John Borden, PT, AATci / Physical Therapist
John Borden, PT, AATci
John earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Health Science and Masters degree in Physical Therapy from SUNY Upstate Medical University, College of Health Professions in Syracuse, NY in 1998.
Every person has their own reasons for the road they choose through the journey of life. His was one of necessity. The choice of Physical Therapy as a profession was the best choice for John to be able to look for answers to complicated questions. Chronic pain and/or chronic conditioning turned out to be the order of the day for him after a serious accident at work.
The thought of starting college at 33 was less painful than the pain in his foot. The educational process at the university that he attended rewarded searching for answers that worked, instead of doctrines to be adopted. The area of study that he was selfishly interested in was the root of his personal suffering. It also is one of the least well understood or well-treated blanket diagnoses that exists….chronic pain! This led him to attend as many types of continuing education that he could after graduation.
John was blessed with highly skilled colleagues and mentors in his first years in practice. This was helpful in earning the confidence of a friend who allowed him to create the Chronic Pain Program at HCR home care of Rochester, NY in 2005, which was the first home care-based chronic pain treatment program in the country. He was able to educate and train several therapists in that organization to evaluate and treat chronic pain using varied manual techniques and home exercise programs.
In his continued quest for answers to treat chronic pain, a good friend and valued colleague introduced him to PRRT where he received training to the Advanced Level. Soon there after, his initial instructor in PRRT, Jim Krupar, PT made him aware of Scott Musgrave, MSPT and Ernie Quinlisk, PT who are the founders of Associative Awareness Techniques or AAT. He has since completed all 3 levels of AAT training and he looks forward to now teaching AAT to other Health Care Practitioners this new understanding of how to resolve chronic pain and related conditions.
John currently owns Rochester Physical Therapy Wellness PLLC, a Wellness and Performance affiliate, and he has hired colleagues educated and trained in AAT to practice Physical Therapy in a pain free supportive environment.
He lives in picturesque Fair Haven, New York on Lake Ontario with his wife Kim who teaches Spanish in a local school district.
Cindy Makasziw, PT, AATci / Physical Therapist
Cindy received her Bachelors of Physical Therapy from Daemen College in Amherst, NY in 1983. Cindy’s interest in therapy came from her grandfather who had many different therapists over the years. Looking back she always wondered why the same treatments were used whether he had a balance issue, pain or a fracture. She recognized there were specific people who did not respond to the traditional therapy especially in the areas of chronic pain and chronic conditions. This both challenged her and fostered her desire to keep exploring techniques to address individuals’ needs.
As her career progressed the patients that she found most challenging became her drive to keep learning. She met John Borden who was a pain specialist and he challenged what she was taught in college and put a new direction on learning. Cindy wanted to see the people that did not get better with traditional approaches which brought her to many seminars including PRRT, Myokinesthic technique, myofacial release and nervous system work all of which addressed chronic pain but still lacked the ability to make permanent changes in some individuals.
Cindy had also suffered from chronic pain for years and knew from personal experience if a technique was effective. She was still faced with the fact that the above techniques provided real change for a number of patients but like herself these still only helped her for a short time and some even increased her pain. That is when she met Scott Musgrave, MSPT and Ernie Quinlisk, PT. There technique, Associative Awareness Technique™ or AAT has transformed not only her life but also those of her patients. This unique treatment addresses the true source of pain, the central nervous system. This is where the connection between past experience and pain can be unraveled and healing can occur. Cindy blends this unique approach with her personal experience in the journey to heal herself.
On a personal note Cindy is married to Tony and has 2 children Andrew and Nicole. They reside in Hilton New York.