Brent Yamashita PT, MPT, FAAOMPT
Brent Yamashita, clinic founder and owner, opened MSPT in May 2022. A seasoned physical therapist, Brent is thrilled to have a space where he can provide exceptional patient care, communicate with other healthcare providers, and support professional growth for himself and his team. With over 25 years of experience, Brent is best known for helping those with complex and/or chronic health issues.
Graduating from Fresno State’s Physical Therapy Program in 1997, his early career included working with stroke, brain injured, and other neurologically impaired patients. Wanting to pursue excellence in patient care, he was drawn to many methods that taught PT through hands on care, or Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (OMPT). While balancing the fulness of marriage, church life, raising a young family, and playing stick sports (from the California in-line hockey scene to the Scandinavian influenced sport, innebandy), he also devoted himself to manual therapy training. This culminated in an OMPT certification with Distinction, completed in 2009. He would later earn the highest accolade in manual therapy by becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists in 2011.
His professional life passion has been to incorporate the many paradigms he has learned to best help patients that have not fully benefited from traditional PT approaches. These paradigms include, but are not limited to, The Integrated Systems Model (Canada), The Barral Institute (France/United States), The Institute of Physical Art (United States), NAIOMT (US/Canada), The Ola Grimsby Institute (Norway), and Neuro/Pain Science (Australia).
In addition to learning and patient care, Brent is passionate about helping others in his field. He was a primary instructor for a continuing education paradigm for nearly a decade. He introduced and advanced Manual Therapy integration in various cities in Japan over an 8 year span. He has directly mentored and trained over 30 physical therapists and more students than he can count. He is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, Orthopaedics Section, The Colorado Physical Therapy Chapter, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists.
Brent and his family enjoy backpacking, Nordic skiing, travel, hockey, art, ballet, and simply spending time together. He has run marathons, plays hockey, the guitar, and may occasionally ollie on a skateboard or break forth in spontaneous breakdance.
Research Contributions:
Physical Therapy Management of Adhesive Capsulitis (Frozen Shoulder) in a Patient with Uncontrolled Hypothyroidism: A Case Report (Co-authored)
DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) and PE (Pulmonary Embolus) in a Patient Seeking Care for Calf and Rib Cage Pain in a Direct Access Environment. The Significance of the Subjective Examination: A Case Report (Accepted Poster Presentation)
Clinical Effectiveness of Functional Manual Therapy Intervention for a Patient with Post Operative Epidural Scar Affecting the L3 Nerve Root: A Case Study. (Presenter at IFOMPT)
Experimental Study: The Effects of Partial Body-Weight Support in Post Stroke Patients (Graduate Research)
Karen Church PT, CFMT, BSCPT, BPHE
Karen Church integrates Manual Therapy and Functional Yoga and brings thirty years experience as a private practice owner in Glenwood Springs, CO.
She is the author of Therapeutic Yoga and teaches a workshop series at Out Here Yoga. She has presented extensively with nationally acclaimed yoga instructor Desirée Rumbaugh and they are offering a Wisdom Warriors training in November 2022 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is an avid mountain biker, telemark skier and since moving to Steamboat has become a passionate skate skier.
Karen certified in Functional Manual Therapy™ in 2013 and has studied extensively with the Barral Institute and Diane Lee, Integrated Systems Model. She enjoys practicing with multiple paradigms and collaborating with the Steamboat wellness community.
Karen studied with numerous senior Iyengar yoga teachers beginning in 1993 and became an Affiliated Anusara Instructor in 2004 when she began to study with Desirée Rumbaugh. She is passionate about Ayurveda and Visceral Manipulation, and is an avid student of Dr. Robert Svoboda and Gail Wetzler, DPT.
Karen Church graduated from the University of Toronto in 1989 with a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy. She also holds a B.A. in Physical and Health Education with a minor in Sport Psychology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She studied Human Movement at Carnegie University in Leeds, England in 1985.
Sarah Krakoff LPTA, BSCED
Specializing in Pelvic Health
Sarah is a Colorado state board Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant. She graduated with honors from
Concorde College in Denver, CO. She is a member of the Colorado APTA chapter as well as the APTA
Pelvic Health chapter. She is thrilled to get to work alongside and collaborate with such talented
therapists at MSPT.
Sarah enjoys working with those who just want to get back to their activities of daily living (ADLs)
without hurting, to those rehabbing to return to elite level sport.
Sarah has completed both Level 1, Level 2A and Yoga For Pelvic Pain courses through renowned Herman
& Wallace Rehabilitation Institute, manual Visceral Manipulation courses through The Barral Institute, a
multitude of courses in Functional Manual Therapy(™) and has done many hours of self study in the
fascial network, running and gait mechanics, yoga and meditation, women’s health, exercise and
longevity. She believes having education from various schools of thought to address all the body’s
systems helps her better serve others as it has helped herself.
Treatment sessions can look like:
● Orthopedic manual focused therapy of various bodily systems (fascial, myofascial, visceral,
lymphatic, neuromuscular, craniosacral)
● Postural training for improved function with ADLs and hobbies
● Functional training for pelvic floor related sx (incontinence, pregnancy and postpartum, pelvic
pain, etc)
● Gait training
● Exercise specificity for current ongoing issues
● Rehab from injury or surgery
● And more
Pelvic health and women’s health:
Sarah grew curious about pelvic health therapy during school through various projects she completed,
researching, podcasts and eventually further continuing education coursework. She came to realize how
underserved and underrepresented women are and the lack of education that we receive on our bodies.
This fueled her passion to continue to learn to better serve patients with pelvic floor related conditions
with the goal to provide informative education to patients along the way. Some examples of pelvic
health conditions may include but are not limited to: incontinence, bowel and bladder issues including
urgency and constipation, painful intercourse, sexual dysfunction, trauma, pelvic pain, prolapse, back
pain, respiratory issues, diastasis, birth trauma.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys all of what Steamboat has to offer! Her favorite hobbies are trail running,
yoga, hiking, camping, snowshoeing, reading, learning, and spending time with her friends and family.
This past summer, Sarah completed her first 50K and 50 mile trail runs and can’t wait to continue to
improve her training in this humbling, rewarding sport.