Debbie Lehner Warner describes herself as a “why-things-work kind of person.” She endeavors, through her practice at Balanced Physical Therapy in Salmon Creek, to help patients realize that there is a reason why they have pain, and that together they can get to the root of it. It doesn’t have to be a life sentence. “Physical therapists are not just about massage and exercise. Our skill set is much more detailed than that. We’re experts in finding just the right exercise and techniques to retrain muscles and improve flexibility and posture.”
Name: Deborah Lehner Warner
Residence neighborhood: Lincoln
Business name: Balanced Physical Therapy, 360-573-3611; 900 N.E. 139th St., Suite 102, Vancouver; balancedpt.net
Age: 46
Educational/professional background: I graduated from Ridgefield High School, attended Clark College for one year, then graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a Bachelor of Science and master’s in physical therapy.
How and when you got started in your business: I’ve been working as a physical therapist in Clark County for more than 25 years and opened Balanced Physical Therapy in 2002.
In 2014, I joined forces with my friend and now business partner, Shannon Schram, and we purchased Battle Ground Physical Therapy from our friend, Pete Bartel.
Personal/business philosophy: Accept everyone where they are and offer them an opportunity for growth and improvement in quality of life.
Most rewarding part of your job: Watching someone meet a goal, especially one they were sure they couldn’t accomplish.
Most challenging part of your job: One: insurance companies. They have more paperwork and restrictions for us and reimburse us less.
Two: educating the community about the various things a physical therapist is knowledgeable about and can help them with.
Something surprising about your work: I personally specialize in helping people with issues related to the pelvic floor such as pain with exercise, daily activities or sex, bladder and bowel control, constipation and other digestive issues as well as breathing dysfunction.
In our office we all treat a variety of diagnoses and yet each of us has something we find ourselves a bit more passionate about and then we focus on that for our patients.
Your favorite travel destination: I love traveling and exploring, especially doing things just slightly outside my comfort zone such as sheep farming and delivering lambs in Ireland or white-water rafting over the falls on the White Salmon River.
Best feature of your Clark County community: Access to any of my hobbies — trails, bike routes, rivers, libraries, farms.
What would make your community a better place: Each person taking notice of things around them that they can do to help make a difference — picking up a piece of garbage, holding a door open, volunteering, making eye contact and sharing a smile.
Favorite restaurant/pub/coffee shop or store: Trap Door Brewing, owned by my fianc?, his sons and a friend.
Pastime: Running marathons and training for my first 30K, bicycling, hiking, camping, reading, quilting, spending time with my daughter, Darby, and son, Alex.
Most enjoyable book/play/movie/arts event in the past 12 months: I appreciate the art we have here in Vancouver and I try to support Magenta Theater.
Something you’d like to do this year/within five years: Go on a horseback trip with my Dad.
One word to describe yourself: Bold.
Person you’d most like to meet: Jesus.
