Business: Monarch Physical Therapy

Address: 61 Church Hill Road

Owner: Dr Chelsea and Matt Barnes

What is your business background? “I got my doctorate in physical therapy in 2018. My first job was at Select PT in Newtown … I was there for several years before starting my own business … actually COVID was the start of it. So, 2020 I started a virtual practice called B On The Move … Telehealth was booming then and I did a virtual practice. I started a physical therapy Instagram page … it has like over 100,000 followers, it gained a lot of traction … I was doing a lot of virtual telehealth with people all over the world, honestly, not even just the country. I was doing people in like Europe and India, it created a huge platform. It really pushed me into my entrepreneurial side. I ended up doing that full time … that gave me the opportunity to travel with Matt while he was doing baseball and traveling all over the world, too. So it’s like the best of both words. And then I had my son in 2023 … it was difficult for me and I found a pelvic health physical therapist in Westport who was wonderful. I decided to pivot my background, which had primarily just been orthopedics and sports medicine, and dive deep into pelvic health because I realized how insanely important and life changing it was for me. There is not a ton in our area in Newtown. So, I spent a year home with my son, I was still doing some virtual health here and there, but I dove really deep into pelvic health courses and education to be certified. I then had the opportunity to work part-time in Westport at a really small pelvic health practice, and I gained a lot of experience there … Then Matt since retired and it was my turn to go do my dreams now. That’s when I decided, you know I still love my orthopedic background and my sports, but pelvic health has really taken the cake on things that I’m passionate about, so we do a mix of both at Monarch.”

What is your business’ focus? “I would say both pelvic health and orthopedics for the modern women. We do see men, of course, but we’re definitely niched-down into women’s health space … Where care, really great one-on-one care, and recovery and fitness can come together under one roof … I’ve always wanted to incorporate some fitness and recovery, using Matt’s experience as a professional athlete as my gold standard. I was like, ‘Wow, you have access to everything,’ and most people don’t. And that’s not fair … ‘Redefining physical therapy.’ Like, it can just be different. It can be a different experience, and if you’re like, ‘Ugh, physical therapy didn’t work for me,’ don’t discount it. It could have been a bad experience … If it didn’t work for you, let’s try something different.”

What is something important to you that readers should know about your business? “We take a whole-body approach. We’re not symptom chasing. I really love to evaluate the entire body, and that’s kind of the beauty of being out-of-network with insurance is we’re really not dictated by, you came to me with knee pain, I can only treat your knee. It’s like, you came to me with knee pain, but let me assess your hips, and your back, and your core, and your ankles and the way you breathe … To me, a whole-body approach, everyone has so many symptoms going on at one time … how can we get you to feel your best? We are one-on-one with a doctor of physical therapy for every appointment, an entire hour, every session, every time.”

Hours: Physical therapy hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8 am-6 pm, and Thursdays are 8 am-7 pm. Fitness classes and recovery room hours are Mondays and Tuesdays 6 am and 7 am, and Saturdays 8-10 am.

Website: monarchpt.co

Phone: 203-212-9038

E-mail: hello@monarchpt.co