About us
Home > About Us
Who We Are ___
We take your performance to another level. Whether you are returning to play after an injury, preventing an injury, looking for more consistency in your game or just want to move better, faster, stronger we can help you achieve your goals.
Understanding the mechanics of movement you require for your sport is the foundation of what we do at Back in Action. Our bodies move in a sequence or series of movements from the ground up. The way our foot contacts the ground and initiates movement will determine how the rest of our body’s joints and muscles will respond.
If there is a limitation anywhere along this chain of movements through the body our performance can be negatively affected. Compensations can occur at any level and lead to wear and tear on tissues that are not designed to handle the extra load. The most common thing we see is the complaint of lower back pain and the causing factor being restricted hip movement. Many times we can correct lower back pain without even directly touching the back but working the source instead. The body is immaculate in design and will right itself whenever possible. Sometimes it just needs a little reminder!
Hello, I'm Doctor Donna
Expert Clinical Chiropractor in PA
I am the owner and Director of Back in Action. I have been a Doctor of Chiropractic since 1997 and owner of Back in Action since 1999. It has always intrigued me how the body worked and more importantly how it heals. I believe that the less disruption in the natural process of healing the better our bodies will perform. For this reason, I have spent the last 20+ years studying all forms of functional movement, muscle function, fascial patterns, neuromuscular activation and anything that helps me better understand why we get hurt. If we retrace the movement pattern that created the problem, we can usually unwind it and begin the healing process to fix the root cause. I believe that exercise is key to staying healthy and we must take responsibility for our bodies and the stress and strain we put them through. The patients with the most success in achieving optimal health are the ones who work with us as a team and do the required “homework” of exercise and flexibility training. Our programs are simple and specific to the patient’s individual needs, so no two people are treated the same. It is my hope that should you become a patient here at Back in Action you would feel like a welcome part of our family and feel free to discuss any concerns you may have so you can have the best possible experience.
Thank you!!
How We Know __
Our testing of movement patterns includes a 3 dimensional motion test on a measurement grid that reveals what plane of motion is restricted and causing faulty mechanics. We are able to see specific joint and muscle behaviors throughout these movements and detect imbalances and asymmetries in our bodies.
To help confirm our suspicions we utilize a state of the art system called Optojump to accurately measure the timing and power of which our bodies move in a specific pattern. This Italian designed system is used in the top training facilities in the world to help trainers and therapists determine what the precise difference in foot reaction to movement is. They have found distinct differences in timing of body reaction times between gold medalists and silver medalists in the world Olympics games. It can be used for gait analysis in runners to see if one side of the body is working harder than the other but specifically during heel strike, foot pronation or toe off phase. Other uses are for jumping mechanics, agility, speed and reaction time testing to visual and audible cues. This information is vital in not only determining the cause in your drop in performance or resulting injury but it is useful in showing the effectiveness of your training and treatments. Retesting and measuring throughout your training time is essential to making forward progress.
What We Do __
Mobility – you have to have muscles and joints that can move before you try to strengthen them. If you have restricted movement we utilize a proven technique called ART (Active Release Technique) to loosen adhesions and lengthen the tissue. A 3 dimensional flexibility exercise is also given in order to maintain the length of muscle and joint mobility. Communication between joint and muscle is essential which is why we always give 3D movement stretches instead of static holds.
Stability – This is the biggest mistake made by therapists and trainers. We have found that many times a client is given the greatest of exercise programs for strength but it’s at the wrong time! It serves no purpose to strengthen an unstable joint. Isolated muscle strength training does very little to making a joint stable and strong. A perfect example of this is the person who thinks their core is strong because they can hold a plank for 5 minutes but when they are upright and trying to hold steady while carrying, lifting or throwing a weight of some kind they have little stability in the core because they never trained it to function while on their feet! The feedback throughout the body is key!
Strength – The fun part! Once you are moving well in a stable range of motion then we can have a lot of fun being creative with strength training programs that promote the movement patterns required by your sport. We also work together with other trainers you may be using so that your overall program is consistent to your goal.
Endurance – Most sports require your body to maintain a high level of demand for extended periods of time. We want to ensure that your joint and muscle mobility, stability and strength can last the length of time needed. Our specific exercise patterns will be performed not only in varying directions but also in variable speeds, tensions and durations.
Once we define what is wrong these are some of the methods used to correct the dysfunction. The order in which we build optimal performance is the order of the above tabs; hoover over the tab to learn more.