How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
My husband and I have two sweet children at the time of this interview – our daughter is 3.5 years old and our son is 1 year old. We adore them!
How long have you lived in Columbus and what made you decide to live here?
I moved to Columbus in 2010 to attend The Ohio State University for my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science Education. I then obtained my Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Ohio State. Following that, I stayed on to work for Ohio State Sports Medicine! Notice a theme here? Ohio State played an integral role in bringing me to Columbus and keeping me here. My husband also came to Columbus for the same reason (different degrees!) and we connected while I was in graduate school. We married in 2017 and have loved exploring all the different areas of the city, including its suburbs which each carry their own charm!
What is your favorite family activity?
We love to be outside in nature and move our bodies! Thus, I’d say our favorite activity is going on little hikes as a family. At this point I still put my son in a baby carrier to wear him for our hikes. Our daughter walks most of the way, or rides on my husband’s shoulders. Afterwards, we love grabbing a local craft beer and food at one of the many breweries around town. We love the extra space for kids to move around that breweries offer versus a restaurant. Plus, we can be in our casual hiking gear and feel perfectly suited for the space!
Our favorite hikes with littles: Indian Run Falls in Dublin, Highbanks Metro Park Overlook Trail
Our favorite breweries for families: Nocterra, Olentangy River Brewing Company
What do you love about living in Columbus?
The restaurant scene! Trying out new places and doing a progressive dinner is one of our favorite date nights. For instance, grabbing happy hour drinks at Third and Hollywood, an app and glass of wine at Vino Vino, then Z Cucina for the main course. Home by 10 p.m. is our jam for date nights these days! Fun fact: our first date was at Z Cucina in Grandview!
I also love all the family-friendly activities that happen around Columbus each season of the year. Pumpkin + Apple Picking in the Autumn, Zoo lights in the Winter, Strawberry picking in the Spring and Splash Pads in the Summer.
Tell us about your practice and why you decided to open your own private practice.
In August of 2022, I left my position with Ohio State Sports Medicine to open my own private practice. I provide Physical Therapy and Holistic Wellness services out of my space inside of Seven Studios on Grandview Avenue. I desired to reach clients earlier in their health care journey, thus now provide group yoga classes and workshops in addition to 1:1 client care.
My primary clientele are active women who want to optimize their full-body health through preconception, prenatal and postpartum. I firmly believe every woman should see a physical therapist with specialized training in the prenatal/postpartum realm when moving through this life-changing time, whether they are experiencing pain or not. There is so much we can do from a preventative stand-point to optimally support mother and baby. It should also be noted that once postpartum, always postpartum! It is never too late to get the care you deserve. I decided to open my own practice to more optimally support women during this time in their life through a more holistic, comprehensive lens.
With a background in Sports Medicine, I also specialize in treating all adults and adolescents for orthopedic concerns such as knee pain, hip pain, neck pain, back pain, ankle pain – any and all joints, acute or overuse injuries! In my private practice, I assist these clients through a more holistic lens, discussing nutrition, sleep, stress management and more to help my clients thrive beyond simply the physical components of their concerns.
Furthermore, I provide virtual 1:1 Holistic Health Consults for those not in Columbus or for whom in-person care does not work.
How did you get into physical therapy?
Even from a young age, I always knew I wanted to help people feel their best. I was fascinated with the human body and seeing how you can feel better by simply changing the way you move, rest or nourish your body. After job-shadowing a number of healthcare providers, I resonated most with the way physical therapists help patients heal through movement. I also love how we spend more time with our patients per appointment than any other medical provider I have come across.
What do you love about your job?
Empowering others to heal themselves through movement. Not solely inside of my clinic, but by teaching them the tools they can use at home to heal themselves long-term. My goal is to educate my patients on how to address painful flare-ups and how to ultimately avoid such flare-ups in the first place. I love seeing patients heal, to no longer be in pain, and to have an understanding of how to move their body to avoid pain or injury in the future!
Who is your typical client and what do they most often come to see you for?
My typical client is an active woman aged 25-45 who is seeking to optimally support her body through the preconception, pregnancy and postpartum timelines. She may have a specific orthopedic or pelvic floor concern, such as back or hip pain. Or, she may be seeking preventative care to quickly address or prevent such painful occurrences in the first place.
We work together at a frequency that is specific to each patient: once a week if in acute discomfort/pain, every other week to once a month when more preventative in nature. Postpartum, I provide in-home visits during the fourth trimester. There is so much we can do to support our body’s healing prior to the 6 week clearance from a Midwife or OBGYN! I optimally see clients at 2 weeks postpartum, during which time I educate and provide helpful home program recommendations. Each patient is unique in the goals of what activities they would like to return to, thus frequency of visits is again unique to the individual. We work together to reach my client’s postpartum goals, whether that’s running a marathon or lifting their kiddo up in the air for play time!
How do you juggle work and mommyhood?
It’s allll about integration! We have child-care on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week when my daughter has preschool and our son goes to an in-home daycare provider. This allows me the availability to open my schedule for 1:1 appointments with clients and complete administrative work.
Part of opening my own private practice was the desire to be home with my children more. I love having Fridays and Mondays off, at home with them. Work-wise, I’ll engage on Social Media these days. I record video snippets throughout our day and post either during naptime or when the children have gone to bed. It is important to me to be fully present as a mom during my days home with them. Running errands, building magna-tiles, playing kitchen, exploring new parks together… These are all reasons WHY I wanted the flexibility of owning my own private practice. Thus, it’s important to me to protect these boundaries while also continually thinking of ways to grow and maintain my business. It’s definitely a juggling act that sometimes I do better than others, but I’m learning and growing and figuring it out!
What is the best piece of advice you have received from another mom?
It’s all hard. Whether you’re a full time working mom or a stay at home mom. An entrepreneur or a part-time contractor. We all have struggles, they just may look different. For this reason I seek not to compare myself to others, but to do what serves my family and I best. What is best for us may seem totally crazy to someone else, and that’s okay! Chances are what works for them wouldn’t work for us – and that’s the beauty of parenthood. We each get to make the rules for our own family – and find JOY in that!
To find out more about Dr. Kayla and her practice, visit her website here. And, watch for more from her as she joins us as a content contributer in the coming year here at Columbus Moms Network!
