About Me
Welcome! I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy and certified Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach residing in Santa Barbara, CA with my husband Jeff and two sons: 3 year old Caden, and infant Kai - born in early June!
I am an Outpatient Orthopedic Physical Therapist who has treated everything from low back and neck pain, post-surgical patients, and sports-related injuries, at Elite Performance and Rehabilitation Center for the past 4 years. I specialize in manual therapy and creating exercise routines to help my patients meet THEIR goals. I am a strong believer in individualization (each patient responds uniquely to treatment and there is no “one size fits all” model) and that the mind-body connection is very overlooked in our current health-care model. I also work with student athletes at Cate School, a private high school in Carpinteria, CA, helping to faciliate success in their athletic endeavors.
Sports have always been a huge part of my life (playing, watching, reading about them!) and during PT school at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, my husband introduced me to Crossfit. I love staying active and strong, which has ultimately lead me down this new path.
While pregnant with Caden, I was shocked to still hear a wide variety in exercise recommendations. My OBGYN said, “Crossfit? No problem - keep doing it!” Whereas my midwives said, “You were squatting with a barbell?! Are you crazy?!” I strongly believe that there is a happy medium between these two extremes, but that telling a pregnant woman (especially a pregnant athlete, who is used to “pushing through” discomfort with exercise), to “listen to her body” is just not enough. How are you supposed to know what to listen for? Especially when your body is changing rapidly and every day feels different? How do we protect ourselves and our baby - while setting ourselves up for LONG TERM success? And how do we go about returning to postpartum athleticism in a safe and effective manner?
My new passion has been shaped by these experiences, and I am comitted to combining my evolving knowledge of physical therapy and human movement patterns, with training considerations for the pregnant, postpartum, and Crossfit populations, to help YOU succeed in whatever your goals may be.
I'm happy to answer any questions or jump on a 15 minute call to get to know each other, and please check out my blog page for a more in-depth read on my own pregnancy and postpartum athleticism journey!
