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About Dr. Lenore Morrissey

Dr Lenore Filler Morrissey Lenore Filler Morrissey was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. As an active young person, she began taking an interest in sports at age 5, playing soccer until her early 30s semi-professionally as a goalkeeper. Lenore also played high school tennis, track, and college softball. She earned her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at Whittier College in 1993. She continued her studies in the sciences at San Francisco State, Long Beach State, and Louisiana State Universities. During this time, she published two peer-reviewed studies and performed preliminary development of a transdermal blood sugar monitoring watch for a biomedical research company in the Bay Area. Lenore was accepted into the Feinberg School of Medicine Program in Physical Therapy at Northwestern University and graduated with her Masters of Physical Therapy Degree in 1998. She was published in a peer-reviewed pediatric physical therapy article while at Northwestern. Upon returning to California, she worked in a variety of physical therapy settings including pediatrics, home health, and inpatient rehabilitation. At Kaiser Permanente, she treated patients in both inpatient and outpatient settings. In addition, she participated in a year-long manual physical therapy course after which she achieved her Orthopedic Certified Specialty from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists in 2004. Then in 2005, Lenore opened and operated a private outpatient orthopedic physical therapy practice in Rancho Palos Verdes for 11 years. During this time, she attended many continuing education courses including functional movement athletic testing, Kinesio taping techniques, sacroiliac joint dysfunction coursework, foot, and ankle injury, and orthotic prescription and fabrication, to name a few.

While running her practice, she saw a growing need for expertise in head and neck disorders and their relationship to airway dysfunction. In 2012, she studied oral myofunctional therapy under Joy Moeller, BS, RDH, a leading international instructor in this field. In the following few years, she earned her Certification as a Craniofacial Specialist under the training of renowned expert in craniofacial and temporomandibular disorders Mariano Rocabado via the University of St. Augustine. She then went on to receive her transitional doctorate in physical therapy with this university, specializing in craniofacial study, in 2017.

Lenore is a faculty member for the Airway Focused Dentistry Mini-Residency, a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, the California Physical Therapy Association, the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, the Foundation for Airway Health, and the American Academy of Applied Physiologic Medicine and Dentistry. She continues to study postural respiration and cranial-cervical dysfunction with the Postural Restoration Institute®. She has studied under the direction of Dr. Lois Laynee in the Laynee Restorative Breathing Method and has studied craniosacral therapy with Upledger Institute, oral myofunctional therapy with the Academy of Applied Myofunctional Sciences, Oxygen Advantage/Buteyko Breathing method with Patrick McKeown, and capnometry and upper airway disorders under many others renowned in the field of airway dysfunction. All of this training enables her to provide an integrated knowledge that is unique in physical therapy. She treats private patients both in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Her mantra: “Total body well-being begins with a patent airway in concert with proper alignment and function of the structures of the head, neck, thorax, and tongue.” For over 20 years since she graduated from physical therapy school and as a sufferer of chronic TMD, neck pain, and sleep-disordered breathing herself, Lenore has discovered untapped and indispensable treatment skills that can be appropriately implemented by a licensed physical therapist. Additionally, like other like-minded “airway centric” practitioners, she has determined that such an approach is not only a holistic and non-invasive option to wellness for patients of all ages but has had a substantial foundation in research for decades. It is only a matter of time before it will be common knowledge that many drug therapies and other forms of unpopular “band-aid” treatments become a thing of the past. “The human body has an incredible capacity to heal itself, we just have to remove the obstacles.”

Lenore lives in West Los Angeles with her husband, young daughter, and a poodle. She continues to be active in paddle tennis, skiing, running, kickboxing, coaching soccer for AYSO, and is an active Cub Scout leader.

Common conditions/areas and types of treatment by Lenore:

Orthopedic injuries of the entire musculoskeletal system/spine with special emphasis on:

  • Neck pain/strain and its relationship to airway dysfunction and forward head posture
  • Temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction, clenching/grinding (bruxism)
  • Thoracic spine and ribcage
  • Breathing dysfunction such as daytime stress-driven hyperventilation
  • Sleep hygiene
  • Oral myofunctional therapy – including pre/post-operative tongue-tie release (frenectomy due to ankyloglossia)
  • Foot pain with custom orthotic fabrication prescription
  • Sacroiliac joint pain
  • Low back pain
  • Torticollis in infants
  • Shoulder sprains/strains and rotator cuff tendinitis
  • Athletic injuries of the hip, knee, foot, and ankle
  • Postural instability
  • Patella-femoral dysfunction
  • Chronic ankle sprains
  • Tennis/golfer’s elbow
  • Cranial nerve disorders
  • And many more…

Meet Dr. Mark Cruz

Dr. Mark Cruz Dr. Mark Cruz graduated from the UCLA School of Dentistry in 1986 and started his dental journey in Monarch Beach. He is a well-known lecturer internationally, and he was a part-time lecturer at UCLA. He gives individual attention to each patient while creating a friendly and enjoyable dental experience. He makes the patient a part of the dental procedure, educating them about the problem at hand.

Connect with Dr. Mark A Cruz on Linkedin

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