Success Story: Alpine Physical Therapy, Missoula, MT

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Since its introduction nearly three years ago, the CoreAlign has been making a serious splash in the rehabilitation field. Nowhere is that more evident than at Alpine Physical Therapy  in Missoula, MT.

Samantha Schmidt, PT, a long-time Pilates-based rehab practitioner at Alpine PT, first tried the CoreAlign at Balanced Body’s Pilates on Tour Rehab Summit in April 2009. “As soon as I got on it I immediately felt in my own body the potential this could have on my patient’s body. I knew it could be a great tool to teach proper movement to those stuck in compensatory, dysfunctional patterns.”

As soon as she got back to Missoula she met with Brent Dodge, PT the owner of Alpine. They immediately began making plans for Sam to start working toward Master Instructor certification. After that was accomplished they then turned their sights on the rest of the Alpine PT staff. Dodge also began his CoreAlign training. “We both knew this was going to change the landscape of our business,” said Dodge. “It’s such a phenomenally effective tool for functional movement, gait training, strength training and balance.”
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For the rest of this informative article, click here to visit Balanced Body University’s COREterly newsletter, Summer 2012.

Poor balance makes for poor fishing. I saw this first-hand while spay fishing for monster Steelhead last weekend. Even wearing steel-studded felt-soled wading boots, I was faced with severe “snot-like” conditions while wading the slippery rocks along the river in pursuit of a monster Steelhead.

Notably, my friend Dale who is only 3 months younger than me has NOT been doing CoreAlign exercises twice weekly for the last 11 months. He proved known science that by age 50, balance and strength tend to bolt downstream.

Together, Dale and I fished the Hog Hole, the Slaughter House Hole, and the Bridge Hole (among others). And then we fished a spot where the rocks were unusually slimy. Snot was clearly an understatement!

We’d just begun making a few casts, when all of a sudden, I heard Dale just downstream from me splashing frantically. When I looked over, all I could see of him were the bottoms of his wading boots kicking feverishly above the water’s surface. Just as I was ready to throw him a life line, he righted himself and safely (yet fridgidly) made his way out of the 36 degree water. We aptly named that new fishing spot the “Swimming Hole!”

Unfortunately, this was just one of the major falls Dale took during our trip. All told, he slipped and fell dangerously at least 5 times. And whereas it was nearly impossible for me to stay sure-footed a lot of the time, my balance and confidence were nearly laughable. I felt like a surfer looking for a bigger and more radical wave. In some cases, it was futile for me to even try to maintain my footing. Instead, I was seemingly in a mode of controlling a series of near-falls while still making 70 foot casts with ease.
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This feat (pun intended) could never have occurred had I not been guided through a powerfully effective form of exercise, called CoreAlign, for the last 15 months by the skilled and knowledgeable instructors of The Core Studio at Alpine.

I plan to fish hard till I’m 90. To do so, I’ll need to incorporate hour-long CoreAlign sessions twice weekly over the next 40 years. This new model of exercise constantly challenges balance while also developing long and strong muscles. Resultantly, I’ll be able to keep up with the young bucks and avoid having to spay fish wearing a snorkel and with my ankles pointing vertically!
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For more information on CoreAlign, click here.

Exercise is one thing. Doing exercise on a CoreAlign is another. And advancing to Level III in the CoreAlign Method professional training is yet another.

Under the guidance of The Core Studio’s Director of Instruction Samantha Schoeneman, PT, CPI, CAMI/CAPT, seven people graduated during this weekend’s  seminar.

Of the course, Samantha states: “Core Align Level 3 certification is filled with high level, complex and challenging exercises like kitesurfing, twister, and half pipe. This is where the foundational components established in the fundamental exercises really allows CoreAlign to feel like a sport. This group took these advanced exercises on with enthusiasm and developed several new chains of challenging exercises that will keep the revolution that turns CoreAlign to sport! This is so inspiring and exciting to see this method evolve right here in Missoula, Montana, at The Core Studio!”
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Meet our graduates! From front to back: Meagan Auch, Pam Eppard, Neil Peck,  Samantha Glaes, Kristi Moore, Maer Siebert. (Not pictured: Lutoria “Tori” Riecher.)