Sports Physical Therapy in Portland, Maine
Get back to your passion without pain, imaging, injections, or surgeries.
Say no to ‘just rest.’ We help runners and active adults get back to training, not just out of pain.
Treated by physical therapists who run and race themselves.
What our clients say
Read the success stories of runners and active individuals who've reached their goals with Steady State.
The problem
You don't have to settle for mediocre. Providers who tell you to “just rest,” or reach for injections and imaging before conservative care, often don't understand your activity goals.
Our injuries are more complex. Being more active, there are many more variables to consider. You need someone who gets it on your team.
“Not only are the entire team extremely nice and awesome to work with, the expertise related to running injury treatment/prevention is nowhere close to anything I’ve experienced from traditional PT.”
Our method
Most care ends the moment your pain does. Your body needs more work beyond the point of becoming pain-free, because relative weaknesses aren't necessarily painful.
01
Get in control of your symptoms
We start with weekly sessions to find the root cause of your pain and what led to it.
We take time to fully assess your body and build an in-depth plan, and we keep reassessing as you respond, so the plan evolves with you. Our priority is getting you in control of your symptoms while you keep moving as much as possible.
Why care usually ends here
Care here is less individualised, and it doesn't progress into coaching — which is what actually builds your injury buffer. Insurance is much of the reason: it covers you up to the point where you can get through daily, non-active tasks without pain, and stops there. Our clients are trying to be genuinely active. Insurance doesn't account for that, and it doesn't cover proactive care.
02
Build back to full training
This is often the longest stretch. Rebuilding from low mileage back to your full training takes time.
The goal is a sustainable return, at a pace your body can absorb. We rebuild your strength, mobility, and tissue capacity so your body can handle your goals, and you learn to read your symptoms and adjust your plan with confidence.
03
Build your injury buffer
We work on the long-standing weaknesses and habits that led you here.
We build capacity above your old baseline, so the normal ups and downs of training, life stress, and imperfect recovery don't cause another injury. You take on more than you did before, on purpose.
04
Train with purpose, stay consistent
The main goal now is preventing injuries, because injuries are the biggest thing that breaks consistency.
Consistent, purposeful training is what builds durability, and it improves your performance when that's your goal. In a down or off period, we find the minimal dose that keeps you ready to return without re-injury.
How we work
Step 01
A short call with one of our physical therapists to hear what’s going on, answer your questions, and work out whether we’re the right fit for you. No cost, and no pressure. If we’re not the right place for what you need, we’ll say so and point you somewhere better.
Step 02
Ninety minutes, one-on-one with your physical therapist. We go through your history, your training, and your goals, and assess how your whole body is actually moving.
Then we build your plan together. You leave knowing what we found, what we think you’ll need to do, and why. Your plan is a decision we make with you, not a sheet of exercises handed to you.
Step 03
Most injuries aren’t resolved in a session or two. So most people work with us on a time-based plan of care: a block of time we commit to together, rather than a punch card of appointments.
We start more often, usually about once a week, while we get your symptoms under control. As you get stronger and more independent, we spread your sessions out.
You also don’t always need a full session to reach us. If something comes up between visits, message your PT in our app or set up a quick phone call.
You’re not here just to run through exercises and get hands-on treatment. The real work of getting better happens outside your sessions, in your training, your strength work, and your recovery. We use your sessions to test whether you’re ready for progressions (and determine how to progress).
The coaching and management around everything between sessions is what gives you the highest likelihood to achieve your goals as quickly as possible, and it’s what traditional physical therapy isn’t built to offer.
Steady State Health
Portland, Maine
“Their PTs are all endurance athletes themselves, and it is incredibly helpful to have a PT who can relate to the training process with the learned wisdom of having done the training themselves.”
— Erica, Google review
Why trust us
From gait analysis to manual therapy, our treatments are designed for long-term success. We're ready to help you finally get the answers you deserve.
What we do
Designed for the diverse needs of Portland's active community. While we use passive strategies for symptom reduction as needed, if you're looking to lay down and have someone ‘fix’ you, you're in the wrong place.
Over 80% of runners deal with a running-related injury each year. We're all runners ourselves, and we work with runners frustrated by the standard advice of “just stop running.”
Learn more →Not currently injured? Now's the best time to make sure you're doing the right things to keep training consistently.
Learn more →Changing how you run isn't always the answer, but having your form professionally assessed provides valuable information.
Learn more →Our coaches are lifelong athletes who've made careers out of running. Need an individualized plan and accountability?
Learn more →No running specialist in your area? Our virtual PTs are your physical therapist, run coach, and strength coach in one.
Learn more →A strength-focused class built to help runners build strength and reduce injury risk, with and without barbells.
Learn more →Pelvic floor dysfunction affects many people, particularly runners, athletes, and people who have given birth.
Learn more →Stay strong, supported, and active throughout pregnancy with our strength-based pelvic PT program.
Learn more →Every return-to-run timeline is different after having a baby. Our pelvic floor PTs are experts at helping moms return to running.
Learn more →Not sure whether what you're feeling is a pelvic health issue? Here's the range of conditions our pelvic team treats.
Learn more →Our performance physical therapists specialize in Crossfit and Hyrox injuries, and are experts at getting you back to WODs pain-free.
Learn more →Pain limiting your performance? Whether it's golf, tennis, soccer, or pickleball, we can reduce your pain and get you back out there.
Learn more →Limited with Alpine, Nordic, or Uphill skiing? Winter is long in Maine, and skiing with friends helps us stay active.
Learn more →A hands-on clinical exam is almost always more helpful than starting with an X-ray or MRI, and gets you better quicker.
Learn more →Traditional physical therapy not meeting your ACL expectations? You deserve to be treated in a way that prepares you for your athletic goals.
Learn more →We can incorporate dry needling into the rest of your plan to give your rehab a boost or keep those niggles at bay.
Learn more →Compression can aid recovery. It also just feels darn good when you've been putting a lot of miles on the legs.
Learn more →A full gym setup so your rehab looks like real training, not therabands and 2lb dumbbells.
Learn more →Ready to start?
Tell us what's going on and you'll leave the call knowing exactly what to do next. If you have pelvic health concerns, visit our Pelvic Health page to book with that team.
Schedule a call