“Being a physical therapist gives me the ability to educate and empower my patients about how to be physically aware of their bodies, and in turn improve their overall quality of life. Seeing patients appreciate and utilize the knowledge you’ve shared is a special rewarding process. There is great personal reward and joy in knowing that I had a role in seeing a patient’s quality of life and function restored.”
Katia graduated from San Diego State University with her bachelors in kinesiology (B.S.). Following graduation, she worked as a physical therapy aide where she cemented her desire of becoming a physical therapist. In 2016 Katia was accepted to University of Southern California’s PT program where she graduated with her doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) with high honors.
During her time at USC, she had diverse clinical rotation experiences, including inpatient rehabilitation at Hoag Orthopedic Institute and various outpatient sports orthopedic clinics across Orange County. Katia’s passion lies in orthopedics treating conditions ranging from post-surgery, sport or work related injuries to injury prevention. She became a physical therapist to make a change in people’s day to day function and to help them return to activities they enjoy doing. Katia has always been fascinated with the human body and eager to learn just what our bodies are capable of achieving. She enjoys interacting with patients and getting to know them to better target treatment programs tailored to their specific goals and needs.
Katia is dedicated to always advancing her clinical skills; she is certified in IASTM (instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilizations) and has spent post-doctoral time learning more on the pathophysiology and mechanics of the shoulder. She has spent the past few years working closely with Pilates mat and equipment based treatment programs and is working on an advanced specialty certification to become a board certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS).
In Katia’s spare time she enjoys hiking, basketball, Olympic lifting, playing guitar, country music and is a huge fan of the Lakers, Angels and Chargers. Her two year old golden retriever named Maverick keeps her entertained and active.
