If you've been told everything looks normal — you're in the right place
Complex conditions rarely stay in one system. We work with people whose symptoms may involve connective tissue, autonomic function, balance and vestibular processing, movement control, fatigue, pain, sensory needs, and the nervous system all at once. If you've felt dismissed, misunderstood, or like the usual plan never quite fit your body, SBC was built with you in mind.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) & Hypermobility
POTS & Autonomic Dysfunction
Vestibular & Dizziness Disorders
Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND)
Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms
Complex Chronic Conditions
You do not need to fit neatly into one diagnosis or one protocol to belong here.
Our approach
We connect the dots before we build the plan.
We connect the dots across systems, individualize every plan, explain the why behind it, and build capacity in a way that respects complexity and variable capacity.
Connect the Dots
Look at the full pattern, not one symptom at a time.
Individualize the Plan
Progress according to your body, capacity, and goals.
Explain the Why
Understand what you're doing and why it matters.
Build Capacity
Develop confidence, control, strength, and function over time.
Our services
How we can help you
Physical Therapy
Specialized 1:1 physical therapy for complex neurologic and connective tissue conditions — in person in North Andover, MA, or by telehealth within Massachusetts. Medicare, BCBS, and Mass General Brigham accepted.
Educational 1:1 Consultations
Specialized education, practical problem-solving, and next-step planning for complex conditions — available nationwide and internationally.
NeuroStrong
SBC's evolving education, movement, and community experience for people with complex bodies. Launching in the new year and continuing to grow from there.
Provider Consultations
Educational case consultation and clinical reasoning support for clinicians working with complex hypermobility cases — available nationwide and internationally.
A Program of Strength & Balance Collective · Online Education, Adaptive Movement & Community · Launching in the New Year
Get occasional updates on NeuroStrong's launch, new resources, and Strength & Balance Kids — no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
About Us
Built from a PT practice. Growing into something more.
Strength & Balance Collective grew from a physical therapy practice created for people with complex, overlapping conditions — and is expanding into a broader ecosystem of care, education, movement, and resources.
Our story
Why we exist
Many people living with hypermobility, dysautonomia, vestibular disorders, FND, and other complex conditions spend years moving between providers, diagnoses, and treatment plans that address one piece of the picture at a time.
Strength & Balance Collective began as Strength & Balance Physical Therapy to create a different kind of clinical experience — one where complexity was expected, symptoms were connected rather than separated, and treatment could be individualized to the person in front of us.
Over time, the vision became bigger than appointments alone. SBC is growing into an ecosystem of specialized care, practical education, movement tools, community, and resources for patients, families, and providers.
Meet the founder
McKenzie DiStefano, PT, DPT, CEEAA
McKenzie DiStefano
PT, DPT, CEEAA · Founder
McKenzie DiStefano, PT, DPT, CEEAA, is the founder of Strength & Balance Collective and a physical therapist with more than a decade of experience in vestibular rehabilitation, concussion management, neurologic rehabilitation, and complex connective-tissue presentations.
She founded Strength & Balance Physical Therapy in 2022 to create a practice for people whose symptoms did not fit neatly into traditional treatment pathways — especially those living with hypermobility and EDS, POTS and dysautonomia, vestibular disorders, FND, Parkinson's disease, concussion, and other overlapping neurologic and multisystem conditions.
What began as a specialized PT practice has continued to grow as McKenzie recognized that people also needed better education, movement tools, family resources, and ways to access specialized support beyond the clinic. That evolution became Strength & Balance Collective.
Our work starts with understanding the whole picture. We connect symptoms rather than treating them in isolation, individualize the plan, explain the why, and build capacity at a pace the person can actually sustain.
Connect
the dots
Individualize
the plan
Explain
the why
Build
capacity
Why "Collective"?
Why "Collective"?
Because complex care rarely lives in one appointment, one discipline, or one diagnosis. Strength & Balance Collective brings together clinical care, education, movement, community, pediatric resources, and an expanding body of tools designed to help people better understand and navigate complex conditions.
FND Providers of MA
A Facebook group connecting FND providers and patients in Massachusetts, supporting individuals navigating FND alongside POTS, dysautonomia, hypermobility, and MCAS. Founded and led by McKenzie DiStefano, DPT.
Find the kind of support that fits where you are right now.
PHYSICAL THERAPY IN MASSACHUSETTS · EDUCATIONAL CONSULTATIONS BEYOND MASSACHUSETTS · NEUROSTRONG COMING IN THE NEW YEAR
Specialized 1:1 physical therapy for people with complex, overlapping neurologic, vestibular, autonomic, connective-tissue, and movement-related conditions. We take the time to understand the whole picture — not just the diagnosis or the area that hurts.
Many of the people we see have already been through multiple appointments, diagnoses, or treatment plans and still feel like pieces of the picture are being missed. Our evaluations are comprehensive and individualized, looking at how movement, balance and vestibular processing, autonomic tolerance, connective tissue, strength, sensory needs, fatigue, pain, and daily function interact.
