For physical therapist and Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy – Shoreline clinic director Devin Langaker, being a resource for the Shoreline community is a valuable aspect of his professional role. Whether it’s sponsoring events such as the Run for the Hills 5k to benefit Parkinson’s research, volunteering for the Special Olympics, or offering free injury screens in the clinic, Devin strives to empower his patients and people throughout the community with the knowledge and the tools to keep moving and enjoying all the things they love in life.
As someone who loves getting outdoors, Devin spends much of his time outside of the clinic pursuing adventures in nature, a passion he looks forward to sharing with his two small children as they grow. For now, he cherishes his time with his family at home as much as their time together at the local parks or during days at the beach.
Q&A with Devin Langaker
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career as a physical therapist?
I was a nerdy kid who always knew he was going into healthcare. I have an aunt who’s an ER nurse, and there were ER stories I heard growing up that fascinated me. It wasn’t until I was an undergrad that my direction changed to physical therapy. I’d been exposed to physical therapists in my past with sports and I’ve had teammates whose friends were physical therapists, so it wasn’t an entirely new world for me, and it seemed like the best fit moving forward as I went through school.
Q: What's your favorite part about being a physical therapist?
The greatest thing about being a physical therapist is the amount of time that I get to spend with my patients. I really get to understand and know people a lot more than I would have if I had gone a different direction in the medical field. As a physical therapist I get to build long-term relationships, because unfortunately for my patients, but fortunately for me, a lot of people are return patients. So, I can see them periodically over the years as they have different injuries or things that pop up that bring them back for care.
Q: You’re a people person — do you think that trait would help you win if you were a contestant on Survivor?
I definitely feel like people who win are those who get along with most everybody else without being overly dominating. So yes, I think the fact that I am friendly and non-threatening would boost my chances of winning.
Q: Aside from your people skills, is there a luxury item you’d take with you?
Bug spray! Yeah, nobody wants to be eaten by mosquitoes. I might get voted off though because people would be jealous.
Q: You sound like you have experience with that … do you spend a lot of time outdoors, perhaps on your days off?
Pre-kids my favorite thing would be to get out of the city — hiking or camping or ideally backpacking. As my kids grow – they’re still very young – I’m hoping to be able to take them with me on those adventures, but they can’t quite do a two-day backpack trip quite yet! So, my perfect way to spend a day off now is to do things with my kids. I really enjoy taking my daughter to a park or going to the beach or things like that.
Q: What is your favorite sport?
I grew up playing soccer and now, any chance I get, I love to play. It doesn’t happen very much anymore though. I really like being on the water as well. So, powerboating, kayaking … really, I like anything that gets me outdoors, so it goes back to hiking and camping and that kind of activity.
Q: There seems to be a theme emerging … does it play into your top stressbuster, too?
I would say that I think the best way for me to really be stress-free is to get out of the city, to get on the water or on a trail. I consider most of my hikes to be workouts. So, I usually pick a really steep, really long trail and get a good workout out of it.
Q: If you had the ability to time travel, would you go back or forward?
If I could time travel, I would probably go back to the ‘70s or ‘80s because I get overstimulated with tech – so, like pre-computer, pre-Facebook … you know, I feel like it would be, in some ways, a lot less stressful.
Q: Okay, aversion to technology aside, what's the most used mobile app on your phone?
Spotify. Either podcasts or music. That’s where I get a lot of my news media nowadays – we don’t watch it on TV and don’t read newspapers. So, news podcasts are a good way to go especially while driving. I listen to Pod Save America and The Daily by The New York Times. Those two are regulars. Music playlists that I don’t have to create are really nice.
Q: What do you wish everyone knew about physical therapy?
Your physical therapist for life.
At Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy – Shoreline, we take pride in helping our patients reach their goals quickly and safely. Throughout your personalized PT journey, we’ll focus on sharing our knowledge as we strive to empower you with the education and tools you need to stay healthy and active.