The brand pairs clinic franchises with franchisor-trained providers across six disciplines; expansion targets Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia
HAGERSTOWN, Md., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Structural Elements®, the orthopedic wellness brand founded by licensed acupuncturist Doug Bertram, is proud to announce its national franchise expansion targeting Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia in the coming year. Built on a first-of-its-kind model that has franchised both clinics and practitioners since 2016, the brand currently operates clinics in Hagerstown, Frederick, Maryland, and Shorewood, Wisconsin.
Care today is fragmented, for patients, providers, and business owners alike. Patients chase treatment across multiple locations, providers are caught between the limits of insurance-based practice and the cost of going solo, and entrepreneurs see the opportunity in wellness without a proven model to enter it. Structural Elements® was built to answer all three. More than one in two American adults report a musculoskeletal condition, according to the U.S. Bone and Joint Initiative, and health and wellness now ranks as the third-largest franchised industry in the International Franchise Association's 2026 outlook. The brand serves that demand with a cash-pay clinic model that combines hands-on treatment, movement and recovery to address the root causes of pain rather than its symptoms.
Bertram developed the Structural Elements® method in 1995 before opening the first clinic in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 2013. Today, the model is now available nationwide through franchising. A clinic franchise is built for experienced operators, while a separate micro-franchise is built for the licensed providers who deliver care. The clinic owner runs the business and provides the back-of-office support that lets providers focus on patients, including scheduling, billing, collections, marketing, and credentialing support. Each provider completes the company's 71-hour Practitioner Training Program, with Bertram among the lead instructors, and operates a cash-based practice inside the clinic, free from the constraints of insurance reimbursement. Structural Elements® recruits and trains providers as a franchisor function, building each clinic's roster across six disciplines currently in operation, from physical therapy and acupuncture to athletic training and massage therapy.
"We separated the business of owning a clinic from the business of providing care," said Bertram. "The operator we want has already run businesses and knows how to run them well. The providers we want are exceptional at care and tired of managing everything around it. We built a franchise for each of them, and the clinic is where they meet."
The expansion is led by Chief Development Officer Patti Rother, who has spent years bringing proven brands into franchising.
"I have spent my career helping established brands become franchise systems, and I am deliberate about the ones I take on," said Patti Rother, Chief Development Officer of Structural Elements®. "We look hard for three things: a founder who has actually done the work, a model that holds up when you take it apart, and care that changes how people feel. Structural Elements® has all three. I have deep respect for Doug and the team he has built, and I believe in this approach to wellness enough to stake my name on it. That belief is why I am in this seat."
The brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document invites qualified multi-unit and single-unit operators, along with licensed providers, in key markets like Florida, Texas, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia to begin the conversation.
To learn more, visit structuralelements.com/franchise.
*This is not an offer to sell a franchise. An offer can only be made through delivery of a Franchise Disclosure Document, and only in states where the franchise is registered or exempt from registration.
About Structural Elements®
Structural Elements® is a national orthopedic wellness brand and growing franchise redefining how people move, recover, and perform through a science-informed, whole-body approach to care. Designed as a one-stop shop for modern orthopedic wellness, Structural Elements® brings hands-on treatment, movement, recovery, and performance together under one roof, because the body doesn't work in silos, and neither should care. Rooted in a proprietary, systems-based methodology, the brand focuses on posture, fascia, movement patterns, nervous system regulation, and lifestyle factors to address root causes of pain and dysfunction, creating proactive, preventative care plans built for long-term results, not short-term symptom relief.
Founded by Doug Bertram, M.S., L.Ac., MTCM, a licensed acupuncturist, published author of The Extreme Center, endurance athlete, and orthopedic wellness innovator with more than 30 years of clinical experience, Structural Elements® has grown from a single clinic into a scalable, patient-centered franchise model. As Founder and CEO, Bertram leads the brand's mission to expand access to intelligent, integrated care while challenging traditional, symptom-only pain models. With clinics currently operating in Maryland and Wisconsin, Structural Elements® is actively expanding through franchising, bringing its modern orthopedic wellness ecosystem to more communities nationwide.
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Sydney Kuhn, RAGDOLL PR, 1 4154975122, [email protected]
SOURCE Structural Elements®
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