Biography

Dan Hellman is a licensed physical therapist and accomplished health and fitness professional. His postgraduate experience in an osteopathic environment fueled a life-long quest to understand the way the systems of the human body work together for performance, healing and well-being.

Before establishing H3, he practiced physical therapy in several outpatient orthopedic centers specializing in sports medicine and spine rehabilitation. Dan is a past senior faculty member of the prestigious C.H.E.K Institute, which educates fitness and healthcare professionals in a uniquely integrated and holistic approach to health, fitness and well-being. He has traveled North America and the world teaching personal trainers, physical therapists, chiropractors and osteopaths the C.H.E.K philosophy.

Trained in both traditional and manual physical therapy, Dan has also studied extensively under pioneering French osteopath Guy VOYER and is qualified to teach VOYER’s Soma method. Soma stresses that training — whether for performance, rehabilitation or maintenance—must begin with an understanding of how the entire body moves and does its work.

Dan is highly sought by orthopedic surgeons and athletic trainers to treat patients ranging from top athletes to the elderly, people recovering from accidents or surgery, people with physical impairments and average people who want to improve their lives or treat persistent pain. He has educated the athletic training staffs of at least four Major League Baseball organizations and treated clients ranging from Brandon Flowers of the Kansas City Chiefs to National Hockey League standouts Scottie Upshal, Jonathan Huberdeau, Jason Demers and Martin Havlat.

Dan is an avid golfer, and he combined his love of the sport with his in-depth understanding of the human body’s limits and potential to create Golf Body Pro. This program helps golfers at all levels play better by conditioning the body for the demands of the golf swing or adapting to physical limitations that may affect the swing. He has rehabilitated or conditioned golfers from youth level to the top players on the PGA Tour, including Tiger Woods, Ben Crane, Patrick Cantlay and Gary Woodland. Golf Fitness recognized his work by naming him one of its “50 Best Golf-Fitness Professionals in America” for 2017-2018 and one of the “50 Best Golf-Fitness Trainers in America” for 2019-2020.

After graduating from the University of North Dakota with a B.S. degree in athletic training, Dan earned his M.S. in physical therapy at Des Moines University, formerly the University of Osteopathic Medicine and the Health Sciences.

Dan has personal clients around the world, including in Kuwait, Trinidad, India, Bahamas, Barbados, Europe and Canada.  His motto: Better Body. Better Life.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS:

“Is Golf a Contact Sport? Protection of the Spine and Return to Play After Lumbar Surgery,” Global Spine Journal, February 2021, co-author with Ram Haddas, PhD; William Pipkin, MD; Leonard Voronov MD, PhD; Young-Hoo Kwon, PhD; and Richard Guyer, MD.

“The Effects of Ipsilateral Anterior Thigh Soft Tissue Stretch on Passive Unilateral Straight-Leg Raise,” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, January 1999, with invited commentary from Shirley Sahrmann, Ph.D., P.T., F.A.P.T.A.

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS:

2017 World Golf Fitness Summit:
“Pumping vs. Foam Rolling”

2018 World Golf Fitness Summit
“ELDOA Method”

RECOGNITIONS:

Golf Digest, 2020:
The 50 Best Golf-Fitness Trainers in America

Golf Digest, 2018:
The 50 Best Golf-Fitness Professionals in America