Balance Chicago

Get to Know the Staff at LifeStyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center: We’re Here to Help

Dr. Michele Kehrer PT, DPT, ATC

Michele played a key role in developing the protocols and equipment used by the few specialists working with neurological dizziness and balance disorders today. Her success rates, contributions and ongoing innovations to this emerging field have built her reputation throughout the medical community.

As an athlete herself, Michele discovered her calling and began on her career path as a result of sustaining a serious sports-related injury in high school. After working in a variety of settings with numerous sports teams while earning her undergraduate degree, she served as athletic trainer for Highland Park High School’s LaCrosse team while simultaneously treating patients at Peak Therapeutics, a clinic specializing in sports rehabilitation.

It was during this time Michele’s attention was first drawn to dizziness and balance issues by the high number of students sustaining concussions and patients presenting with dizziness disorders at the clinic. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Michele worked with Peak’s neurology specialists to develop protocols to get their patients back to normal activities as soon as possible. These early successes were later acknowledged by the United States government when she was asked to assist in research conducted by NASA and the Department of Defense.

While laying the groundwork for her exemplary career, Michele also studied extensively in other areas of specialization. She worked in several clinical rotations in the acute and sub-acute inpatient and outpatient settings. Her clinical focus also included prosthetics fittings, gait training and pediatric high-risk physical therapy.

While Michele still works in a consultative capacity from time to time, her primary focus is her own clinic, LifeStyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center. She is happy to provide a resource for patients who previously had nowhere to turn, and to help them reclaim their daily routines in comfort. She also sees patients with difficult-to-diagnose issues, and enjoys the challenge of investigating until she finds a solution.

If you have been struggling with a dizziness, balance or orthopedic issue that has defied resolution, Michele would like to help.

Dr. Lindsay Ternes PT, DPT

Lindsay Ternes began her work at Lifestyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center in April of 2008. The career of physical therapist caught her attention in college years at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana after dealing with her own running injury.  Throughout these years, Lindsay participated in research experience involving exercise and older adults, she volunteered as a physical therapy aide at Carle Hospital, became a group fitness leader for Urbana Park District, worked as a personal assistant to an individual who was wheelchair bound due to multiple sclerosis, and completed her first Chicago marathon.  Upon receiving her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, the path to physical therapy school seemed inevitable as it would include her passions of helping others and exercise.

Attending Northwestern University in Chicago and graduating with her doctorate degree was the next step in Lindsay’s career path.  Lindsay was able to devote her training to a variety of physical therapy settings including a specialty unit in a hospital providing care for individuals with acute cardiac and pulmonary issues, an outpatient orthopedic clinic rehabilitating sports-related injuries, and a neurological outpatient hospital setting with focus on restoring a patient’s ability to walk after amputation or stroke. Lindsay continued her career at outpatient physical therapy settings and after many of her patients complained of dizziness she began to seek out the best rehabilitation protocol.  In this search, Lindsay was referred to Michele Kehrer, the owner and chief physical therapist of Lifestyle Physical Therapy & Balance Center.  After meeting Michele and learning about the Center, Lindsay knew working here was an opportunity that was truly unique and one that she could not pass up.

Lindsay received her doctorate in physical therapy degree in December of 2006, completed her research thesis involving  accuracy of the ventilatory response index to establish exercise training intensity for running and cycling exercise, and has participated in continuing education involving different treatment approaches including: McKenzie, Mulligan, movement based science, and Maitland.  Lindsay has been a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and participated in the Combined Sections Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Most recently, Lindsay became certified in vestibular therapy at the Vestibular Rehabilitation: A Competency Based Course.  She is one of the 2% of all therapist in the United States certified in treating patient with signs and symptoms of vertigo.

Dr. Mallory Scholze PT, DPT

Having been an athlete, Mallory has known she wanted to do something in the healthcare field from an early age. In high school, she sustained an athletic injury and became a physical therapy patient herself. She enjoyed her time in therapy as well as the relationships she developed with her therapists. She has always felt profound satisfaction in lending a helping hand to others, and the opportunity to help others regain their functional ability and attain their goals helped her to realize that physical therapy was the perfect career for her. She began working as an aide, which only strengthened her desire to become a physical therapist. After graduating from Elmhurst College in 2007 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology, Mallory attended Northwestern University where she received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2009. Her clinical interests include orthopedics and vestibular therapy. She will be presenting her doctoral research at the 2010 American Physical Therapy Association national conference.

Dr. Justin Novinger PT, DPT

Dr Novinger’s clinical experience includes working with a diverse patient population- orthopedic, sports, occupational, vestibular, and surgical pathologies; youth through geriatric patients. He uses a functional based treatment philosophy, which utilizes a combination of therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, and modalities based upon individual patient needs. Justin holds a doctorate of physical therapy from Northwestern University and received his Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at DePauw. Prior to joining Metrix, Dr. Novinger was a Facility Manager at North Shore Physical Therapy and a Staff Therapist at Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers.