Nick Purcell, PT, DPT, SCS
Advanced Clinical Specialist
Emergency Response for the Athlete Certified
Functional Dry-Needling Certified
Blood Flow Restriction Rehabilitation
U.S. Center for SafeSport Certified
Email: nxpurcel@texaschildrens.org
Languages: English
Departments:
Get to know Nick Purcell, PT, DPT, SCS
Dr. Nick Purcell is an Advanced Clinical Specialist at Texas Children’s Hospital. During his residency in 2016, he worked with the Houston Dynamo professional soccer team, attended the Houston Astros Spring training and worked in the Division 1 Athletic Training Facility with Rice University Athletics. He currently consults with Texas Southern University to manage knee and shoulder post-operative rehabilitation protocols. As an Adjunct Professor from 2016-2023, he had the opportunity to teach the next generation of physical therapists how to listen and learn from their patients.
He has a special interest in rock climbing as a climber himself, and he served as volunteer physical therapist for the Team USA Paralympic Rock Climbing team in 2023.
Nick regularly speaks at national conferences and research meetings regarding sports physical therapy for the youth athlete. He is passionate about care coordination among the multiple sports physical therapy clinics and integrating a multidisciplinary approach to patient care with Texas Children's Sports Medicine and Orthopedic physicians. He currently serves as site coordinator for the Sports PT Residency and is Co-Leader of the Sports Physical Therapy Workgroup.
Personal Statement
As a youth athlete I enjoyed playing baseball, basketball, track & field, and football. Like many of my patients I was injured playing the sports I loved. My most significant injury was when I hurt my shoulder playing high school baseball and my physical therapist helped me get back to pitching. It was because of that experience that I knew I wanted to work with young athletes.
I am passionate about providing the highest quality treatment for my patients and ensuring that parents and patients understand the "why" behind rehabilitation. I feel it is important to actively listen to my patients and families so that we can come to a decision together about the most efficient and safe path back to full function after an injury.
Clinical Interests
Knee injury, ACL injury, overhead athlete, shoulder injury, elbow injury, rock climbing, Olympic sports
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Board Certification
Board-Certified Sports Physical Therapist -The American Board of Physical Therapy
Honors and awards
- 2021
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Sports PT Residency Faculty of the Year
- 2019
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Sports PT Residency Faculty of the Year
* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.
Research interests
Sports performance training, utilization of data to make return to sport decisions, mental and emotional wellness for the youth athlete, movement skill acquisition, rock climbing
Purcell, N. (2024). Movement Skill Acquisition: A Paradigm for Progression from the field, to the lab, to the studio. APTA Combined Sections Meeting. [Status: Presented]
Purcell, N. (2024). Avengers Assemble: Elevating Standards of Care. Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Conference. [Status: Presented]
Purcell, N. (2023). Complex Cases: Managing Chronic Pain after Surgery. Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Conference. [Status: Presented]
Purcell, N. (2023). Medical, Rehabilitation, and Training Considerations for the Youth Climber. Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Conference. [Status: Presented]
Purcell, N. (2023). Evidence Based Treatment of the Overhead Athlete. Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Conference. [Status: Presented]
Purcell, N. (2023). Exercise and Anorexia. Sports and Human Performance Nutrition Annual Symposium. [Status: Presented]
MS Fit – Impact of Group Exercise on Individual’s with MS; Poster presentation at National APTA Combined Sections Meeting, February 2018.
Gait Retraining in the High School Runner: A Case Study; Poster presentation at National APTA Combined Sections Meeting, February 2018.
Fear Reducing Education, Core Stabilization, and Manual Therapy for LBP in an Adolescent Ballerina; Platform presentation at Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine, January 2018; Poster presentation at National APTA Combined Sections Meeting, February 2018.