Meet the FDM™ Instructors
We are a team of dedicated professionals, ready to do what ever it takes to help you help your patients.
C. Tyrel Hummel
Dr. Hummel experienced the typical sports related injuries as well as the constant rigors of training, recovery and rehabilitation as an All-Conference Defensive Back at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, TX. Though he never missed a practice or a game, his collegiate injury list first prompted his quest to find "the truth" in the human body’s ability to recover at higher speeds.
After completing two Bachelor Degrees (Exercise Science and Human Anatomy) Dr. Hummel finished his Chiropractic education at Parker University in Dallas, TX. He began his interest in FDM while doing research during his Fellowship year in 2006, where he became the first Chiropractic Fellow to be trained in the Chiropractic Fellowship Program at the Texas Back Institute in Plano, TX. He holds Chiropractic Licensure in Texas and Kansas and is also a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with the N.S.C.A.
Dr. Hummel is passionate about teaching others the Fascial Distortion Model and shares "the truth" daily at his private practice in Wichita, KS.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Sepehr Zandi
Dr. Sepehr Zandi graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic in 2011, and during his time there he was able to treat patients ranging from 1 day old to 95 years old. While at Logan College, he earned the Health Center Achievement for Exemplary Clinical Performance and Excellence award. Although a real passion of his has always been in the athletic arena, he runs a thriving family practice and enjoys treating all types of patients. His focus is on biomechanics, human motion and rehabilitative and corrective exercises. His goal is to treat his patients with a full body approach, and he focuses on extremity conditions as well as spinal.
Always eager to further his professional knowledge, he will complete his Master’s degree in Sports Science and Rehabilitation in the fall. Passionate about helping others, he enjoys being involved with charitable organizations and personally enjoys cooking, biking and hiking with his goldendoodle, Mr. Bear.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Lawrence Micheli
Dr. Lawrence Micheli is a Chiropractor and the Clinic Manager for The Toronto Athletic Club Sport Medicine Clinic.
Dr. Micheli received his Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo and graduated with Honours for his Doctorate of Chiropractic from the National College of Chiropractic. While in chiropractic school, Dr. Micheli became consumed with the study of soft tissue injuries and the various soft tissue treatment techniques available.
After graduation he served as an A.R.T. ® instructor for over 13 years. More recently, his focus of study with respect to soft tissue is in the area of Fascia. He is the first Chiropractor in Canada certified in the Fascial Distortion Model (FDM), and is now teaching other therapists across North America this unique and invaluable technique.
In addition, he has attained a Medical Professional certification (Level 3) from the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) to enhance his work with golfers. As a certified Golf Fitness Instructor, he will be able to evaluate golfer’s through a specialized movement assessment screen and then provide the appropriate rehab program to improve their performance.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Scott Howitt
Dr. Howitt holds an Honors Bachelors degree in Physical Education from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters degree in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph. He graduated from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, and has since completed a two-year post-graduate residency in Sports Sciences, a three-year post-graduate program in Rehabilitative Sciences, and a two-year certification in acupuncture.
Dr. Howitt has been a member of the core medical team for the Canada Summer Games, as well as numerous professional, Olympic and amateur sports including rugby, soccer, bobsled/skeleton and triathlon. He has traveled both nationally and internationally for bobsled/skeleton, triathlon and soccer events. He has created content for sports medicine courseware, has published numerous research papers, and is a prominent lecturer for undergraduate and post-graduate sports medicine, rehabilitation, nutrition and fitness continuing education.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
John Tarpoff
John Tarpoff, D.C., CSCS is a graduate from Logan College of Chiropractic where he began a quest to seek out the best manual therapies known that would enhance the body’s ability to recover. Dr. Tarpoff also maintains the designation of Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
Dr. Tarpoff’s athletic achievements include being a high school and collegiate All-American in rugby, and earning all Lone-Star Conference honors as a defensive tackle at Texas A&M Kingsville. His greatest honor to date is being a member of the United States National Rugby Team (Eagles). He spent several years with the team and spent time playing professionally in Wales (UK).
