Back in 2015, when Kerry Baker was first scouting locations for her private practice, Remedy Physical Therapy, something kept drawing her back to the historic Davidson Building on Washington Avenue. She knew she wanted to be downtown and that, at first, was about it.
“I just loved Downtown Bay City and thought that if I was going to go to work every day, then that’s where I’d want to be,” Baker says.
“We can go for a walk to a restaurant for lunch or Harless & Hugh for coffee. We can walk to the bank or Summit Printing if we need something done.”
Baker would eventually find a space in the Davidson overlooking Washington Avenue. In addition to being downtown, one of the main draws of the building was its tenants which, by the time she opened in 2017, included several dentists.
That’s because Baker specializes in a very particular brand of physical therapy that treats temporomandibular joint, TMJ, or jaw and temporomandibular joint disorder, TMD. The same aches and pains that a dentist examines might have them recommend their patients to visit Baker across the hall.
Many of those dentists have relocated but Baker remains, still receiving their recommendations. Now, though, she’s also treating patients who come from as far as Troy and Jackson, Michigan, too. Baker is a specialist; she is both the first to become a Certified Cervical & Temporomandibular Therapist, CCTT, and to become certified in Orofacial Dry Needling, CODN, in the entire state.
She treats neck, jaw, and orofacial pain by way of very fine needles that are used to relax the muscles. Baker has made a name for herself by specializing in the jaw, but the work she does can benefit other parts of the body, too. She’s actually wanting to be certified to treat patients at all points above the waist, but the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably slowed the certification process.
“I just try and stay on the cutting edge of jaw-related physical therapy. There are only 50 of us in the country that are board certified,” Baker says. “But I still have plans to keep growing with certifications and adding new skills.”
Remedy Physical Therapy is located at 916 Washington Ave. in Downtown Bay City.
Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.