don’t let the name fool you, it’s the Best and Delicious sushi! And last but not least if you want to play tourist – yes we can go to Venice but not to stroll the boardwalk – instead play a game of paddle tennis, catch some rays while doing it, and get in on some of the best people watching there in LA too!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are countless people who have helped me along my journey including friends, families, and mentors. And without this army behind me there is no way I would be where I am today.

When it comes to reading – I’m generally one for fiction (*cue work life balance*) but I would be omitting a very big part of my transformation if I did not acknowledge the impact Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead left on me. This book taught me so much about the type of leader I wanted to be – how to lead with vulnerability and authenticity. It also taught me how to flip what others may see as weaknesses into strengths to be a better leader for others.

Next up, I want to shout out my official as well as unofficial mentors that helped me over the last several years. In graduate school, I unfortunately never had a proper mentor and kind of had to fend for myself. So when I graduated I knew this was something that I needed and wanted – a community of like-minded passionate PTs to push me to grow and learn. That’s how I got the pleasure of meeting Emma Jack from PressPlay & Zak Gabor and Steph Allen from The Level Up Initiative. Emma and Level Up’s mentorship got me out of my shell and opened my mind to all the new and exciting possibilities in our profession.

I am also beyond grateful to have amazing friends who just so happened to also be PTs – huge shoutout to Dr. Steph Mundt – the absolute GOAT for all your running rehab needs and the person who is always a text away when I need a quick reality check and Dr. Alison Edwards – the person who kept me sane during times in my career when things reallllllllly felt out of balance.

But the ultimate shoutout goes to my husband, Dr, Michael Lau. My husband has not only been the ultimate support system in life but my career as well. Michael and I originally met in PT school, and from the instant we met he was my biggest supporter and a phenomenal role model in life and business. He has managed to build a successful online physical therapy business, The Prehab Guys, with the goal of revolutionizing the field of physical therapy, bringing affordable access to not just reactive physical therapy but bringing to light the importance of preventive care to people all around the world. His passion and drive to make a difference on such a grand scale is truly unparalleled and something I really admire.

Website: https://theprehabguys.com/clinic/

Instagram: @notyourbasicpt

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThePrehabGuys/videos