We do not build care around a single painful area or a generic protocol. We connect the dots, identify what is limiting function, and build a plan around your goals, current capacity, and real life.
Conditions we treat
Our areas of specialization
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome & Hypermobility
POTS & Autonomic Dysfunction
Vestibular Disorders & Chronic Dizziness
Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND)
Post-Concussion Syndrome
Neurologic Physical Therapy
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Complex Chronic & Multisystem Conditions
Fall Prevention & Balance
What to expect
Your plan of care
Comprehensive Evaluation
We start with your history, goals, movement, balance, strength, symptom behavior, and the systems most relevant to your presentation. The evaluation is tailored to you rather than built from a one-size-fits-all checklist.
Individualized Plan
Your plan is paced around your current capacity, symptoms, goals, and response to movement — with progressions and modifications that make sense for your body.
Ongoing Support
Treatment may include individualized exercise, movement retraining, vestibular or balance work when appropriate, education, home programming, and collaboration with your broader care team.
Insurance & logistics
Practical details
Insurance accepted: Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), and Mass General Brigham Health Plan. Private pay options available. Please contact us to confirm your specific plan prior to your first visit.
160A Pleasant Street, North Andover, MA 01845
Wheelchair-accessible clinic
Infrared video goggles for vestibular assessment
Suspension system for balance training
Ready to get started?
PHYSICAL THERAPY IN NORTH ANDOVER + TELEHEALTH WITHIN MASSACHUSETTS
Educational consultations are separate from physical therapy care. They do not include diagnosis, physical therapy evaluation, treatment, rehabilitation, or medical management.
Who this is for
You do not have to be local to get thoughtful guidance
If you are living with EDS or hypermobility, POTS or dysautonomia, FND, vestibular symptoms, or another complex overlapping condition and are struggling to make sense of the bigger picture, an educational consultation can help you organize what you are experiencing, identify useful questions, explore resources, and think through practical next steps.
This can also be helpful if you are waiting to begin local care, between episodes of treatment, preparing for appointments with your own providers, or looking for education that connects multiple systems instead of focusing on one symptom at a time.
Out of state or internationalWaiting to begin local carePreparing for provider appointmentsLooking for condition-specific educationOrganizing questions and next stepsNavigating complex overlap
Session options
Choose the level of support that fits you
Educational Strategy Session
60 MIN
Contact for pricing
Review of history, concerns, goals, and current questions
Education around relevant condition overlap and common patterns
Discussion of resources, self-management concepts, and questions to bring to the care team
Written summary with key takeaways and next-step ideas
Educational Strategy + Follow-Up
60 + 30 MIN
Contact for pricing
Everything in the Educational Strategy Session
30-minute follow-up to revisit questions after discussing next steps with existing providers
Updated resource and planning recommendations as appropriate
Educational Follow-Up
30 MIN
Contact for pricing
For existing consultation clients
Review new questions or changes in context
Clarify prior education and resources
Refine questions and next-step planning
What happens in a session
Structured, personalized, and practical
Understand the Bigger Picture
We review your history, concerns, goals, and the questions you are trying to answer so the conversation can focus on what is most useful to you.
Connect the Information
We discuss relevant concepts, common condition overlap, practical resources, and ways to organize what you are learning without pretending that every complex symptom has a simple answer.
Leave With Clear Next Steps
You receive a written summary of key points, resources, and questions or next steps to consider with your own healthcare team.
Educational service: These consultations are cash-pay and separate from physical therapy or other billable healthcare services. They are not submitted to health insurance as PT treatment.
Start with the questions you have now
EDUCATIONAL CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE & INTERNATIONALLY
SBC's evolving education, movement, and community experience for people with complex bodies who need a more adaptable way to learn, move, and build confidence over time.
Education, movement, and community — built to grow together
NeuroStrong brings together guided education, adaptive movement, the Strength & Balance Movement System, community, challenges, and live/interactive support — all in one evolving member experience for people navigating neurologic and autonomic conditions.
The movement framework inside NeuroStrong
The Strength & Balance Movement System
The Strength & Balance Movement System is SBC's progressive framework for building regulation, body awareness, control, strength, balance, and functional confidence. Inside NeuroStrong, members will use guided movement pathways and adaptable exercise options informed by this framework.
The system is designed to keep growing over time as new Movement Cards, pathways, educational content, and condition-specific adaptations are developed and reviewed.
The member experience
Learn, move, adapt, connect, and grow
Learn
Practical education that helps your program finally make sense.
Move
Guided Movement System content and adaptable exercise options.
Adapt
Flare-day and lower-capacity options for the days that need them.
Connect
Community, challenges, and shared learning with people who get it.
Grow
New lessons, pathways, movement resources, and live features added over time.
Progress at your pace
Progress is not expected to be linear
NeuroStrong is designed with pacing, flare-day modifications, lower-capacity options, and multiple ways to participate so a difficult week does not erase the work you have already done.
