Valerie Cassell has been involved in sports and rehab for her entire life, primarily through her 18-year softball career that included four years of competition at a Division 1 institution. While she was fortunately able to avoid many injuries during her career, Valerie did witness many of her teammates get injured and then undergo physical therapy afterwards to help them regain their abilities. Watching her teammates improve through physical therapy is what originally sparked her interest in the profession, and this led her to The College of Charleston, where she received a Bachelor of Science in exercise science and graduated cum laude, and then to Rutgers University – North, where she earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
Valerie began her career at Twin Boro Physical Therapy’s Clark clinic. She initially served as a staff physical therapist, starting in July of 2020, and then moved up to become an assistant director at this location less than a year later. In October of 2021, she was given the opportunity to serve as the clinic director at our Union location and currently holds that position. Throughout her career, Valerie has taken MedBridge courses in several therapeutic areas, including the cervical and lumbar spine, the knees, and the shoulders.
Valerie has a special interest and extensive experience in treating post-surgical patients, geriatric patients, orthopedic patients, and athletes, particularly those involved in overhead sports and those recovering from ankle and knee injuries. She is also interested in offering maintenance programs that help patients keep up with their care, including specific exercises based on patient deficits, postural retraining, and proper body mechanics. Valerie’s approach to treatment involves placing a patient’s goals are at the forefront of her care plan and physically and mentally working with each patient to ensure they reach these goals. She personalizes each treatment program according to patients’ needs and abilities, and utilizes a variety of manual therapy interventions. These include soft-tissue mobilization, stretching, joint mobilization, instrument-assisted soft-tissue mobilization (IASTM), percussive therapy, and cupping. Valerie also holds a Functional Movement Technique (FMT) certification for RockPods, which is a cupping technique used to enhance movement and alleviate discomfort.
Valerie bases her management strategies around Twin Boro Physical Therapy’s One2Four™ Care Model. This unique approach accounts for the relatively low level of function a patient might experience after an injury or surgery, and then aims to take them all the way through to the peak performance required to return to their prior or preferred level of function. Valerie uses this model to allow patients to objectively see how they are improving first-hand and believes that it can serve as a guide to help patients set and progress towards their goals as they start functioning at higher levels.
