About Us

TREATMENT EXPERIENCE

Smart Athlete Physiotherapy was founded out of the frustration with the traditional physical therapy model.  We believe you deserve more than a few minutes of hands on care and then passed on to an aide.  Traditional physical therapy clinics let their care be dictated by insurance reimbursement and visits per year.  This doesn’t lead to optimal outcomes.  At Smart Athlete your plan of care is determined based on what you need to reach your goals.

Smart Athlete PT provides more than just physiotherapy.  We help the athlete within us move without compensation and pain, creating freedom to do what you love most!  We have developed services that provide all the tools you will need to live an active and pain free lifestyle.

Who do we work with?   We believe there is an athlete within us all.  As long as you are willing to learn, we are the right provider for you.

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If your are in need of our Physiotherapy Services: During your evaluation we will gather a detailed history to get an accurate picture of why you are having limitations. We will then go through a thorough musculoskeletal evaluation and functional movement assessment. From this we will be able to create an action plan and give you an understanding of what the source of your problem is. Our goal is to treat the source of your dysfunction not just the symptoms.

If you are in need of our Athlete Management Services: The entry point is an individualized 1-on-1 biomechanical and movement assessment. This allows us to create the perfect customized program based on your goals, needs, sport, and current ability. In order to build a complete athlete, focus needs to be put on all aspects of performance. We will help you dial in to the preventative, corrective, recovery and all areas of athletic development that you need to perform well in your specific sport.

OUR TEAM

Smart Athlete PT has put together a collection of Raleigh’s most experienced physio’s in treating athletes and over-use injuries.  Upon your introductory call to Smart Athlete we figure out which physio you best match up with to maximize your time with us.

Physiotherapists

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Jeff  Vajay is the founder of Smart Athlete PhysioTherapy and a life long athlete. For nearly two decades, Jeff has worked with athletes from the NHL, NFL, NBA, ATP, WTA, MLB and US Olympic Track and Field, as well as various college athletes.  He’s spent four years as a sports medicine therapist for the United States Tennis Association Men’s Professional Circuit and currently travels internationally as a Physiotherapist with the ATP World Tour.

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Michael Vita is the co-founder of Smart Athlete Physiotheray and has been practicing in the areas of orthopaedics and electrophysiology over the last 19 years.  He utilizes his knowledge in these areas to the benefit of the client.  Michael has worked with client s ranging from chronic pain patients to amateur and professional athletes. Treatments typically integrate a comprehensive neuro – biomechanical approach with manual treatment specific to the injured region.

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Jon Paryz earned his Physical Therapy degree from Daemen College in Amherst, NY in 1993 and became NSCA Certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist in 2002. He believes a proper and thorough evaluation to identify the source of the patient’s dysfunction and symptoms is the key to long-term relief and assists in prevention of re-injury. Utilizing functional manual therapy as well as patient education he is able to help achieve his patients’ goals and speed the recovery process.

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Emily Lusnia earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Saint Augustine in Saint Augustine, FL in 2012, with a heavy concentration in manual therapy. She earned her B.S. in Kinesiology at Campbell University in 2009. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate Of Health Science at Campbell University. Emily is a registered yoga teacher with the yoga alliance (RYT200) and certified in Functional Dry Needling.

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CarolAnn Wiggs has been a physical therapist in outpatient orthopedics for over 10 years. She enjoys treating a variety of conditions, including lower extremity conditions, temporomandibular disorders, and postural dysfunctions. She has a certification in dry needling from Master Dry Needling.

Performance Coaches

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Quentin Guichard is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.  He leads our Sports Performance Training and Tennis Performance Training programs. Quentin grew up in the French Alps, and although skiing is part of his DNA, tennis is what brought him to the U.S. in 2004. He played Division I college tennis for Charleston Southern University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Business Administration. 

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Andrew Hodges has worked with clients and athletes of all ages, levels, sports, and abilities. He holds a Bachelors degree from Elon University, where he played Division 1 NCAA Tennis, and later earned his Masters degree from Duke University. He has been certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) as well the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). In addition, Andrew is a certified professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association, the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) and Functional Movement Systems (FMS). As a Strength and Conditioning Coach, he has worked with NC State Basketball and Tennis Programs and was the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for Chris Evert’s IMG Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Fl. In particular, Andrew has extensive experience in high performance athletes and functional movement.

JOIN OUR TEAM

As a practice committed to helping patients be pain-free, we are always accepting resumes from those therapy and administrative staff who pride themselves on accepting new challenges and who have a strong desire to help others. We only accept staff into our practice who have the drive, passion, and enthusiasm for helping the patients we serve.

Do you want to see if you qualify to be part of our team of physical therapists? Contact us at 919.424.6055 or click below to fill out our online form. Thank you!