Through his experience in the clinic as well as on the field playing and training, Dr. Tarpoff’s knowledge of function and body mechanics truly helps patients maximize performance while reducing risk of injury.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Stephen LaScala
Dr. LaScala completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Georgia. He received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life university in 1998 and during his studies there, he was awarded the Clinical Competency and X-ray Competency awards. He also holds a Diplomate status with the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
Dr. LaScala works with Olympic competitors in addition to professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball and hockey. He has treated several top SEC football players from Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia that have gone on to successful professional careers.
Based on his experience with triathletes, cyclists, runners, swimmers, golfers, and various other types of athletes, he was chosen as one of the treating doctors for the 2002 and 2006 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
As a past competitive bodybuilder, and a current triathlete, he has extensive knowledge of strength conditioning, which he routinely incorporates into his patient’s care plans.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Shawna Cooper
Shawna Cooper graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor’s of Biology in 1999, followed by a Master’s of Physical Therapy in 2002. She became interested in physical therapy after having sport related injuries in high school and in college while competing in cross country and track.
Shawna gained interest in manual therapy and soft tissue techniques while in her master’s program. She presented research at the American Physical Therapy Association’s combined sections meeting comparing Jones Strain Counterstrain and stretching for pain relief and improved range of motion. She is no longer actively involved in research, but works hard to keep up on the latest techniques and innovative ideas that emerge through research and clinical practice, which is how she found FDM.
Shawna has continued to develop her manual therapy skills as well as pursue complimentary exercise techniques that address soft tissue tension patterns and pain while building strength and control for the body. The Fascial Distortion Model has become a large part of her treatments, due to its effective pain control and reestablishment of normative soft tissue mobility and improved functional motion and strength. She is excited to share this with both her patient’s as well as other clinicians looking to assist their clients with a rapid and more complete recovery. She works in all areas of physical therapy including developmental delays, sports and orthopedic injuries, and neurologic injuries to name a few. She is passionate about her profession and consistently striving to improve her skills and knowledge so that she may educate and help others to return to a pain free and healthy lifestyle.
Find out more about me on my FDM Provider Listing
Ashlee Reed
The convergence of Ashlee’s personal experiences, her insatiable thirst for knowledge of the human body, and most importantly, her passion for helping people get back to doing what they love to do has fueled her path to physical therapy, and more specifically, FDM. While she is one of the younger instructors for FDM, Ashlee’s experience with the techniques date back over 15 years when she had the personal experience—an epiphany—of how powerful FDM could be.
At the time a sophomore in high school, Ashlee, a starter on her high school basketball team, suffered a severe ankle sprain, which would have typically had her sitting out for two weeks or more. Instead, she was treated by a manual therapist, who used FDM techniques, and she was back on the court the next day. Since that time, she was intrigued by the FDM methods.
Even though Ashlee experienced several sports-related injuries, with the help of FDM, she went on to be an All-Conference volleyball player at the University of Albany. As a student-athlete, Ashlee completed dual Bachelor’s degrees in Human Biology and Psychology. Upon graduating, she worked with the Albany athletic training staff and orthopedic doctors, assisting with several sports teams. After two years, Ashlee was hired as an assistant volleyball coach at Albany.
While Ashlee enjoyed the opportunity to coach, she knew her calling was to help people on a different level, and she decided to return to Texas and pursue her Doctoral degree and a career as a Manual Therapist. After graduating from Hardin-Simmons University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2012, Ashlee has been able to use a hands-on approach since day one.
Ashlee currently works as an outpatient orthopedic physical therapist where she helps a variety of patients, both surgical and non-surgical. FDM is the main focus of her treatments, and she continues to hone her skills and expand her skill set with other manual techniques, such as visceral manipulation and craniosacral therapy. Ashlee’s favorite part of applying FDM is seeing the smile on her patients’ faces when they get up off the table and can return to their sport or activities immediately.
