Physical Therapy

At Align, your physical therapy treatment is performed 1:1 with a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) who is Board Certified in Orthopedics (OCS). These certifications are the highest awards offered by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for Orthopedic Physical Therapy. Each patient will be evaluated with a whole body approach to find the root of the problem. Sometimes where the pain or injury occurs is not the root of the problem but the weakest spot at the end of the chain. This type of examination helps the patient return to prior level of function and often, better and stronger than prior to the injury/pain. Patients will receive exercises to perform at home in order to supplement visits in office. Patients will be evaluated each time they treat and sessions will be tailored to the individual for that day.
Some conditions we treat:

Lower Back/Lumbar Spine
  • Low back pain/strain
  • Herniated discs/bulging disc
  • Lumbar stenosis
  • Arthritis
  • Surgery: Microdiscectomy
  • Surgery: Fusion
  • Scoliosis
  • Sciatica
  • SI joint
  • Spondylosis
  • Spondylolisthesis
Neck/Cervical Spine
  • Neck pain/strain
  • Herniated/bulging disc
  • Cervical Stenosis
  • Arthritis
  • Surgery: Microdiscectomy
  • Surgery: Fusion
  • Scoliosis
Mid/Upper Back/Thoracic Spine
  • Compression Fracture
  • Herniated/bulging disc
  • Scoliosis
Shoulder
  • Rotator cuff tear
  • Supraspinatus/Subscapularis/infraspinatus/teres minor tendinitis
  • SLAP lesion
  • Bankart lesion/repair
  • Shoulder dislocation
  • Shoulder subluxation
  • Dyskinesia
  • SICK shoulder
  • Arthritis
Hip
  • Piriformis syndrome
  • Hip pain
  • THR
  • Groin/Abductor strain
  • Tendinitis
  • Bursitis
  • Arthritis
  • Hip Impingement
  • Labral Tear- conservative, pre and post op
  • Hip Flexor Injury
  • Abductor/Glut medius tear
Elbow
  • Golfer’s elbow
  • Tennis elbow
  • Elbow pain
  • Tendinitis
Knee
  • Knee derangement (meniscus/fat pad)
  • ACL,PCL,MCL,LCL pre and post op
  • Meniscectomy pre and post op
  • Meniscus injury- conservative care
  • Tendinitis
  • Jumper’s knee
  • IT band syndrome
Ankle
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Achilles tendonitis
  • Sprained ankle
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Shin splints
  • Tibial fracture post op
  • Fibular fracture post op
  • Hallux rigidus

The McKenzie Method® (MDT: Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment)

The Mckenzie Method, also known as MDT: Mechanical Diagnosis and Treatment is a philosophy of active patient involvement and education that is trusted and used by clinicians and patients all over the world for back, neck and extremity problems. This approach continues to be one of the most researched physical therapy based methods available. A key feature is the initial assessment - a safe and reliable way to reach an accurate diagnosis and only then make the appropriate treatment plan.

What to expect?

  • 1 Assessment: MDT begins with the clinician taking a detailed history about your symptoms and how they behave. You will be asked to perform certain movements and rest in certain positions. The main difference to most other assessments is the use of repeated movements rather than a single movement. How your symptoms and range of movement changes with these repeated movements provides the clinician with information that they can use to categorize your problem.
  • 2 Treatment: Using the information from the assessment, the clinician will prescribe specific exercises and advice regarding postures to adopt and postures to temporarily avoid. If your problem has a more difficult mechanical presentation, a qualified MDT clinician may need to add hands-on techniques until you can self-manage. The aim is to be as effective as possible in the least number of sessions. Treatment that you can perform five or six times a day is more likely to be effective in a shorter period of time than treatment administered by the clinician once or twice per week. The emphasis is on you, the patient, being actively involved. This can minimize the number of visits to the clinic. Ultimately, most patients can successfully treat themselves when provided with the necessary knowledge and tools.
  • 3 Preventions: By learning how to self-treat the current problem, you gain knowledge on how to minimize the risk of recurrence. You can also rapidly deal with symptoms if they recur, putting you in control of your treatment safely and effectively. Persisting problems are more likely to be prevented through self-maintenance than by passive care.
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Pilates

Pilates is an excellent platform for cross training, alignment, proprioception, posture, and improving your physical fitness. Alongside Physical Therapy, Pilates can help you:

  • Improve strength of mind and body
  • Maintain fitness while treating an injury
  • Transition out of PT when you’re ready
  • Improve muscle imbalances
  • Assist the body in recruiting muscles to most efficiently perform a movement

Align Private Pilates Sessions take place on the Balanced Body Clinical Reformer with Tower, the number one choice of hospitals, rehab clinics and private practitioners worldwide. Sessions on the Reformer are excellent for anyone from beginners to patients and clients with Pilates experience. The machine can either be assistive or resistive based on the exercise being performed.

The private setting lets us design a session around your needs and take time with the details that are important to you. The unique two-in-one Pilates equipment offers adjustable resistance and creates a framework to improve awareness of alignment. A Private Session will help you improve strength, coordination, proprioception, and leave you feeling lengthened.

Performance Testing

Pilates is an excellent platform for cross training, alignment, proprioception, posture, and improving your physical fitness. Alongside Physical Therapy, Pilates can help you:

  • FMS

    The Functional Movement screen identifies Physical Imbalances and Weaknesses Through a Series of Functional Movement Patterns.

  • Y-Balance

    The Y Balance Test Kit™ is a quick and easy way to test a person’s risk for injury as well as demonstrate functional symmetry.

    As an integral part of the Functional Movement Systems, the Y Balance Test is a thoroughly researched, yet easy way to demonstrate functional symmetry and performance as well as test a person’s risk for injury. The Y Balance Test Protocol was developed through years of research in performance improvement and injury prevention using the Star Excursion Balance Test. This device and protocol are highly accurate and can be used for measuring pre and post rehabilitation performance, improvement after performance enhancement programs, dynamic balance for fitness programs, and return to activity readiness.

  • Postural Evaluation

    At Align Physical Therapy, patients can opt to go through a posture screening which will identify asymmetries and malalignment. Since modern day society spends most of their time sitting at a computer, hovered over an iPad, texting on a phone, or simply slouching on a couch, it is necessary to be aware of our posture in order to minimize risk for injury. Posture is crucial to keeping a healthy spine and healthy extremities.

    Inefficient Static Postures include:

    • Sway Back
    • Flat Back
    • Scoliosis
    • Lordosis
    • Kyphosis

     
    Postural Syndromes:

    • Upper Cross Syndrome
    • Lower Cross Syndrome

     
    Education and awareness are key to prevention of injuries. Patients are educated on the importance of knowing how to sit, how to stand, how to properly perform their exercises/work outs in order to recruit muscles in proper timing and with the most optimal form.