Dean Teitelbaum PT, DPT – Physical Therapist & Owner
Dean enjoying a waterfall off of a trail in Simsbury, CT.
Dean has been practicing as a licensed physical therapist since 2000. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical therapy from Daemen College in 2000 and his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Daemen College in 2006.
Dean began running at the age of 15. “I have to admit, I wasn’t crazy about running at first. I associated a lot of pain with running at that time. Once I started to get in shape, running became easier and I started to enjoy it more.”
Even as running became easier and more enjoyable for Dean, he never saw himself as a “distance-runner.”
“I was happy running 3 to 5 miles when I was in college,” Dean recalled. “I never saw myself running further than that. In fact, I used to think that anybody who ran more than that was crazy!”
While in his mid-20’s, Dean began learning about different views on health and nutrition. These views were based on science, but were not common knowledge to most people, even those in the medical community.
“Basically, I learned about ‘pH balance’ in the body and the importance of minimizing my intake of acidic foods and drinks. I also learned about how to minimize the amount of acid my body produced during exercise. These changes allowed my body to burn more fat as a fuel, instead of sugar. What I really learned was that there is a difference between ‘health’ and ‘fitness’, they are not the same.”
The final result for Dean was an increase in energy level and more endurance. “All of a sudden, running became effortless to me,” Dean said. “I found myself running for 6 to 9 miles without pain or fatigue. And then I realized that distance running is not hard or painful and can be very enjoyable when you do it properly and make sure you keep your body’s pH level balanced with proper nutrition and hydration.”
It didn’t take long for Dean to get inspired and run his first marathon in 2005. “I wouldn’t say it was ‘easy’, but it certainly was not as hard as I had imagined it to be once upon a time,” Dean said. “Making those changes in my running style and nutrition were the key factors that made running a marathon enjoyable for me. I’ve heard horror stories about marathoners not being able to even walk the day after the race. The next day, I was fine. I just had some mild soreness in my thighs. I wasn’t excessively sore because I trained my body to properly deal with acids.”
“That is really what inspired me to create Stride to Health. I know that not everybody wants to run marathons, but I know there are a lot of people out there who want to get healthy and start running just for a half-hour per day, but may feel intimidated or they are simply afraid of running being painful and difficult. So, they never take that first step towards a healthier body.”
“My goals with Stride to Health are to expose more runners to the vital importance of pH balance, teach those new to running that it does not have to be a painful struggle, and to help both athletes and non-athletes live a healthy, pain-free life,” said Dean. ” I want to empower those in the community to take responsibility for their own health so that they feel in control of their own body. Once you realize you can control your energy level and prevent sickness and injuries by making the proper lifestyle choices, you’ll never want to go back to your unhealthy habits.”
Dean lives in Simsbury, CT with his wife Eileen. In addition to running, Dean enjoys mountain biking and road cycling.
