Fall / Winter 2009 Classes
Presented by Laura Diamond, MS, PT
Beede Swim and Fitness Center, 498 Walden Street, Concord, MA

Come and learn about upper and lower extremity water exercises that will increase your strength, range of motion, and postural awareness. Learn alternatives to your land-based exercise program. If you are a lap swimmer, you can do these for a few minutes while you are in the water. If you are a water exercise class participant you might benefit from some specific instruction that you can use in your classes. Please note that these are introductory classes only and are not meant to be a substitute for physical therapy. No handouts will be given to participants. These classes will be held in the shallow part of the large pool at Beede.*

Lower Extremity Exercises in the Water
Come and learn about lower extremity water exercises that will increase your strength, range of motion, and postural awareness. This class will be helpful for people who have hip and knee problems.
Monday October 20, 2008 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Wednesday February 25, 2009 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Shallow Water Class!

Upper Extremity Exercises in the Water
Come and learn about upper extremity water exercises that will increase your strength, range of motion, and postural awareness. These classes will be helpful for people who have shoulder problems.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Monday, January 26, 2009, 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Shallow Water Class!

You must pre-register at the Beede Center to reserve your spot.
Call 978-287-1000 to register or for more information. Space is limited to first 25 people.
$15.00 for Members
$20.00 for Non-Members

*If you have a fear of deep water or need to access the pool via the stairs and not the ladder, then these are the class es for you!

Winter/Spring 2008 Classes
Abdominals and Core Strength in the Water
Find out how you can gain core stability and learn alternatives to your land-based exercise program.
Presented by Laura Diamond, MS, PT
Beede Swim and Fitness Center, 498 Walden Street, Concord, MA

Wednesday, January 30th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in shallow water*
Monday, March 3rd from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in deep water
Tuesday, April 15th from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. in shallow water*
Wednesday, May 7th from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. in deep water

Come and learn about deep water and shallow water exercises that will increase your postural awareness and abdominal strength. Find out how you can gain core stability with water exercises. Learn alternatives to your land-based exercise program. If you are a lap swimmer, you can do these exercises for a few minutes while you are in the water. If you are a water exercise class participant you might benefit from some specific instruction that you can use in your classes. 

You must pre-register at the Beede Center to reserve your spot.
Call 978-287-1000 to register or for more information. Space is limited to first 25 people.
$15.00 for Members
$20.00 for Non-Members

*If you have a fear of deep water or need to access the pool via the stairs and not the ladder, then this is the class for you! This class will be held in the shallow part of the large pool at Beede.

Monday, October 22, 2007 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Monday, November 5, 2007 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Abdominals and Core Strength in the Water
     Find out how you can gain core stability and learn alternatives to your land-based exercise program.
Presented by Laura Diamond, MS, PT
Beede Swim and Fitness Center, 498 Walden Street, Concord, MA

$15.00 for Members
$20.00 for Non-Members

January 2002
Carving Out a Niche
   Do you dream of owning a private practice? New clinicians often dream of going into private practice with a vision of a large office space, fancy equipment, and lots of high technology. This type of office demands a full staff-an office manager, administrative assistant, and many therapists, physical therapy assistants, and aides. The price tag of starting this kind of private practice as well as the overhead in running it can be astronomical. In order to produce the revenues that result in reasonable profit margins, this model necessitates managed care contracts, high volume, and, in some instances, a lower level of quality care. .

   In the 1990s, when managed care took over our health care system, many practices downsized, which meant leasing a smaller space or sharing a space, being solo practitioners, and becoming their own administrators. Many therapists have been successful in this alternative model. The key to success in a downsized world is to have a niche practice, meaning performance of services that are different from those of most practices and for which there is a great demand.

...to continue reading the article, visit the Rehab Management web-site.

March 2000
An Entrepreneurial Spirit
   There are people who ask themselves "Wouldn't it be nice to do X," all the while resigning themselves to the idea that X is a dream they will never pursue. Then there are those to whom that phrase is usually a prelude to action. Such a one is Laura Diamond, PT, MSPT, who diverged from an aquatic physical education career in mid-stream to pursue a physical therapy degree and build a practice that is now, she says, exactly what she wanted when she made that decision.

   In 1984, Diamond was working as an aquatics consultant, using a warm-water pool at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts. Her undergraduate degree had been in physical education, and to that she had added credentials as a Water Safety Instructor Trainer and experience as an aquatics director at the Boston YMCA. Branching out as an independent contractor, Diamond offered aquatic consultation and physical education to clients such as the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation and Perkins. When she found that she very much enjoyed working with a population of clients with mild to severe disabilities, Diamond sought a way to make that the primary focus of her career.

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1998 and 2002
American Physical Therapy Association - Combined Sections Meeting
Boston, MA
The Aquatic Section sponsored Laura Diamond to speak on "Analysis of Swim Strokes: Modifications for Neurologic, Orthopedic, and Chronic Pain Clients"

2002
American Physical Therapy Association - Combined Sections Meeting
Boston, MA
The Private Practice Section and the Aquatic Section co-sponsored Laura Diamond to speak at "Business Basics: Targeted Practice Areas: How to Get Started"

2001
Private Practice Section
Annual Conference & Exposition
Memphis, TN
Laura Diamond presented on "Building a Successful Cash-Based, Niche Practice - An Aquatic Therapy Manual"

2001
The Daily News - Family Line
"Diamond speaks at meeting"

Laura Diamond - a resident of Stow and a physical therapist spoke on "Aquatic Practice Management" at a national meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association. The gathering was held last month in San Antonio, Texas.

The owner of Diamond Physical Therapy Associates, she founded the organization in 1993. Specializing in water therapy techniques, she practices at locations in Newton Corner, Brighton, and Sudbury, Massachusetts.

Diamond holds a master's degree in physical therapy from Boston University and a bachelor's degree in physical education from Saint Lawrence University.

For more than 25 years she has been involved in the field of aquatics, serving as an Aquatics Director, Instructor, Consultant and Practitioner. Her training includes work with therapists at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the New England Rehabilitation Hospital.

In the March 2000 issue of the "Physical Therapy Magazine," she was featured in an article about building a successful private practice.

2006 Past lectures have included these topics...