Two years ago, Wilk used his experience to develop what he calls cryomagnetic therapy, which combines the traditional ice pack with magnetic therapy for temporary relief of pain.

“Ice packs have been a main­stay in physical therapy, and magnetic therapy has been catching on,” Wilk said, while strapping one of the therapy packs around his waist to dem­onstrate how it is used. “You keep it on for 20 minutes. Like any therapy, if you apply it too long, it isn’t effective, any­more.”

The cryomagnetic therapy packs, which come in three sizes (single $22, bi-fold $36 and tn-fold $48), are sold at two retail outlets — Wilk’s Runner’s High and a specialty store in Tallahassee called Shaw’s Athletics.

Although the treatment has not made Wilk a wealthy man overnight, it is another example of his devotion to running.

Byron Kibert, Wilk’s busi­ness partner at the Runner’s High, said there is nothing like working with someone who is so knowledgeable about what runners need.

Kibert manages the day-to­day operation of the store, which sells running shoes, sports-nutrition supplements, swim wear and aqua joggers.

When someone goes to the Runner’s High for shoes, Kibert said, the sales people first look at how a person walks, whether the foot tends to come down on the inside or the outside. Then they look at the foot’s arch. Afterward, they look for what the shoe will be used for, run­ning or walldng.

Wilk has been a runner since his years growing up in Long Island, N.Y. Although he picked up cycling and swimming and became an amateur triathiete, competing in the Iron Man three times, he’s most at home running.

“Running has been a con­stant for me since adoles­cence,” Wilk said. “When you’re a runner, it’s a big part of your personality.”

Wilk moved to Miami in 1982 with his wife Sherry, a media specialist at P.C. Martin Elementary in Richmond Heights. They have two daugh­ters, Rachel, 15, and Tracy, 12.

PERFECT FOR RUNNING

The runner in him fell in love with Miami. Unlike New York, Wilk said, Miami is the perfect place for running.

“It’s a great place for year-round training,” Wilk said. “We have everything. We have the talent, the roads. We should be it. We should be on the map.”

Wilk became the senior orthopedic physical therapist at Baptist Hospital in 1983. After three years, he opened his own practice. Today, there are six therapists working in his office.

“My specialty is runners,” Wilk said. “But I treat all kinds of patients.”

What makes him different from the average therapist, Wilk said, is he knows exactly what his patients are talking about when they describe a pain to him. When it is a run­ner, more than likely, he has experienced the same thing. William Gutierrez, 38, began working at Orthopedic Rehabil­itation Specialists two years ago. “Bruce has been successful in sustaining minimal to no injury,” said Gutierrez, who competes with a cycling team. “We all learn from our own competitive endeavors on how to apply techniques to patients.”

Said Wilk: “We have to prac­tice what we preach.”

PHOTOS BY RAUL RUBIERAIFOR THE HERALD

FOCUSED: Bruce Wilk says running keeps his mind sharp for his work as a physical therapist and owner of a retail store for runners.

GET TO KNOW

Bruce Wilk:

Occupation: Physical therapist

Personal: 44, wife Sherry, daughters, Rachel, 15, and Tracy, 12. They live in Kendall

Professional: 1985-present, director and owner, Orthopedic Rehabilitation Specialists; president,
The Runner’s High; previously he was a medical advisor with Allied Health Insurance and a lead clinician
 at Metra Health. He also was an adjunct professor from 1990-1998 at the University of Miami School of Medicine

Educational: Bachelor of science In physical therapy, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center

Quote: “At all other times I’m devoted to something else. Running Is my time.”

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