Working -- On the rebound

Mike Sciacca

HE IS

A local guy helping local athletes

Brett Johnson has a knack for helping local athletes work their way

back to full strength.

A licensed physical therapist assistant, certified athletic trainer

and certified strength and conditioning specialist at California

Rehabilitation and Sports Therapy in Huntington Beach, Johnson has tended

to many local high school athletes.

The Surf City resident, a 1986 graduate of Ocean View High, not only

rehabilitates the injured athlete but goes to great lengths to develop

and implement programs to reduce the gap between the time of injury and

getting an athlete to return to their respective sport.

“The main thing I really enjoy about my job is that I like working

with athletes. It’s rewarding to see someone rebound from an injury,”

said Johnson, who played basketball and baseball while attending Ocean

View.

A VOLUNTEER FOR PREP ATHLETES

Johnson’s duties include a wide range of patient care, from workman’s

compensation cases to accident victims and postoperative care patients.

He has also volunteered his time to assist in the care of injured high

school athletes. He also helped organize a network of athletic trainers

for the athletic departments at Marina and Huntington Beach high schools.

He has been working with Marina for six years and at Huntington Beach

for the past two.

“Our busy time of the year for high school is the football season. We

offer a Saturday clinic, which allows players to come in following a

Friday night game and receive free care for their first few visits,” he

said.

PREVENTION PLAYS A KEY ROLE

Johnson first began his career as a physical therapy aid in 1992 and

has held his current position for the past eight years.

During that time, he has implemented several rehabilitation programs.

Throwing, running and batting are just a few of the skill-level programs

he has researched and developed. His aggressive core strengthening

program is being utilized by professional athletes and has contributed to

increased power and decreased back injuries.

He also conducts and trains in an extensive, six-week plyometric

training program that is designed to significantly reduce knee injuries

in female athletes and often improves their speed and vertical abilities.

He currently attends to Jenna Beck, an elite junior figure skater, and

has also helped rehabilitate Major League Baseball’s Mark McGwire.

* MIKE SCIACCA is the education and sports reporter. He can be reached

at (714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.