Physical Therapy in Columbia, SC

Physical Therapy in Columbia, SC

ProMotion's Columbia clinic sits on Rosewood Drive, serving Columbia, Forest Acres, Cayce, and West Columbia. It's our founding location and home to the largest care team in our practice.

It's also where you'll find a dance studio at the back of the clinic. Our founder, Dr. Nancy K. Imbeau, built this practice around the belief that dancers deserve care from people who understand dance — and the studio is where that belief became something you can walk into.

Dr. Imbeau is a board-certified orthopaedic clinical specialist with advanced manual therapy certification. The idea she built this clinic around is a simple one: movement is medicine, and recovery shouldn't end when your visits do. That's also why we have a personal trainer on site.

Whether you're recovering from surgery, working through a sports injury, or dealing with pain that hasn't gone away on its own, you'll work one-on-one with a licensed physical therapist at every visit.

What we treat

Most of what we do at Columbia is general outpatient orthopedics — the everyday injuries and conditions that make normal life harder than it should be.

• Back and neck pain, including sciatica and disc-related symptoms
• Knee and hip pain, arthritis, and joint replacement recovery
• Shoulder injuries, rotator cuff problems, and frozen shoulder
• Foot and ankle injuries, plantar fasciitis, and ankle sprains
• Post-surgical rehabilitation, working from your surgeon's protocol
• Work injuries and South Carolina workers' compensation cases
• Sports injuries at every level, from youth through adult recreational
• Balance problems and fall prevention

If you're not sure whether physical therapy is right for what you're dealing with, an evaluation will tell us. We'd rather say so honestly than start a plan of care that isn't going to help.

Dance and performing arts medicine

There is a dance studio at the back of our Columbia clinic.

That's not a marketing line — it's the reason this practice exists. ProMotion was founded around Dr. Nancy K. Imbeau's belief that dancers deserve care from people who understand dance, and the studio is where that belief became something you can walk into.

It changes what treatment looks like. We can watch you turn, jump, and land in the space you actually move in, rather than guessing from a treatment table. When you're ready to return to class or performance, we can see it for ourselves before you go back.

Dr. Imbeau and Riley Nowling both specialize in dance and performing arts medicine, so you're not waiting on one person's schedule.

We work with dancers, gymnasts, and performing artists on the specific demands their bodies face — turnout, hypermobility, repetitive loading, and the pressure to return to performance quickly. Performing arts medicine is a recognized subspecialty, and very few practices in South Carolina offer it.

We see dancers at every level — studio, competitive, collegiate, and professional.

Golf

Matthew Lamb, PT, DPT works with golfers at our Columbia clinic. He is TPI Certified Level 1, the Titleist Performance Institute credential for golf-specific movement screening. Golf puts unusual demands on the body — rotation through the spine and hips, repeated at speed, often by people who play more than they train.

Whether you're coming back from an injury or your back tightens up by the back nine, the answer usually isn't just rest. It's figuring out where your movement is limited and what the rest of your body is doing to compensate.

Running and endurance

Riley Nowling has a particular interest in treating runners at our Columbia clinic — shin splints, IT band pain, runner's knee, Achilles issues, and the training errors that tend to cause them.

Running injuries are rarely just about the injured tissue. What matters is how you load it, how often, and what changed before the pain started.

Personal training at Columbia

Columbia is the only ProMotion clinic where physical therapy and personal training share a roof. Heather Kopacz practices here and runs our personal training program on site.

That matters most at the point where rehab ends. Most patients finish physical therapy stronger than when they arrived but unsure how to keep going. Here, you don't have to go find a gym and start over with someone who doesn't know your history — the person building your training program can talk to the therapist who treated you.

Women’s health and pelvic floor therapy

Jillian “Jill” Tyler, PT, DPT provides women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapy at Columbia — pelvic pain, incontinence, postpartum recovery, and pelvic floor dysfunction.

Columbia is the only ProMotion clinic offering this service. Read more about women’s health physical therapy.

What to expect at your first visit

Plan for about 60 minutes. We'll talk through your history, watch how you move, and test strength, range of motion, and joint mechanics. You'll leave with an explanation of what's driving your symptoms, a plan for addressing it, and treatment started the same day — not just a printout of exercises.

Wear clothes you can move in. If your knee hurts, bring shorts. If it's your shoulder, a tank top helps.

Bring your insurance card, photo ID, and any imaging or surgical reports. If you have a referral or prescription, bring that too.

Insurance and cost

We accept Medicare Part B, South Carolina Medicaid, most commercial plans, and South Carolina workers' compensation.

If you're on Medicare, we'll explain your coverage and any expected out-of-pocket before treatment starts, not after.

Common questions

Do you treat everyday injuries, or only specialty cases?

Most of our patients come to us with back pain, knee pain, shoulder problems, or post-surgical recovery. The specialty programs are additions to general orthopedic care, not replacements for it.

Do you treat dancers and performing artists?

Yes. Our Columbia clinic has a dance studio on site, and Dr. Nancy K. Imbeau and Riley Nowling both specialize in dance and performing arts medicine. Having the studio means we can assess and progress you in the environment you actually dance in.

Do you work with golfers?

Yes. Matthew Lamb, PT, DPT works with golfers at our Columbia clinic on the rotational demands of the swing and the movement limitations behind most golf-related pain.

Do you offer pelvic floor physical therapy?

Yes, at our Columbia location. Jillian “Jill” Tyler, PT, DPT has advanced training in pelvic health and treats pelvic pain, incontinence, and postpartum recovery.

Do you treat running injuries?

Yes. Riley Nowling has a particular interest in treating runners — shin splints, IT band pain, runner's knee, and Achilles problems. We look at how you're loading and what changed before the pain started, not just the sore spot. Learn more about physical therapy for runners and endurance athletes.

Do you offer personal training?

Yes, at our Columbia location. Heather Kopacz runs personal training on site, which means your training program can be built with your rehab history in mind rather than starting from scratch somewhere else.

Do you take Medicare?

Yes. We accept Medicare Part B and will verify your benefits before your first visit.

Do you treat workers' compensation injuries?

Yes. We work with South Carolina workers' comp cases and coordinate directly with your employer and case manager.

Can I see a physical therapist for an injury that happened years ago?

Yes. Persistent pain often responds well to treatment even when it's been present a long time. An evaluation will tell us whether physical therapy is the right approach.

How long is a first appointment?

About 60 minutes. That covers a full evaluation, a discussion of your goals, and starting treatment the same day — you won't leave with only a printout of exercises.

Do I need a referral to see a physical therapist?

In most cases, no. South Carolina allows you to start physical therapy without a physician referral, and most plans cover it that way. Some plans do require one, and Medicare requires a physician to sign off on your plan of care. We verify your specific benefits before your first visit and tell you exactly what yours needs.