Former Football Standout Todd Alpers Now One of State’s All-Star Physical Therapists

By BOB LEWIS
Contributing Editor

Clients of Broken Arrow Physical Therapy aren’t the only ones who rave about Todd Alpers and his staff. Area physicians also show a high level of respect by referring patients to them on a frequent basis.
The reason why is simple. Alpers and his employees are experienced, exceptionally skilled, friendly and their success rate is outstanding.
This continuing saga of success began when Alpers, a self-described sports nut as a kid, considered becoming a coach. The more he looked into that profession, however, the more he realized it wasn’t for him. By contrast, physical therapy seemed like a great fit because it allowed him to stay close to athletics while fulfilling his desire to help a wide profile of people. The chance to observe at a local clinic sealed the deal.
The journey down this career path accelerated in 1988 when, as a Marlow High School senior, he earned all-state recognition and a scholarship to play football for East Central University in Ada.
While excelling in pre-physical therapy studies, he started all 40 games during his four-year college career, earning Second Team All-Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference honors and an All-OIC honorable mention award. He was a two-time Academic All-American and during his senior year was voted ECU Student of the Year.
More recently, he received ECU’s Milan Award, an annual recognition of former student athletes who have distinguished themselves in their chosen professions.
Following his graduation from the University of Oklahoma in 1994, Alpers earned his orthopedic specialist and hand certifications and a doctorate in physical therapy. He opened his own clinic in 2000 after working locally for a group of orthopedic surgeons and serving as a site coordinator for a national corporation.
At the same time, he joined with three other professionals in creating Independent Therapy Partners, a network of four clinics, designed to help boost the image of physical therapy while providing the best possible service to patients in Broken Arrow, Claremore, Jenks, Owasso and communities neighboring these cities
Since launching the business with a staff that consisted of himself and Office Manager Beverly Reedy, Broken Arrow Physical Therapy has grown into an operation of 15 people that includes four physical therapists and two physical therapist assistants. A tribute to their level of excellence is the fact about half of the people they serve are return patients.
For years, Alpers said most of his away-from-the-clinic life revolved around the time he and his wife, Lee Ann, followed the soccer exploits of their two sons. One of them, Ryan, is still a player and has earned a place on the University of Tulsa varsity team while preparing for a career in dentistry. Their other son, Kyle, is a student at the University of Oklahoma. For now, he has set sports aside to prepare for a career in energy management and finance.
An avid outdoorsman, most weekends these days find Alpers handling honey-do chores at the family’s Grand Lake retreat and doing his best to put a dent in the lake’s white bass and crappie populations.
Professionally, he says he remains driven by the satisfaction derived in helping people – some of them recovering from surgeries or serious injuries.
“Being hands-on is one of the best parts of this profession because it allows me to really get to know my patients. I couldn’t come to work every day for almost 20 years if I didn’t believe I was making a difference,” he said.