Built for Variable Capacity
Higher-energy days, lower-capacity days, and everything in between.
Symptom-Informed Pacing
Adapt to autonomic symptoms, fatigue, sensory load, pain, and recovery needs.
Clinician-Built, Evidence-Informed
Developed through SBC's clinical and evidence-review process.
More Than Exercise
Education, movement, community, challenges, and resources in one place.
How to join
Launching in the new year — and growing from there
NeuroStrong will begin opening to members in the new year through Mighty Community. The first version will intentionally be focused rather than "finished." From there, SBC will continue adding movement pathways, education, community features, challenges, live sessions, and new resources over time.
NeuroStrong will be hosted in Mighty Community, giving members one place for lessons, movement resources, discussions, challenges, and live/interactive experiences.
Join the Waitlist
Waitlist members get first access when doors open, plus updates as NeuroStrong is built.
Have Questions Before Launch?
Explore SBC educational consultations for condition education, resources, and next-step planning while NeuroStrong is being built.
Build strength, confidence, and understanding — at a pace your body can work with.
ONLINE EDUCATION · ADAPTIVE MOVEMENT · COMMUNITY · LAUNCHING IN THE NEW YEAR
Educational case consultation and clinical reasoning support for clinicians navigating complex hypermobility, autonomic, vestibular, neurologic, and multisystem presentations.
Provider consultations are educational and collaborative. The treating clinician remains responsible for assessment, diagnosis, treatment decisions, documentation, and patient care.
Why this exists
Complex cases benefit from collaborative thinking
Many clinicians encounter patients with hypermobility, dysautonomia, FND, vestibular symptoms, fatigue, pain, and other overlapping concerns without having had extensive training in how those systems interact.
Provider consultations create space to think through the case, review relevant frameworks, organize clinical questions, and identify educational resources or referral considerations. The goal is not to replace your clinical judgment — it is to support it with a complex-condition lens.
Consultation options
Choose what fits your need
Case Consultation
30 MIN · FOR PTs & OTs
Contact for pricing
Present a de-identified complex case or clinical question
Discuss relevant condition overlap and contributing factors
Review assessment considerations, precautions, and questions to explore
Identify educational resources and possible referral considerations
Clinical Reasoning Deep Dive
60 MIN · FOR PTs & OTs
Contact for pricing
Deeper review of a de-identified case or clinical challenge
Discuss exercise, pacing, movement, vestibular, autonomic, or sensory considerations
Review progression concepts and factors that may influence tolerance
Identify questions, resources, and considerations for the treating clinician's own plan of care
Primary Care / Medical Provider Consultation
30–45 MIN · FOR PCPs
Contact for pricing
Educational review of hypermobility and hEDS/HSD frameworks
Discuss history/exam elements and published criteria/resources within your own scope
Referral pathway and interdisciplinary-care considerations
Patient-education and clinician-resource toolkit
For primary care providers
A practical way to approach hypermobility in primary care
Primary care clinicians are often the first people asked to help connect the dots when hypermobility, pain, autonomic symptoms, fatigue, and other multisystem concerns overlap. A provider consultation can help organize the relevant history, examination considerations, current diagnostic frameworks, referral options, and patient-education resources so you can decide what is appropriate within your own practice and scope.
Provider resource toolkit may include: brief hypermobility screening reference, links to current diagnostic criteria/frameworks, patient education materials, and referral-resource guidance.
Areas of expertise
What we can help you navigate
✓ Hypermobility, HSD & EDS clinical presentations
✓ POTS & dysautonomia considerations in rehabilitation
✓ FND rehabilitation considerations
✓ Vestibular evaluation and rehabilitation concepts
Please do not send identifiable patient information through the website contact form. Case consultations should use de-identified information unless an appropriate secure workflow and authorization are in place.
Bring a complex case. Leave with a clearer framework.
EDUCATIONAL PROVIDER CONSULTATIONS · AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE & INTERNATIONALLY
Specialized support for complex conditions that do not fit neatly into one system
SBC works with people navigating hypermobility, autonomic, vestibular, neurologic, sensory, and multisystem presentations that often overlap. Physical therapy is provided in Massachusetts; educational resources and consultation pathways are available more broadly.
Connective-tissue conditions can affect joint stability, proprioception, strength, fatigue, pain, and movement confidence. PT may focus on joint control, body awareness, progressive strengthening, pacing, and building sustainable capacity without relying on a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Joint ControlProprioceptionStrengthPacing
POTS & Autonomic Dysfunction
POTS · Dysautonomia
POTS and other forms of dysautonomia can affect heart rate, blood pressure, upright tolerance, fatigue, and exercise capacity. Movement and exercise plans should be adapted to the individual's symptoms, current tolerance, goals, and recovery needs.
Autonomic AwarenessPacingExercise ToleranceOrthostatic Support
