Local practice welcomes new physical therapist

There's a new provider at Peak Performance Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, PLLC, in New Rockford.

After years of caring for patients at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd as well as home health, Matthew Ystaas is joining his wife Melissa Ystaas at Peak Performance.

The couple bought the physical therapy practice from Jodi Tjelta in the fall of 2022, and Melissa has been operating the business and seeing patients ever since.

Meanwhile, Matthew was still helping his patients at the LHGS and in their homes. But now, he says it's the right time to begin the next chapter of his career at Peak Performance.

"Melissa does a good job and she was getting to the point where she was busy enough where she needed more help," said Ystaas. "And the traveling was getting to be kind of hard for home health.

"It just kind of all fell into place," he continued. "It was just the right thing to do at the right time."

A 2005 graduate of NRHS, Ystaas earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Mary in 2011.

Ever since, he's been working at LHGS or providing physical therapy services to those who can't leave their homes.

He and Melissa married in 2016, and they now have two children attending NR-S.

Ystaas said being able to stay closer to home as his kids begin school and participate in activities was another consideration for transitioning away from home health.

"It's been really good for us so far," he said. "It's good to be close for all the activities the kids have, and it just makes life a lot easier without me on the road all the time."

Meanwhile, he said he'll continue seeing his patients at LHGS in addition to taking appointments at Peak Performance as much as possible.

Ystaas said he first got interested in physical therapy as a young athlete, when he was treated for various injuries by none other than Jodi Tjelta, back when she still worked in Devils Lake.

Years later, he now gets to experience the fulfillment of helping patients recover from whatever ails them.

Ystaas said the most rewarding part of his job is "having somebody come in who is limited by an injury or surgery or a disease of some sort, and then being able to make a plan with them to work towards achieving whatever goals they have."

"It's really fulfilling when you get people who are really limited and by the time they leave they're doing things they had been missing out on."

With his years of experience at the Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd and with home health, Ystaas said he's developed something of a specialty in geriatric care.

Recently, he also earned his LSVT BIG certification, which now allows him to treat patients with Parkinson's disease.

Ystaas said he's looking forward to this new chapter of his career and serving community members who could benefit from physical therapy.

Anyone interested in physical therapy services can call to schedule an appointment with Peak Performance at (701) 947-2030.