elite care for first responders

Bringing athlete-level healthcare

tailored to the unique demands of first responders.

Let us optimize your team’s performance, recovery, & resilience with personalized care focused on all aspects of health and wellness.

Did you know?

About 70% of firefighter injuries leading to time off are the preventable, non traumatic type with fatigue and compensatory patterning being a leading cause for those injuries.

Job specific strength and conditioning can play a major role in preventing these types of injuries for first responders.

Services

Recon Performance offers a full suite of services for first responder health and wellness initiatives.

01

Embedded Physical Therapy

Our team of therapists become integrated directly into your team’s workplace. No offsite workouts. We come to you and strive to become part of your team.

02

Strength and Conditioning

S&C programs tailored for first responders offer major benefits beyond general fitness. An effective S&C program directly supports their performance, resilience, and longevity on the job.

03

Health and Wellness Program Coordination

Our tailored programs focus on components such as injury prevention, fitness training, nutrition guidance, as well as access to additional healthcare services.

04

Seminars

Bring your team up to speed on the latest in injury prevention, health & wellness, strength & conditioning, and more with informative seminars led by us.

first responder focused care

we bring the same focused physical therapy elite athletes experience, but tailored to the unique demands of first responder professions.

Our Story

Our journey started through

years of working with professional athletes. During this time, we noticed many local firefighters and police seeking out our rehabilitative services, and had many of the same needs.

The message was clear.

When participating in traditional therapies, they were coming back from injuries in less pain but feeling drastically under prepared for the physical demands of their jobs.

They needed the same

level of treatment and high level programming usually reserved for elite athletes, but with the special considerations inherent to their professions.

we shifted our focus

Starting in 2020, to exclusively focusing on these tactical athletes. We’ve chosen the strategy of directly embedding into departments, where we can serve as consultants with consistent one-on-one visits, academy programming, and general health and wellness development week in and week out.

RECON PERFORMANCE PHYSICAL THERAPY

Meet Our Team

Recon’s growing network of DPT’s (Doctors of Physical Therapy) are equipped to manage your entire department’s P.T. needs.

(tap to expand bio)

Alison Heartman

Co-Founder - PT, DPT, CSCS

alison@reconperform.com

(916) 209-0620

Alison Heartman is a sports physical therapist and certified strength coach. She has specialized in treating outpatient orthopedic injuries for tactical athletes for over a decade.

Fire Rescue and Police force rehabilitation became a passion of hers as she learned about the chronic issues these professions faced . She believes in optimizing movement patterns then reinforcing that movement with stability and strength.

Her practice relies heavily on concepts from strength and conditioning, utilizing load and functional movement to fortify a person’s system against the demands of their life.

Andy Anich

Co-Founder - PT, DPT, CSCS

andy@reconperform.com

(262) 332-9088

Andy is a sports physical therapist as well as certified strength and conditioning specialist. Since 2015, he has been working with professional athletes, first responders, and the active general population. After receiving his doctorate degree, Andy focused on the field of exercise progression and kettlebell training, to put a stronger focus into the missing aspect of rehabilitation; developing the ability to manage heavy forces that are unevenly distributed to the body, similar to the mechanics seen in sports and the tactical workforce.

Tim Jannisse

Director of Education - PT, DPT, OCS

Tim Jannisse, PT, DPT, is an orthopedic specialized physical therapist who received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from University of California, San Francisco and San Francisco State University. After PT school, Tim then completed an orthopedic residency where he earned his Orthopedic Clinical Specialization (OCS). The year after, Tim continued his educational journey with Agile Physical Therapy where he also completed an orthopedic manual therapy fellowship program and earned Fellowship of the American Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapists (FAAOMPT). Tim's desire to use his education to mentor up-and-coming therapists has led him to get involved in teaching PT school students and new-grad residents in the orthopedic residency program. To further expand Tim’s PT education and combine his passion with cycling, he completed a certification in bike fitting with Serotta International Cycling Institute (SICI). Tim works as the head bike fitter for several bike shops around the greater Bay Area.

