Chronicle photo by Vanessa McGuigan Rankin Physical Therapy staff and Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce members look on as Shepherdstown Mayor Jim Auxer cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of Rankin Physical Therapy in Shepherdstown.

Rankin Physical Therapy celebrated their grand opening with a ribbon cutting last Friday at their first Jefferson County location, 101 Maddex Square next to Christian Caine jewelers, in Shepherdstown.

This new spot marks the sixth location opened since 2001 by owner Kelley Rankin.

“We actually opened in January,” Rankin said. “We’re very happy to be here and thanks to the community in Shepherdstown who have trusted us, we’ve gotten busy and are going to have to add a second full-time therapist here. We have great therapists at every one of our locations, but Brett (Huffman) who’s here is one of only four therapists in the state of West Virginia who has done a manual (therapy) fellowship. His skills are unbelievable. He’s a great therapist.”

A manual therapy fellowship is a more in-depth program with advanced techniques and clinical reasoning skills beyond what is taught in physical therapy school. Huffman completed the three-year fellowship after earning his degree in physical therapy from West Virginia University.

Rankin offers treatment for sports injuries, orthopedic and musculo-skeletal injuries, low back pain, custom foot orthotics, neurological disorders, pediatric care and treatment of vertigo – among other things. At their Hedgesville and Berkeley Springs locations, aquatic therapy is offered, and is slated to be offered this fall in Inwood. Dry needling is offered at the Hedgesville and Martinsburg locations.

Rankin thanked his staff and the Corporation of Shepherdstown for making this opening possible and says he plans to open a Charles Town office in the near future.

Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 304-876-1000 for more information or to schedule an appointment.