Since the age of fourteen, Mike Danenberg has worked in the Health Care industry. Straight out of high school, Mike enlisted in the Marine Corps. He eventually got hurt and decided it was best to go back to school. Mike now holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine. During his college years, he worked as a medic, Dive Rescue Specialist and extrication technician with Charleston County Rescue. Afterwards, Mike worked with the Citadel's Army rangers designing their strength and conditioning regimes. He then became the fitness director of a wellness center in Charleston, SC, designing rehab programs for athletes as well as developing his Efficient Run Technique, which he still teaches today.
He was recruited to be the fitness director at King's Sports Complex and moved to Charlotte in 1995. He taught Neuromuscular Therapy, Anatomy and Physiology, and Palpatory Anatomy at the South Eastern School for Neuromuscular and Massage Therapy. Soon after, Mike received his credentials in Active Release Techniques (ART) from Dr, P. Michael Lehy.
In 1997, Mike opened his first practice in Lake Norman, NC and developed Performance Therapy®®. He then became the ART therapist for the Carolina Panthers from 1999 through the 2001 season.
MMike opened Performance Therapy’s South Charlotte office in 2007, which allowed him to utilize the entire vision he had by adding the rehab/prehab component. Mike and the team at Performance Therapy offer clinics to help runners from new to elite, perform better resulting in faster, more efficient running gaits.
He added an additional Soft Tissue Specialist and two strength coaches. In 2011, Mike partnered with Brad McKay to open Performance Therapy in Greenville, SC. Shortly after, he added another Soft Tissue Specialist to both the Charlotte and Greenville office. In 2019, the team became credentialed in Integrative Diagnosis. We are very proud to currently be the only full-body certified Integrative Diagnosis office in the state of North and South Carolina. Mike is excited to come to the office each day to help patients find relief from chronic pain and to help those who have been failed by the traditional model of conservative care.
With over 23 years of experience, Mike continues to treat professional, collegiate, junior and high school athletes from all types of sports. He frequently works with college, high school and professional teams helping the athletes with their running gaits, biomechanics, and injuries. Mike's unique approach with Performance Therapy does not limit him to athletes. Everyone can benefit from his unique style of therapy.
"Running never came natural for me. I suffered chronic shin splints and repetitive stress fractures in my lower leg. I tried formal physical therapy, Ice baths, orthotics and countless hours running in the swimming pool but, still I could not string together more than a few solid weeks of training without becoming injured. Nothing seemed to work. I stopped running all together for about three years
When I made my comeback attempt things were different. I had help! Performance Therapy has made the impossible seem easy. I can go to one session with Mike and he can almost immediately tell about how many miles I have been running, how my diet has been, and even assess for proper hydration! As a self-coached endurance athlete, I understand the importance of having a support group of people who I can trust and bounce ideas off. Mike is a key strand in this web. His experience and no nonsense approach makes life easy for his clients. He employs active release technique (ART) and is able to break up adhesions in my muscles and keep the kinetic chain working properly.
This time around I've been able to train at a very high level, logging more than 3500 miles per year, and have performed well beyond anyone's expectations. I went from being the last placed guy on my team in college to winning road races now! I've taken more than 3 minutes from my 5K time and even broke my college's school record in the 8k by: 61 seconds!
I also work in the running shoe business and am in constant contact with injured runners. I send these clients to Performance Therapy. I sent my wife to Performance Therapy! You're in good hands."
Cody Angell
TrySports