Tim’s advanced PT education, desire to treat high level patients and multi-generational family of firefighters, has inspired him to seek out opportunities working with local fire departments and training tactical athletes.

When Tim is not working, he enjoys cycling and competing in mountain bike races around CA, and if he isn’t riding then he likes rock climbing, backpacking, snowboarding and pretty much anything else that’ll get him into nature. Tim utilizes his education and personal experiences to not only rehab his patients back to their active lifestyle but also optimizes their performance and reduces risk of future injury.

AJ Halafihi

Director of Strength & Conditioning - PT, DPT, CSCS

AJ Halafihi is a Sports Physical Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Specialist who received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA. He has over a decade of experience working with high level athletes; he has worked as a strength and conditioning coach at multiple levels including high school, NCAA-Division 1, and the NFL. With this background, AJ developed a passion dedicated to helping athletes stay healthy & available to perform the duties of their job at their highest potential. He achieves this goal by blending principles of strength and conditioning, and physical therapy to build a robust athlete able to withstand the demands of their task-specific work environment. AJ is a Bay Area native who grew up in Pittsburg, CA and still works closely with the local high school sports teams.

“

When Andy told me to skip out on the barbell bench press and move to what I believe to be the far inferior dumbbell press, I was skeptical. Ultimately I put my faith in the fact that Andy actually does know what he's talking about, and after a little time and hit to my pride, I'm happy to inform you all that Andy's recommendations and advice have strengthened my shoulder and my pain has subsided. After a few months on the dumbbells, I'm stronger, feel more stable and equal in strength on both sides, and there is no more pain. That on top of the magical suction cups have helped a bunch!
NickEngineer

“

In a Firefighter's career, of all the tools in their box, the most important and most used is the physical body. Learning how to perform the functions of the job correctly from trained professionals sets each Firefighter up for peak performance and longevity. Andy and Ali were incredibly easy to work with while they led our Academy twice a week. They paid careful attention to the Recruit's workload and how to compliment their designed workouts to the demands of fire ground training. As an Academy Instructor, communication was transparent, their plan was flexible and adaptable. As a result of their efforts, each Recruit formed a foundational knowledge on their most important tool.
BryanEngineer

“

After dislocating my shoulder and tearing my labrum, I was seeing a PT through worker’s comp. I had seen them for a couple of months without any progress and eventually they closed down due to COVID. I couldn’t stay home any longer and needed to get back to work, but I had almost no range of motion. I couldn’t bring my arm above my head or behind my back. I started seeing Andy and after just 4 visits I had nearly all range of motion back. He gave me long term exercises to maintain strength and flexibility and it’s felt normal for three years since then.
JakeCaptain

“

Prior to Andy and Alison coming to the department there wasn't any professional resources to help with the wear and tear that this profession demands. After 40 years in the fire service, 11 years doing truck work, I've had my share of injuries. Through Andy and Alison's professional, thorough evaluation of my injuries, they have helped by educating me in the correct way to rehabilitate and reduce pain. I am grateful to benefit from their knowledge and skills and feel that our department is fortunate to have them as part of our team.
KonnorFirefighter & Academy Instructor

simple yet focused

We make complex concepts from physiology and injury rehabilitation approachable, relatable, and actionable in an otherwise busy lifestyle of first responders.

Vision

To deliver cutting edge treatment and education in the management of tactical athletes.

Mission

To optimize resiliency to physically demanding occupations by educating and executing proper mobility, strength, and stability tasks specific to the job.

Purpose

To greatly reduce the mental and physical side-effects commonly seen in first responders, while limiting the financial burden, to both the company and the employee, associated with injuries.

Goals

–To give first responders the resources they need to fulfill a successful and healthy career and retirement.

–To assist in developing successful health and wellness programs at fire and police departments around the nation.

–To assist each individual to understand and recover from any physical adversity they encounter.

why we do what we do

It’s very easy to make small changes in someone’s routine and see drastic positive results in how they function. Simple changes can make a significant impact on the health of our first responders.

Coming Soon

Digital archive

Our growing video library will be there to assist first responders 24 hours a day as a comprehensive knowledge base. They can personally consult with us, and then use these tools from anywhere.