Finding a corrective exercise specialist
After a particularly involved corrective exercise discussion in the forum, or via email after a blog post on recovering joint mobility, queries pop up about how to find local help with fixable dysfunctions. The desperation is understandable: Can’t someone just tell me what to do so I don’t have to study a bunch of anatomy?
At this point in the fitness and wellness industry, it’s almost an impossible question. If you get yourself in the right hands, anyone from a personal trainer, a physical therapist, a chiropractor, a physiatrist, Feldenkrais practitioner or Rolfer can sort out a live person in about an hour. In allopathic medicine, it would be the physiatrist, but they mostly work with patients in pain; I’m not sure what the response would be if you showed up with no symptoms, wanting to know how to fix your problems.
The thing is, finding the right person is real iffy, pretty doubtful, in fact. In the next few years, more and more people will be practicing using these assessment techniques, but we’re just not there yet. And, of course, each body is incredibly complex, so a person without a good deal of experience will have the basics, but the more subtle structural issues may go unnoticed. It really takes a good eye, a lot of opportunity to look at people, and a lot of patience to carry them through the trial and error process as they learn their craft.
For that reason, my first recommendation for a reader looking for local assistance would be Rolfing, because their regime is a systematic, ten-session, bottom-up process that covers the entire body, including the deeper parts we don’t usually think about. By the time the ten weeks are over, the fascia that contributes to holding things like feet tilted or arches dropped, hips twisted or tilted, abdominals tight, neck stretched, etc etc etc, has all been loosened, and the recipient has been retrained out of his or her faulty postural habits. For now, Rolfing is my initial recommendation for a full-body makeover when a local specialist isn’t a sure thing; if you can find a KMI-trained practitioner, so much the better — this is structural integrity similar to Rolfing, but with two extra sessions, all twelve based on the body’s myofascial slings.
But Rolfing takes a ten-week commitment, and the work is paid out of pocket. Shifting a 40- or 50-year-old back to feeling like 20 is priceless, and hopefully some readers and forum members will decide to go that route in the months and years to come.
A cheaper and shorter-term option is a near-local practitioner. How about this? Find a corrective exercise expert within driving distance; head down the road and make a long weekend of it. For a reasonable fee to cover a couple hours’ time, you could walk away with your current dysfunction evaluation and list of the exact exercises and stretches that will convert your ailing body from aching to fully functional. A couple months of dedicated effort and you’ll feel reborn.
Here are the options on my current list. I’ll update it from time to time as I discover more corrective exercise specialists. Feel free to drop me your name and link if you work with individuals with assessments and corrective exercise programs, or if you have suggestion for this list. I’m at ldraper@davedraper.com.
Find a local Rolfer
Find a local KMI-certified practitioner
Find a local Feldenkrais practitioner
Dr. Eric Cobb has trained practitioners in Z-health, right up our alley.
Pete Egoscue has a few clinics where they also do this work.
Paul Chek has trained practitioners in corrective exercise.
Gray Cook and Lee Burton have a program to train personal trainers and physical therapists in screening; find a certified Functional Movement Screen specialist.
Another option: MAPS Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapists, a program developed by Australian physiotherapist Geoffrey Maitland, who appears to be expanding upon Rolfing practices similar to Tom Myers’ KMI stuff, combined with joint mobilization.
If you’re shopping for a personal trainer in the phone book, the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has an advanced specialization for corrective exercise. It appears they offer no online directory, however the initials the trainers will use is NASM-CES.
By state:
Alaska:
Juneau, AK, Corey Pavitt, D.C. at Pavitt Health and Fitness
Arizona:
Scottsdale, AZ, Josh Henkin at Innovative Fitness
Chandler, AZ, Keats Snideman
California:
Santa Cruz, CA, Suzie Lundgren
San Diego, CA, Anthony Carey at Function First
San Diego, CA, Justin Price at The BioMechanics
San Diego, CA, Todd Durkin’s team at Fitness Quest 10
San Diego, CA, Jason Karp
Santa Clarita, Alwyn or Rachel Cosgrove at Results Fitness
Montrose, CA, Lenny Parracino
Danville, CA, Clay Hyght, D.C.
Santa Monica, CA, Core Performance Center specialist
Santa Rosa, CA, Lana Pacheco
Venice, CA, Howard Skora
Colorado:
Greenwood Village, CO, Greg Roskopf does similar work with his Muscle Activation Techniques
Connecticut:
Hartford, CT, John Izzo
Florida:
Orlando, FL, Chuck Wolf at Human Motion Associates
Tampa, FL, Brad Kaczmarski
Illinois:
Evanston, IL, Evan Osar
Indiana:
Indianapolis, IN, Bill Hartman or Mike Robertson
Also in Indianapolis, Robb Rogers’ group at St. Vincent’s Performance Center
Louisiana:
Mandeville, LA, Charlie Hoolihan at the Pelican Athletic Club
Maryland:
Baltimore, MD, Nick Tumminello
Massachusetts:
Winchester, MA, one of Mike Boyle’s trainers at MBSC
Hudson, MA, Eric Cressey and his guys at Cressey Performance
Woburn, MA, Aaron Brooks of Perfect Postures
Boston, MA, Peter McCall
Natick, MA, Eric Beard
Michigan:
Adrian MI, Gary Gray’s team at the Gray Institute
Gary Gray is at the forefront of this industry and has provided much of the training used by others in the corrective exercise and performance fields.
Minnesota:
Woodbury, MN, Brad Nelson
White Bear Lake, MN, Mike Nelson
Missouri:
St. Louis, MO, Tracy Fober at IronMaven
New Jersey:
Fair Lawn, NJ, Martin Rooney at Parisi School
Montville, NJ, Eric D’Agati at One Human Performance
Freehold, NJ, Charlie Weingroff at CentraState Sports Performance
Manasquan, NJ, Jon Messner
New York:
New York, NY, Ming Chew
White Plains, NY, Anthony Renna at FiveIronFitness
Manhattan, NY, Chris McGrath
Brooklyn, NY, Annette Lang
North Carolina:
Raleigh, NC, Tom Dalonzo-Baker and his crew at Total Motion Release
Oregon:
Newberg, OR, Dewey Nielsen at IPT
Pennsylvania:
Pittsburgh, PA, Brett Jones
Yardley, PA, Kareem F. Samhouri
Shenandoah, PA, Tom Deebel, D.C.
Texas:
Austin, TX, Andy Twellman
Austin, TX, Diane Vives
Austin, TX, Adam Davila
Houston, TX, Paul Yost
Virginia:
Danville, VA, Gray Cook or Lee Burton
Washington:
Seattle, WA, Tim Vagen
Wisconsin:
Madison, WI, Jon Hinds
Germantown, WI, Dave Schmitz
Canada:
Mississauga, Ontario, Jim Reeves
There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of qualified corrective exercise specialists who aren’t on this list. If your trainer is missing, please do not consider this a comment on his or her work. In fact, if you’re getting good guidance on fixing dysfunctioning joints from a specialist not on the list, please drop me an email with his or her name and a link.











