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Movement runs through everything we do
Andres's path to physiotherapy
Andres Ruttens's story starts with perseverance. Because of his dyslexia, reading and writing did not come easily to him as a child. He learned early to work hard and find his own way of learning. In sport he found a setting where that drive could show. After years of volleyball at national level he chose physiotherapy, a programme where his interest in the human body, movement and coaching people came together.
After graduating in early 2014, Andres started working at his former internship practice, Groep Sam. Through Sam Verslegers he met functional neurologist Stijn Quanten, who had a practice in Hasselt. When a room in that practice became available, Andres took his first step on his own on the Weggevoerdenstraat with Kinesitherapie Ruttens.
The dream of building a practice together began during their studies. Andres and his fellow student Niels agreed back then that one day they would start together. At the end of 2015 that promise came true: Niels joined and Movenda was born. That new start also took the practice to a new location at Sportcentrum Olympia.
Built on trust in people
From the start, Andres chose his colleagues carefully. Josje was there when Movenda began, and Koen joined early too. In the years that followed, a new colleague joined almost every year. That growth did not come from wanting to get bigger as fast as possible, but from the belief that shared expertise makes the coaching better, as long as the personal contact stays.
That is typical of Andres: when he believes in something, he commits to it fully. He deepened his knowledge of manual therapy, dry needling and sport-specific screening, among others. At the same time, active coaching took an ever larger place next to hands-on treatment.
Behind the scenes the practice kept growing as well. Since 2019 Andres's wife Julie has been building Movenda with him. Andres guards the clinical direction and the work on the floor; Julie supports the organisation, administration and communication the team needs to grow.
From a physiotherapy practice to a multidisciplinary sports practice
The small practice on the Weggevoerdenstraat grew into a multidisciplinary sports practice at Sportcentrum Olympia. There, physiotherapy, active rehabilitation and personal training literally got more room. Exercise and training became a full part of the programme, next to treatment in the practice room.
Through all that growth the starting point stayed the same: helping people move in a healthy, medically sound way. That can mean someone functions without pain again, gets stronger, returns to their sport or works towards a higher level of performance.
Cedriek's road to performance
Cedriek's story begins at Sportcentrum Olympia, where Movenda is still based today. At fifteen he wanted to work out, but he could not afford a membership. At school, pupils got ten cents for every plastic bottle or carton they collected. During breaks Cedriek collected enough to pay for a day pass to Olympia himself.
His talent and drive in the gym caught the eye of Olympia's owners. They offered him a student job in the gym, where he gained five years of experience. What started as the simple ambition to get as big and broad as possible grew into a lasting interest in training, coaching and physical performance.
At Olympia, Cedriek and Andres got to know each other. Andres brought his knowledge of the human body and physiotherapy, Cedriek knew the gym floor and the practice of training. When Cedriek came to Andres for treatment of a knee injury, their contact grew into a close friendship and a professional partnership.
Cedriek then started at Movenda as a personal trainer. As the only trainer in a team of physiotherapists, he came into daily contact with a different view on the body and movement. Sharing knowledge with his colleagues deepened his understanding of anatomy, injury prevention, active rehabilitation and load capacity. In turn, thanks to Cedriek, training and physical development took an ever clearer place within Movenda.
The next step: performance
In 2022 Cedriek moved to Antwerp to deepen his experience in coaching elite athletes. A year later he came back with new experience, a clear vision on performance training and the question of whether they could build something together. Andres and Cedriek share the same ambition: to better guide the step from physiotherapy to performance. The Olympia location did not have enough room to fully work out that plan. So in 2023 the Movenda Performance Centre opened in Kuringen. Andres and Cedriek build the centre together, each from their own expertise and to the same quality standard that applies across Sportpraktijk Movenda.
Since it opened, the Performance Centre has helped speed up the growth of Sportpraktijk Movenda. The team grew from nine to eighteen colleagues and gained new talent and expertise. The knowledge and experience at MPC help us keep refining how we coach athletes, our performance coaching and our data-driven follow-up. The Performance Centre is inseparable from Movenda and broadens what we can offer as a team.
At Sportcentrum Olympia in Hasselt the focus is on general physiotherapy, active rehabilitation and personal training. At the Performance Centre in Kuringen, sport-specific rehabilitation, performance coaching, testing, data analysis and group training are more to the fore. Each location has its own character and expertise. Together they form one Sportpraktijk Movenda, carried by the same team and the same vision on movement.
Together we move.
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