Your Physical Therapists and Coaches

Joe LaVacca PT, DPT, OCS 

Throughout my time as a PT I always wanted more.  More for myself, and more for my patients. Through my experiences, time with mentors, countless continuing education courses, teaching around the world, and my own personal battle with depression, I began to question what I could actually do as a Physical Therapist, and perhaps more importantly, what I could do better as a human being.

I began to develop a style of care that centered around education, empowerment, and communication. It was there I discovered the importance of empathy and compassion, and how these tools were the biggest thing missing in my ability to help people in the past. With the birth of my daughter in 2014, these thoughts and ideas became even more clear and helped me re-shaped my view on life and my career.

I started Strength in Motion Physical Therapy in 2018 with the goal of truly being able to deliver a patient centered model that was of the standards I, and patients, expected and deserved. My passions and clinical interests revolve around helping those in chronic pain, particularly of the lower back and lower extremity including hips, knees and ankles/feet.

Through utilization of education, lifestyle and behavior coaching, as well as techniques and systems such as Functional Range Conditioning/Functional Range Release, Kinstretch, RockTape, and Functional Movement/Selective Functional Movement Assessments, I am now proud to offer care the way it was meant to be received, and with one goal in mind -

to keep you moving forward.

Avery Wittkamp PT, DPT, NCS

During my 15 years working in the fitness industry I’ve observed the wide gap between the end of physical therapy and the ability to return to the things people love doing.  

That’s why I decided to become a physical therapist.

In part it was a response to the care I received as a patient in traditional physical therapy settings, and in part it was a desire to address this gap that I kept seeing with others. 

In my own case, I ended up with well-meaning therapists who had never done any of the activities I enjoyed and they advised me to just rest. This didn’t help me. These experiences and the experiences of my clients helped me decide to apply to a physical therapy program.

I received my Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Hunter College and since then I have intentionally accumulated diverse physical therapy experience. I worked in an outpatient setting that uses hippotherapy, an evidence-based practice that uses the movements of a horse to influence and engage neuromotor, cognitive and sensory systems to promote functional outcomes in children and adults with mental and physical disabilities. I completed a full-time residency program at Mount Sinai Hospital specializing in Neurologic Physical Therapy, where I gained clinical experience working with adults and children with neurologic diagnoses (Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, brain injury), as well as adults with orthopedic injuries.

My clinical interests include working with athletes, CrossFitters, and Olympic Weightlifters and promoting fitness and wellness for older adults and people with neurologic diagnoses.  I emphasize patient education and self-efficacy and believe that successful rehab is a collaborative process. Most of all I am passionate about making movement and fitness accessible to everyone regardless of their starting or end point.