These must line up in order to achieve greatness. I integrate Physical, Complementary and Alternative Therapies to create an encompassing wellness approach to meet your individual needs.
Strengthen Your Relationship with Yourself
One of the most empowering things a physical therapist can do is to show and teach people to heal themselves. A body and mind know how to heal. I provide individualized direction in order for you to become a better version of yourself.
The Sandberg System optimizes, transforms and enhances your performance, movement and physical longevity, assuring you achieve and exceed your life goals. This unique system puts your body in the best position possible to enable you to achieve your life goals, no matter what specialty area or category you may fall within:
Athletes working to enhance their performance
Individuals who identify as a fitness and wellness enthusiast
People of all ages seeking pain relief and/or post-surgery recovery
High performers with goals to improve and increase mobility
Mothers navigating prenatal or postpartum changes
Anyone who wants to become a better version of themselves
Everyone is put together uniquely. With the Sandberg System you are treated with a detailed, individualized plan, and reassessed during each session. Together we will work together to achieve and exceed a potential you never knew existed within you.
Treatment of surgical and non-surgical musculoskeletal injuries of repetitive movement stresses
Uncover and unravel the underlying etiology and movement dysfunction
Evaluate and fix the cause of the condition, not just the symptoms
Create space for the body to heal and move more optimally
PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT
Ideal for high-performing athletes for injury prevention and performance optimization
Individualized movement analysis to identify physical barriers to peak performance
Identify areas of weakness, restriction, misuse or disuse and address with treatment modalities and personalized program
ACTIVE RECOVERY
Combat the physical stress placed on our bodies through the rigors of training and sports that often results in poor performance, repetitive injuries and pain syndromes
Progressive manual therapy techniques and modalities with individualized, diagnosis-driven, corrective exercise and dynamic stretching
Speed up recovery, reduce injury potential and optimize performance
What It Is: A technique used to treat dysfunctions in skeletal muscle, fascia and connective tissue; restore or reduce impairments of body structure and function; promote and accelerate healing and recovery.
How It Is Done: Thin needles are inserted into the skin, directly in the affected muscles.
Results: In conjunction with other movement-based therapy, leads to improved activity, enhances movement, reduces inflammation, relaxes the muscles, reduces scar tissue, decreases pain and restores normal function.
ASTYM THERAPY
What It Is: An advanced form of soft-tissue mobilization, which enables remodeling and regeneration of dysfunctional tissue, producing a healing response from the body to the affected area.
How It Is Done: Ergonomically-designed, non-invasive FDA-approved instruments are gently (or vigorously) rubbed over your skin.
Results: Enhances the healing process after trauma or surgery, provides pain relief, improves overall function and increases isometric muscle strength when combined with other movement-based therapy.
VACUUM CUPPING THERAPY
What It Is: A technique, where a vacuum is created in a cup, drawing the skin up into the cup and decompressing the layers of skin and fascia. This suctioning effect creates negative pressure, which loosens and lifts connective tissue, breaks up and drains stagnation in the circulatory and lymph systems, and creates a more even flow. It also allows for the fascia to stretch within multiple planes, which regular massage cannot accomplish.
How It Is Done: A cup is placed on the skin and then suctioned onto the skin with a multi-functional vacuum therapy machine.
Results: Helps to reduce pain, improves your range of motion, decreases inflammation, increases circulation and blood flow, promotes muscle healing, boosts the immune system, increases relaxation and enhances well being when used in conjunction with other therapies.
SOFT TISSUE MANIPULATION
What it is: Manipulation of the deeper layers of muscle and soft tissues in the body.
How It Is Done: Direct pressure is used to relax the top layer of muscle in order to reach deeper layers of the muscle tissue.
Results: Improves mobility, muscle strength, range of motion, circulation and oxygen supply, relieves pain, reduces swelling and mobilizes scar tissue when used with other therapies.
CORRECTIVE EXERCISES
What It Is: A technique that leverages an understanding of anatomy, kinesiology and biomechanics to address and fix movement compensations and imbalances.
How It Is Done: Issues are identified, and an individualized exercise routine is created, incorporating correct body alignment to address compensatory mechanisms and total body movement.
Results: Improves quality of movement during workouts and everyday tasks, helps relieve pain, restores balance and enhances mobility, healing and performance.
ELDOA METHOD
What It Is: Specific postures which create tension in the myofascial chains of the body.
How It Is Done: Postures are held and specific muscles and fascial planes are tensioned, activating the mechanoreceptors and incorporating the nervous system, rather than just muscle flexibility.
Results: Reduces and prevents injuries, increases strength and mobility by creating space within a precise joint or a segment of the spine when combined with other therapies.
Dr. Katy Sandberg has been a physical therapist and movement specialist practicing in outpatient orthopedic sports medicine since 2002 and independently since 2007. Treating both surgical and non-surgical diagnoses of athletes at all ages and levels, Dr. Katy believes every person has an individual body type, history, story, and life all their own, and thus individualizes sessions to her patients’ unique needs. She is passionately dedicated to her patients’ well-being, which emerged from her own athletic past and childhood dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast.
By age 8 Dr. Katy was practicing her sport 30 hours per week but later sustained a serious, potentially career-ending injury at age 16. It was after her surgery and her own experience undergoing physical therapy that Dr. Katy discovered her calling and began her career path in sports medicine. After returning to gymnastics and going on to compete at a Division I level, she structured her education and later her career to ensuring other athletes’ dreams would never end without knowing the body’s true potential to recover and correct itself. Today, her transformative results and contributions and ongoing innovations to the field have built her an impressive and unparalleled reputation throughout the sports and athletic community.
The Sandberg System
Dr. Katy believes working with individuals is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it requires diving into a patient’s holistic history, covering all medical, physical, mental, and social aspects. Her sole purpose is to enrich the lives of others by helping each individual as best she can to live, practice, and compete at their highest capacity and ability. Her passionate dedication to treating amateur, competitive, and professional athletes means she’s constantly expanding her knowledge and expertise. Through continuing education courses and certifications, she is perfectly aligned to provide patients with the best practical and innovative solutions to get better and stay better. Believing the body can heal itself through the right understanding, direction, and discipline when paired with the best-individualized approach, Dr. Katy will work with you to determine how best for your body to excel.
Education
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Physical Therapy and Human Movement Science: Doctor of Physical Therapy (2002) Masters of Physical Therapy (2001)
Ball State University: Bachelor of Science- Biology & Chemistry (1999)
Certifications
Licensed Physical Therapist: State of Illinois
Certified Dry Needling Specialist: American Dry Needling Institute
Certified Vacuum Cupping: American Dry Needling Institute
