DIRECTIONS V1 2025 – Industry Leader

Tina Roesler, PT, MS, ABDA

When it comes to the complex-rehab industry, Tina Roesler has pretty much seen it all, and that’s a very good thing.

For the past three years, Roesler has served as the director of clinical and business development for Bodypoint, putting her skills to work for a dynamic company with global reach.

It has been quite the journey with its beginnings as a newly minted physical therapist at a relatively small VA Hospital in the Boston area.

“I had really good relationships with my product reps and with a couple of ATPs (assistive technology professionals),” she recalled. “And that’s how I was introduced to the dealer and supplier network, and from there things just kind of snowballed.”

Roesler quickly began expanding her professional network as well as broadening her professional experiences. It wasn’t long before she moved to Colorado and worked in home health and long-term care before she landed a position with the ROHO Group as an area sales representative and worked her way up to director of training and education.

“I called a friend who was traveling with Tom Borcherding, who a lot of people know in the industry,” she said. “I just said something like I really think I need a change. Two weeks later, I was employed by ROHO.”

After eight years, she went to work for TiLite, leading the sales and education efforts for 10 years and then took a job with Motion Composites, where she worked for five years before the opportunity with Bodypoint came along. Bodypoint has just more than 40 employees and boasts a close-knit work environment that Roesler is happy to be a part of.

The path to Bodypoint has been marked with a whirlwind of learnings and accomplishments, and it’s not necessarily the way Roesler saw her career unfolding.

“When I first started out as a physical therapist, I thought it would mean working in a sports medicine clinic and seeing patients,” she said. “Then I was introduced to wheelchair sports at a national level, and I loved it. I loved the equipment side, the mechanical part of it.

“I loved the therapy aspect as well, but I really took to the equipment and products, whatever it might be at the time, and it just kind of happened. I would say that I have been very lucky to have had the great opportunities to work for great companies selling products I really believe in. It wasn’t ever just a job.”

Of course, that’s no surprise. Roesler set her sights on physical therapy at a young age, having experienced its impact on a personal level.

“It was in high school I knew I wanted to be a physical therapist,” she said. “I had grown up in my younger years before high school as a gymnast, and I wound up having an injury. That’s when I experienced rehab and physical therapy. That’s what kind of led me down the path.”

Now, with three decades of experience, Roesler enjoys the chance to share her knowledge with others, especially younger professionals who are beginning to find their way in the industry.

“At one point, I got kind of tired of the education thing, but I like educating the younger generation,” she said. “The generation that I used to be when I started out.”

Roesler said there were several people early in her career who helped her along the way. She sees her role as the chance to pay things forward.

“I remember when I first started there were people who mentored me and took me under their wing,” she said. “They helped me progress from the education side, and I appreciated that and really liked it. I think that’s why I like working with younger therapists and ATPs.”

The learning curve is steep in the complex-rehab industry, and Roesler figures if she can help others find their footing a little quicker, everyone benefits. It is also the chance to remind them about the impact their work has on clients.

“I like to bring them into the industry and show them what it’s about and the kind of difference they can make,” she said. “This is a good place to be. You don’t necessarily have to be out on the pavement making millions of dollars because there is a lot of satisfaction in what you’re achieving and what you’re giving to other people.”

There is more to it than that, though. A number of industry veterans have said the industry needs a sizable influx of young leadership.

“We need to recruit more people from the younger generation,” Roesler said. “I remember when I was the new kid on the block, and I feel like those of us who grew up in the industry together have fewer people following behind us. I think it’s really important that we train up the next group to take over when we leave off.”

As new people come into the industry, the learning curve won’t change. Education will always have a place, and people will always have the opportunity to grow their skill sets.

“The education part never ends,” she said. “There are certain education concepts that you will see year after year because there will always be new people, and the basics never change. But there’s also new technology and new research.”

Maintaining a skilled workforce isn’t the only challenge on the horizon, from Roesler’s viewpoint. She sees continued industry consolidation and reimbursements as considerable issues to confront as well.

“Consolidation can be a positive if it’s approached the right way, but it does provide a challenge when it comes to choice,” she said. “There is also appropriate equipment access and when it can be limited. Reimbursement is a problem because you’re seeing pressure on the system, so funding is a big, big challenge.”

If Roesler comes across as plain-spoken, that’s only because she is. One of her early mentors was Marty Ball, who regularly told his people to speak their mind, believe what they said and not waste time worrying about what other people thought about it.

“If you talk to anybody who has worked with me or who I’ve worked for, they will tell you I’m not shy about speaking up or saying what I think,” she said. “I think that’s important because sometimes people are quiet and their voices aren’t heard, but speaking up is the only way we can make changes.”

She also takes a lot of pride in being part of product development, knowing Bodypoint takes immense pride in its craftsmanship.

“One of the best parts is being able to take our products in their raw form into clinics and introduce them,” she said. “That’s where I really get feedback from users or from other clinicians, and that gives me lots of insight.”

Roesler isn’t really thinking too far out into the future. She still has work to do, people to train and a difference to make. Achieving those things one day at a time is really all that matters right now.

“I would really like to be remembered for being someone in the industry who has provided good education and is just kind of a steady, steadfast and reliable person,” she said. “I have tried really hard never to burn any bridges because you just never know where you’re going to end up.”


Tina may be reached at tinaroesler@bodypoint.com

Tina Roesler, PT, MS, ABDA is Director of Clinical and Business Development for Bodypoint. She earned her BS in Health Studies and her MS in Physical Therapy from Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Roesler conducts product and clinical trainings with Bodypoint’s international distributors, U.S. providers and manufacturing partners.