Physical therapy that takes the time to understand the whole picture.
One-on-one, hands-on physical therapy in Appleton, centered around Fascial Counterstrain — a gentle, precise way of identifying which tissues may be contributing to your pain, stiffness, or limited movement. Because the area that hurts isn't always the only area that matters.
APPLETON, WI · FOX VALLEY
What this practice offers
More time to understand the whole picture
A more detailed assessment
Care that adapts to you
Most physical therapy starts with a protocol. This starts with a closer look.
A lot of care follows a standard sequence: here's the diagnosis, here's the exercise plan for it. That works for many people — but when symptoms keep coming back, or never fully made sense in the first place, it can miss what's actually driving them.
Care here begins with a more detailed assessment of which tissues and systems may be contributing to how you feel and move. The painful area is part of the picture, but it isn't always the whole picture — and figuring out the difference is where treatment starts.
Fascial Counterstrain
A gentle, highly specific way to look at what's involved.
Fascial Counterstrain is a hands-on form of physical therapy that helps identify which tissues may be contributing to pain, stiffness, sensitivity, or limited movement. Instead of focusing only on the area that hurts, it considers how different tissue systems — muscles, fascia, nerves, blood vessels, lymphatic structures, and visceral connections — may be influencing the way your body moves and protects itself.
The assessment is precise but comfortable. Using gentle positioning and careful manual contact, it helps reduce the protective tension your body holds, and helps guide where treatment should begin.
The honest truth is that pain is rarely simple.
When something hurts, the usual explanations get reached for quickly — it's the muscle, it's arthritis, it's weakness, it's not enough exercise. Sometimes those are part of it. But the body is deeply interconnected, and the real reason an area hurts is often more complicated than any single answer. Fascial Counterstrain gives me a way to look more closely at which tissues and systems may be involved — and to assess and treat the specific restrictions I find, then see what changes in response.
Tissue systems that may be considered
- Muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments
- Nerves and nervous-system sensitivity
- Fascial restrictions around arteries, veins, and lymphatic structures
- Visceral and organ-related fascial connections
- Scar tissue and post-surgical restrictions
- Movement patterns and protective guarding
These are clinical considerations that may be assessed when relevant — not separate diagnoses.
Whether your situation is straightforward or complicated, you're in the right place.
- Back & neck pain
- Disc injuries
- Cervical & lumbar radiculopathy
- Sciatica
- Shoulder pain & rotator cuff
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Tennis & golfer's elbow
- Hip & knee pain
- Arthritic joints
- Post-surgical recovery
- Ankle sprains & sports injuries
- Headaches & migraines
- TMJ & jaw pain
- Concussion & post-concussion
- Hypermobility / EDS
- Injury prevention & wellness
This is a sample, not a limit. Because Fascial Counterstrain is a whole-body approach, it can be applied to a wide range of musculoskeletal and pain-related problems — including many that aren't on this list. If you're dealing with something and aren't sure whether it's a fit, a quick conversation is the easiest way to find out.
Dealing with one of these? Read more on back pain or headaches & migraines.
If you've done the work and still hurt, that's exactly who this is for.
Some people arrive having already put in the effort — they did the exercises, gave it time, followed the plan — and the pain is still there. That doesn't mean you did anything wrong, and it doesn't mean nothing can help. Often it means the picture is more complicated than it first looked, and it's worth taking the time to look more closely. You don't need a complicated case to be taken seriously here — just a problem worth understanding properly.
Some symptoms need a physician first. If you're dealing with a possible emergency, a new and unexplained change, or anything that may need medical diagnosis or imaging, that's the right starting point — and you're always welcome to reach out if you're unsure where to begin.
Care may include
One primary approach, supported by the right tools when they fit.
Fascial Counterstrain
Supporting approaches, used when appropriate
Craniosacral therapy
Osteopathic manual therapy / Muscle Energy Techniques (MET)
Myofascial release
Neuromobilization
Dry needling (when indicated)
Movement assessment & exercise rehab
These aren't a fixed menu. Each is chosen based on what the assessment finds and how you respond — so your care stays specific to you, not assembled from a checklist.
Hi, I'm Dr. Alex Conway.
I'm a deeply curious person who genuinely loves helping people — and that curiosity is what shaped this practice. It led me through rehabilitation, osteopathic and hands-on techniques, neural manipulation, craniosacral therapy, dry needling, and pain neuroscience — but it was the people who didn't respond the way I expected who kept pushing me to look deeper. Fascial Counterstrain became a turning point, and it's been central to how I work ever since.
More about Dr. Conway →Alex Conway, PT, DPT, CMTPT — Doctor of Physical Therapy
What people say about working with me.
Cash-based care
Care built around your needs — not a billing code.
Conway Physical Therapy is a cash-based practice. In practical terms, that means your care is shaped by clinical reasoning and what you actually need — not by insurance visit limits, billing rules, or how many patients have to be seen in an hour.
It also means real time with me. A typical visit is a focused, one-on-one session — not a few minutes of hands-on care split between several people and handed off to an aide. For care that depends on careful assessment and precise hands-on work, that time is the difference.
Payment is simple and transparent, and a basic payment receipt is available on request.
What your first visit looks like.
Once you book, you'll get a secure intake form to fill out ahead of time — so by the time you arrive, I've already reviewed your history and we can make the most of our time together.
- 1
We talk first
We start with your story — what's going on, what you've tried, your history, and what you're hoping to get back to.
- 2
The cranial scan & physical exam
I start with a gentle cranial scan — feeling for areas of rigidity that help point toward which tissue system may be involved — then assess your movement, strength, and how your spine moves.
- 3
Fascial Counterstrain assessment
A gentle, precise hands-on assessment to identify which tissues and systems may be contributing.
- 4
Hands-on treatment
Based on what we find, we begin treatment — comfortable, specific, and focused on the tissues most involved.
- 5
Your plan and next steps
We talk through what I found, what it likely means, and a clear, realistic plan from here.
Wear comfortable clothing you can move in. Come with your questions — there's time for them here.
A few things people usually want to know.
Do you take insurance?
Conway Physical Therapy is a cash-based practice and doesn't bill insurance. This is what makes the longer, one-on-one visits possible. A basic payment receipt is available on request.
How much does it cost?
Treatment visits are $135 as a founding-patient rate (regularly $150) for a 75-minute, one-on-one visit. Initial evaluations are $175 (regularly $200) and run about 120 minutes. These introductory rates are available while I build my practice.
Is this real physical therapy?
Yes. This is physical therapy, provided by a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy. Fascial Counterstrain is the central approach, used within a full, individualized plan of care.
Does the treatment hurt?
Generally no. Fascial Counterstrain uses gentle positioning and comfortable contact rather than force. Most people find it calm and easy to tolerate.
Not sure where to start? That's okay.
Book an evaluation when you're ready. Not sure if this is the right fit? Let's talk first — a free 30-minute call to walk through your situation.