Therapeutic Exercise

Corrective Exercise refers to exercises that correct imbalances in the body. This can be a side-to-side asymmetries leading to faulty movement patterns. Also, these imbalances can occur bilaterally from overtraining certain muscle groups and neglecting antagonistic muscles or associated stabilizing muscles. Last, repetitive movements and postures can create mobility or flexibility imbalances that adversely effect our postural alignment. A detailed biomechanical examination will properly identify and diagnose these imbalances and ‘Corrective Exercises’ will fix them.

Movement Re-education exercises are designed to help the patient learn to move in a biomechanically efficient way. This is needed when patients have developed faulty and inefficient movement patterns that place undue strain on particular areas of the body leading to repetitive stress syndromes. These ‘faulty’ movement patterns can be diagnosed and fixed with focused movement ‘re-education’ training. Research suggests it takes hundreds of repetitions to develop central nervous system ‘motor memory’ (e.g. a new motor pattern) for a new task; BUT, once a dysfunctional or inefficient motor pattern has been developed it takes thousands (even tens of thousands!) of repetitions to re-learn previously developed (faulty) motor recruitment behaviors. So let’s get started! Stop ‘living’ with the problem – let’s fix the root cause.

Core Stabilization. A very popular term – Often used, but rarely understood. First, ‘Core Stabilization’ does NOT mean abdominal exercises! (Especially not ‘traditional’ ones such as crunches or sit-ups) What we’re really talking about is the ability to move in a way that transfers force through the body’s ‘core’ efficiently and without undue strain. Goals of ‘Core Stabilization’ exercises DO NOT include a six-pack. They DO include:
1) The elimination of inefficient or ‘sloppy’ movements (termed ‘instability’) during a given task.
2) The reduction of ‘buckling’ or ‘hinging’ at a postural weak links.
3) Balancing of trunk muscles to create postural stability.

Far too often athletes make one of two errors:

Demonstration of a stable quadruped bird dog.1) they focus on training the muscles they can see, or
2) they hyper-focus on muscles primarily used during their particular sport (e.g. runners going into the gym and doing more Quad training).

We ignore the deeper ‘stabilizing muscles’ that, while not sexy, are of paramount importance to improve performance and prevent injury. A common saying in the Physical Therapy profession is ‘You can not fire a cannon off of a row boat’ – Stability is Key!

Demonstration of a stable quadruped bird dog.

Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast, competitive athlete or weekend warrior, we have the expertise and systems to get you to, and keep you at, the top of your game.

Over the last twenty years and ten orthopedic surgeries, I’ve worked with a dozen physical therapists in New England. Unequivocally, Jeff Albertson is the best. First, he actively listens when I describe my pain – this is more rare for a PT than it should be. Second, he rigorously deduces the root causes of my pain through detailed, often time-intensive assessment. Jeff runs a custom practice, not one-size-fits-all therapy. Finally, by virtue of this careful, methodical, and compassionate care, I leave my time with Jeff feeling significantly better and more knowledgeable. As someone who suffers from multiple sports injuries, I want momentary pain relief but also ongoing pain management that I can put in practice. No one does this better than Jeff. As an added bonus, he’s also a great conversationalist!

I came to VASTA with hip issues, result of a fracture and early arthritis caused by a really bad car accident I had back on 2013. Since then I went through different procedures but never pain free. I had the opportunity to have PT with the great Mike Woods! and because the work and time invested in my recovery, I owe him getting back to my ability to run, stand straight, walk and do anything I want without pain! At VASTA you can see that therapists work with one person at a time, which help them getting to know their patients and needs very well, creating a specific treatment program and monitoring the progress better. Thanks to you Mike and to the whole VASTA team! I am so grateful for all your support, sense of humor and the kind welcome I got from you all always! Loving what you do and having fun doing it, translates in good service which motivates a patient to reach their goals and getting great results. This is what you get to experience as soon as you put your trust on getting back on track with the VASTA team!! THANK YOU!

I was out with a couple of friends last night whose daughters also attend Kristina’s youth class. We were all saying what a positive influence Kristina has on the girls and how much they enjoy training with her. It is great for the girls to have a program outside of school sports where they can challenge themselves and build strength and confidence.