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About Us

Karen M. Dake, PT, PCS

Founder/Owner

Karen founded MINOR Improvements PT in Saratoga Springs in 2002.

 

She earned her BS in Physical Therapy from Russell Sage College.

 

Her 25 years of pediatric experience has come from treating children in various local settings including: 

  • Pediatric brain injury rehabilitation

  • EI (Early Intervention)

  • CPSE (Committee for Preschool Special Education)

  • School district

  • Outpatient PT.

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Primary areas of interest and expertise 

  • Aquatic PT

  • Body Weight Supported Gait Training

  • KinesioTaping

  • Early diagnosis and treatment of children with Cerebral Palsy and other neuromotor disorders

  • The multitude of challenges associated with complex medical conditions

 

Karen is Board Certified in Pediatric PT by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties

         (Total Pediatric PT Specialists=1,615)

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​Certifications 

  • The Halliwick Technique of Aquatic Therapy

  • The KinesioTaping method

  • NDT for treatment of children with Cerebral Palsy

  • Prechtl's Advanced Certification in General Movements Assessment of infants (GMAs)

  • APTA's Clinical Instructor of PT students 

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Karen has served as adjunct faculty at The Sage Colleges in Troy, NY and Franklin Pierce College in Concord, NH.

 

She was the recipient of the Aim High Award in 2008 for her dedication to enriching the lives of individuals with Down syndrome and was named as one of Saratoga County's Women of Influence in 2010.

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Professional Memberships

  • AACPDM - American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine

  • APTA - American Physical Therapy Association

  • KTA - Kinesiotaping Association of America

  • NDTA - Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association

 

Karen believes that ongoing continuing education, participation in professional organizations and familiarity with current research is essential to the provision of excellent pediatric PT services.

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Karen (Marcellus) was born in Schenectady and grew up in Saratoga Springs. She currently lives in Greenfield Center where her 2 sons and their wives have made their homes.  But she really loves the coast of Maine!

Cynthia T. Dean, PT

Physical Therapist

Cynthia is Senior PT and has worked at MINOR Improvements PT since 2004.


She received her BS in Physical Therapy from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse and has nearly 23 years of Pediatric experience.

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In 2004 Cynthia and her family returned to their east coast roots from Northern California where she gathered much of her diverse pediatric expertise in various settings.

  • Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland

    • ​ Primary PT in the orthopedic clinic

  • UCSF Medical Center

    • Pediatric team  

      • Rehabilitation unit

      • Intensive care nursery

      • Hematology/oncology

      • Spasticity management 

  • School districts

  • Early Intervention

  • Committee on Preschool Special Education

 

Primary areas of interest and expertise

  • Assessment and treatment of infants with torticollis and plagiocephaly

  • Early diagnosis of infants with neurologic involvement

  • Orthopedic issues specific to pediatrics

 

Certification

Cynthia is certified in Prechtl's General Movements Assessment of infants (GMAs) ​

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Cynthia has presented on Pediatric Orthopedics at

The California PT Association Annual Conference and has participated in various Pediatric and adolescent Sports Medicine Conferences for pediatricians and therapists.

 

She has served at Clinical Instructor for PT students throughout her career and has lectured at Samuel Merritt College PT program in Oakland, CA. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at Sage Colleges Physical Therapy Program in Troy, NY. 

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Professional Memberships

  • APTA-The American Physical Therapy Association

  • AACPDM- The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine  

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Her strong commitment to team collaboration draws from connections near and far as she continues to seek new learning opportunities.

 

Cynthia lives locally with her family and enjoys the outdoors, an occasional triathlon, jazz music and watching her kids do what they love!

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