Liz Bracken PT, MS, CIMT received a BS/MS degree in Physical Therapy in 2003 from The Sage Colleges in Troy, NY. After graduation, Liz joined a practice near Dayton, OH that heavily emphasized manual therapy techniques and developed a passion for manual therapy that has inspired her since. This focus led her to become a Certified Integrated Manual Therapist in 2006 through Great Lakes Seminars. Liz continues to seek innovative courses in manual therapy including Fascial Counterstrain, Integrated Manual Therapy and Myofascial Release. For over 20 years, Liz has led successful clinics in Ohio and Northern Virginia with a key premise: highly skilled manual therapy is a powerful tool in helping people achieve stronger, healthier and more pain-free lives. Liz loves the diversity of the outpatient setting because each patient brings new challenges, goals and energy. Speaking of challenges, Liz is especially passionate about treating the head, spine and hip. By effectively combating dysfunction in these areas, she has seen remarkable improvements in patients’ lives. Liz has been a part of the bicycle racing community in the Mid-Atlantic for several years and has helped many cyclists enjoy their sport even more. Liz is an avid runner and gets out on the bike with her family any chance she gets.
I have been an outpatient orthopaedic manual therapist since 2009. I have practiced in Washington, DC, Maui (Kihei), HI, Austin, TX and now the suburbs of Chicago, IL. I first discovered Fascial Counterstrain in 2016 upon moving to Illinois and meeting the people at ARC Physical Therapy. Once I saw and felt the power of this technique I knew it was what I had been missing. So many times I had seen someone who wasn’t improving or had plateaud no matter what other technique I tried. This was the missing piece.
Since then I have made Fascial Counterstrain my main practice and have devoted myself to learning as much as I can about it. This is a skill that requires a lot of practice and constant continuing education. Some of the conditions I have found this technique to be really instrumental in helping are:
Headaches
Cervicalgia (neck pain)
TMJ dysfunction
Thoracic spine pain
Scoliosis in adolescents/children
Lumbago (low back pain)
Sacroiliac (SI) dysfunction
Generalized “stiffness”
And many other conditions.
If you have tried to address a problem with other types of therapy and are not satisfied with the results maybe it’s time to try treating your fascia.
Education:
BS in Rehabilitation Psychology
University of Wisconsin, Madison 2005
Doctorate of Physical Therapy
George Washington University 2009
Emily has been studying, learning, and practicing Counterstrain since 2011. She was fortunate enough to be hired into a clinic of 4 other clinicians in 2010 on Whidbey Island, who were already on the path to discovering the amazing power of Counterstrain. She knew almost instantly that she had never encountered anything else in her career that was as powerful and holistic as this technique.
She believes in the power of the body to heal itself once given the right opportunities and knows from her own personal experiences as both a recipient and a provider of Counterstrain the ‘magic’ that can happen.
David Dalbey , August, 2019
I graduated from the University of South Australia in 1989 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy. I furthered my manual therapy education in North America before starting my own practice in Adelaide, South Australia in 1993 mostly treating musculoskeletal and sports injuries. By 1998, advanced manual therapy training in myofascial, visceral and cranial approaches allowed me to treat people with chronic dysfunctions of all systems within the body. Helping people with complex and chronic problems remains the primary focus of my practice today.
In 2000, I founded the teaching facility the Manual Therapy Institute to disseminate knowledge to other practitioners and I’ve been teaching these classes in Australia and Europe for over 15 years. In 2008, I began assisting teaching counterstrain technique with the Jones Institute and became a certified instructor in 2014. I currently teach the Jones Strain Counterstrain curriculum in Australia. Over the last decade Counterstrain has become the principle technique used in our practice and the journey of learning and applying Fascial Counterstrain is ongoing.
Steven began his manual therapy career in 2008. Following his studies of Neuromuscular Therapy he began studying Counterstrain to break through better treat his chronic pain clientele. He sees clients at his office on the central coast of California, in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
