The Empower Advantage

We understand that living with chronic conditions often means varying “seasons” of medical needs. Our goal is to provide seamless, access to quality care, no matter the season. We are here to provide more when you need more and less when you need less. You’ll experience hassle free transitions between physical therapy and wellness programs, all led by a physical therapist who already knows your story and unique needs. No physician referral needed. No gaps in care waiting on authorizations. No insurance companies dictating your treatment. Just the quality care you need, when you need it.

Contrary to the old saying, practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Exercising with abnormal movement reinforces abnormal movement. With Parkinson’s in particular, movements tend to get slow and small, despite the feeling that you are moving normally. Having an instructor specially trained in movement analysis, coaching, and setting up your environment for success is a game changer for achieving exercise that goes beyond getting in shape to actually moving and functioning better.

Because all our exercise programs are taught by a physical therapist, you’ll have ongoing access to a medical professional monitoring your status, answering questions and helping with referrals to other specialists when needed.

Dr. Hershberger has over a decade of experience treating clients after they are injured or ill. She uses this experience to proactively include the things she wishes she could have told her patients before they became her patients. Empower’s programs are designed to prevent future falls and disability, along with improving your function today.

This one is practically shouted in the research. We know that optimal changes and brain protection occur when heartrate is elevated 70-85% heartrate max. Although large group classes have many benefits, it’s very difficult to get everyone working in their target zone, especially when participants have a wide range of mobility levels. Empower’s programs are coached individually and use continuous heart rate monitoring, ensuring each participant is working in their perfect zone for max benefits.

The most meaningful improvements occur when we train specific to our deficits. Although group exercise programs provide many wonderful health benefits, they have a broad reach with general fitness goals. In our experience, the people who have the most success long term do a combination of group AND personalized exercise.

Consider this. If a basketball player wants to improve free throws, then spends her summer working on her conditioning, dribbling and agility, do you expect great free throws next season? Of course not. Even though she worked her booty off, her training isn’t specific to her goal.

It sounds so simple, but is a principle that’s often overlooked. To improve free throws, you have to focus on free throws, and a lot of them. Empower’s programs are individually designed to meet your needs.

Each program is founded on current, evidence-based research for maximum impact. We’ll pack your program full of highly supported treatments, frequencies, coaching, and the ideal environment to help you reach bigger goals, faster.