Meet the Team

Muscle & Joint

Physical Therapy

Physical Therapist & Founder

Matt Johnson

PT, DPT, OCS, CMPT, CMTPT, TPI-cert, FAAOMPT​
Dr. Johnson earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the State Universityof New York at Buffalo in 2009 following undergraduate work in Exercise Science.He continued post-doctoral education by completing an orthopedic residency andobtaining specialty certification through the national PT board, a designation fewerthan 8% of physical therapists in the US hold. He has completed advanced trainingprograms in manual therapy and trigger point dry needling, achieving certificationsin both. In 2017, he was recognized as a Fellow of the American Academy ofOrthopedic Manual Physical Therapy; 1 of 80 in Illinois. Dr. Johnson has vastexperience in treating people with neck pain, back pain, headaches, shoulder pain,hip pain, knee pain, ankle pain, and foot pain. This includes sports injuries, post-surgical rehab, and wear-and-tear type pain. He has worked with adults of all agesand fitness levels; from weekend warriors to collegiate and professional athletes. Alarge portion of his patient population includes endurance athletes and marathonrunners. He also enjoys working with golfers and fitness enthusiasts such asCrossFit athletes. He holds certifications through the Titleist Performance Instituteand Institute of Clinical Excellence to treat this population. If you have muscle orjoint pain, he can help you. He realizes each individual is unique and therefore hasparticular needs and goals in mind. He chose continued education and training to beable to address these unique needs. Dr. Johnson is passionate about his professionand the opportunity to help people achieve their goals through the ever-changingfield of healthcare. He is dedicated to life-long learning and believes he can providethe BEST care for his patients by blending the art & evidence of physical therapy.
matt
karolina
practice manager

Karolina Ceremon

Karolina graduated from The University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with an undergrad in Community Health in 2019. Accompanying her bachelor’s degree, she earned concentrations in Health Education and Promotion as well as Health Administration. She’s worked in the healthcare field for over 5 years.

Prior to joining healthcare, she worked in customer service, which taught her to thrive on client satisfaction. She’s always had a passion for helping people, but her experience and education helped her develop dedication to promoting health and wellness to patients.

Alexandra Rudenga
Physical therapist & CLINIC DIRECTOR

Alexandra Rudenga

PT, DPT, OCS, CMTPT

Dr. Rudenga was born and raised in Northwest Indiana. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from Indiana University Northwest after which she went on to complete her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree at Trine University in Fort Wayne, IN. Alex has a passion for providing education and treatment to athletes and individuals of all levels in order to decrease the overall instances of repetitive injuries to their bodies. She is passionate about getting people back to the things they love and helping them live their lives unhindered by pain. Her special interests are in manual therapy, orthopedic rehabilitation, sports injury prevention, and neurodynamics. She is an ACE Certified Running Gait Analyst and has additional certifications in Dry Needling, Blood Flow Restriction Training and Functional Movement Taping.

Physical therapist

Carson Soch

PT, DPT, CMTPT

Dr. Soch was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. She attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where she obtained her Bachelor’s in Science degree. Following that, she went on to complete her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Carson has had experience in treating individuals with both neurologic and orthopedic conditions and has a passion for both. She has a special interest in treating individuals pre/post surgery and with chronic pain via manual therapy techniques, functional strengthening, balance and coordination tasks, and endurance training. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new spots and activities in Chicago and spending time with her family and friends.

Carson is dedicated to helping her patients return to their everyday life activities and fitness goals by incorporating ideals of overall wellness and function to address each individual uniquely. She is committed to having patients feel empowered and involved in their rehabilitation process, as well as, educate them in order to help each individual better understand their body and prevent the recurrence of injury. She looks forward to helping you achieve your goals and living a pain free life.

Soch, Carson (1)
brandon peters
Physical therapist

Brandon St. Peters

PT, DPT

Dr. St. Peters was born in Indianapolis, IN and lived in the Czech Republic prior to moving to Chicago which has been his home for the past 20 years. He completed his bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University and worked as a paralegal at various legal practices before deciding to change careers to Physical Therapy. Brandon went on to attend Northwestern University to complete his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Brandon enjoys treating patients at all levels of their recovery and helping them return to the activities they love whether they have an acute injury or something more chronic. He particularly enjoys treating athletes in their effort to return to sport, especially volleyball players, since he has experience playing at the high school and collegiate levels.

One particular aspect that drew Brandon to M&J Physical Therapy was the significant amount of direct access patients. He enjoys being an early point of contact to help assist a person diagnose their injuries and create individualized treatment plans to treat their specific symptoms to reach their goals.

When not in the clinic, Brandon enjoys playing volleyball and basketball, as well as skiing, surfing, and cycling. He enjoys traveling and spending time with his family including his daughter.

Physical therapist

Curtis Burds

PT, DPT, CSCS, CPSS

A former Dubuque, Iowa native Curtis graduated from St. Ambrose University majoring in Exercise Science and minoring in Biology while in the Honors Program. He earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy in 2021 from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He spent his first two years after graduate school employed by and mentoring under a former Chicago Bears Physical Therapist and Athletic Trainer focusing on orthopedic and sports injuries and post-operative care in the northern suburbs of Chicago. As a former athlete and physical practitioner, Curtis is passionate about returning all athletes and patients to even greater function than they had prior to entering the clinic. He is well experienced in post-operative care of the knee, hip, shoulder, and spinal column while being a strong advocate for physical therapy intervention prior to surgical intervention when appropriate. Outside of common aches and pains he is also experienced in conservative care of instabilities of the shoulder and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

Through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Curtis is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Certified Sport & Performance Scientist (CPSS). With this knowledge he enhances each patients ability to manipulate the surroundings with
proper biomechanics. Patient goals are specific to the individual and their needs – whether they be activities of daily life or athletic circumstances.

When outside the clinic, Curtis continues to work on helping those around him reach their goals as an independent sports performance coach and trainer. Resistance training is his personal favorite mode of exercise, including blood flow restriction (BFR) training. He also enjoys biking as a 3x Register’s Annual Great Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) finisher. Curtis has completed 3 half marathons and the 2019 Chicago Marathon. Outside of the fitness realm Curtis is an avid movie watcher, reader, brewery fanatic, and science fiction/comic collector.

Curtis Headshot
Sarah Llorens ​
Physical therapist

Sarah Llorens

PT, DPT
Dr. Llorens was born and raised in the northern Chicago suburbs. She earned her Bachelor’s in Exercise Science and Doctor of Physical Therapy from Saint Louis University. After completing her education, she traveled across the country and to New York City working with Broadway and off-Broadway productions. In addition to performing arts, she has a wide range of experience including orthopedics, sports medicine, injury prevention, chronic pain, and pediatrics.Sarah is committed to patient-centered care and collaborates with her patients to build an individualized treatment plan that is practical and easy to implement. She believes the journey toward accomplishing treatment goals should be engaging and educational. One of her favorite parts of being a physical therapist is watching her patients become empowered in their bodies and celebrating victories with them along the way. She utilizes various treatment techniques with emphasis on movement analysis and correction, therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, and dry needling. She believes whole-person health is essential for quality of life, as we are multi-faceted humans. This is taken into account during each session and throughout the recovery process. Outside of work, Sarah enjoys connecting with friends and family, traveling, trying new foods, and attending city activities.