About Us

We are experienced physical therapists providing treatments to develop, maintain, and restore your maximum movement and function.

Click on the names below to learn more:
Elizabeth Stroot | Angie Kowalski | Margaux Craig | Dana Guynes | Kelly Biagini | Anne Viser | Jolene Walsh | Kateleen Hall

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Elizabeth Stroot

Elizabeth is the owner and founder of Core Wellness & Physical Therapy. She is experienced in treating a vast range of orthopedic conditions, specializing in neck and back pain, headaches, and pre/post-natal conditions. Involved in health and fitness since 1999, Elizabeth’s ultimate goal is to provide patients with the highest quality of individualized rehabilitation. Her approach to therapy offers patients an integrative treatment approach, providing each patient with the focused attention they need to discover their body’s true potential.

Utilizing a predominantly manual approach to rehabilitation, Elizabeth integrates a combination of hands on techniques, functional exercise, Pilates, nutrition, and lifestyle modification, to support long term success.

Formal Training:

Elizabeth holds a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from University of St. Augustine, and a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from The University of Vermont. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Nutrition and Sociology.

Physical Therapy and Women’s Health:

Trained through the Upledger Institute, Elizabeth incorporates CranioSacral Therapy into her manual therapy practice, Orthopedic Manual Therapy techniques via Stanley Paris, and Institute of Physical Art. She has extensive training in visceral manipulation, myofascial release, Grayston-style assisted soft tissue mobilization, muscle energy technique, strain counter-strain, Kinesiotaping, cupping, fascial and trigger point release. Elizabeth is a pelvic floor therapist, utilizing specialized gynecological techniques in patients with endometriosis, a history of abdominal surgeries, pre-and postnatal concerns, and fertility issues.

Pilates:

Elizabeth integrated apparatus-based Pilates into the practice in 2009. Trained by Polestar Pilates, she implements a contemporary approach to Joseph Pilates’ foundational teachings, ensuring exercises are modified to meet the needs of every patient. In her experience, an individualized Pilates program provides the perfect balance of strength, stability, flexibility and range of motion, combined to leave patients feeling long and strong.

Nutrition:

Elizabeth’s extensive nutrition background supports her belief in optimizing bioavailable nutrients to maximize our body’s potential to heal. By obtaining an in-depth nutritional history, Elizabeth helps her patients set attainable goals and formulate an integrative approach to reaching them. Encouraging patients to consciously choose the best “dietary fuel” helps keep them focused on their greatest investment—their health.
Elizabeth is also a Whole30 Nutrition Partner and a Primal Blueprint Certified expert.

Personal:

Elizabeth’s own lifestyle promotes wellness. She maintains a regular exercise schedule, testifying to her personal fitness belief: cross-training is key. Her personal favorites are weight training, and HIIT cardiovascular training. She regularly supports her local farmer’s market in Arlington, promoting organic and local farming while maximizing nutritional content of the food and with minimal environmental impact. She is committed to getting eight hours of sleep each night, and drinking a gallon of water daily. She believes every effort makes a difference.

Elizabeth, her husband, and two daughters enjoy exploring all that the DC Metro Area has to offer. Favorites include the National Gallery of Art, walking the grounds at Mount Vernon, eating oysters at Old Ebbit Grill, and spontaneous drives towards the Shenandoah valley.

Contact Elizabeth directly at [email protected].

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Angie Kowalski

Angie earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She also holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Audiology and Hearing Science with a minor in psychology from Indiana University.

Since graduating, Angie has completed over 300 hours of continuing education in furthering her manual skills through Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, The Institute of Physical Art, Maitland Australian Manual Therapy, and Integrative Manual Therapy Solutions. Utilizing these techniques built on her foundation of Shirley Sahrmann’s Movement Impairment Syndromes, she assesses and diagnoses one’s mechanical and neuromuscular deficits contributing to their pain and affected activity tolerance. Her treatment focuses on addressing these findings and returning the person to a state of efficient mobility and stabilization. Angie has treated a variety of acute, chronic, and post-surgical orthopedic impairments as well as neurological disorders in outpatient settings. She also has experience in treating active and retired military with complex medical histories at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Angie is originally from Indiana and has been in the DC area since 2008. She currently lives in DelRay with her husband and calico cat. She enjoys playing tennis and has begun taking up golf lessons from her husband, who is a golf pro, as she finds the sport very intriguing from a therapy perspective. Despite her East Coast location, she still loves to cheer on her Indianapolis Colts and (out of duty) her husband’s Cincinnati Reds!

Contact Angie directly at [email protected].

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Margaux Craig

Margaux holds her Masters of Physical Therapy degree from Marymount University and her Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Sports Science from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been a physical therapist for over 11 years and has been a participant and instructor in Pilates for over 9 years. She received her Pilates certification through Balanced Body University.
Along with Pilates, Margaux has interests in restoring movement dysfunction for a variety of orthopedic and sports related injuries. Her treatments include using muscle energy techniques (MET), therapeutic taping, trigger point dry needling, visceral mobilization and cranialsacral therapy along with many other manual practices. She is able to use and combine multiple treatment methods to effectively apply individualized therapy for each patient.
In addition to orthopedic impairments, Margaux also treats Women’s Health conditions including pelvic floor pain, incontinence, and constipation.

Contact Margaux directly at [email protected]ewellness.net.

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Dana Guynes

Dana obtained her Master of Science with a major in Physical Therapy through Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000. She later received her doctorate through Marymount University in 2007. She has always had a special interest in treating spine patients and became a credentialed McKenzie therapist (Cert. MDT) (www.mckenziemdt.org) in 2004. She continued to advance her manual skills through various techniques and became a Certified Orthopedic Manual Therapist (COMT) through Maitland-Australian Physiotherapy Seminars (http://www.ozpt.com/index.php). Dana has also worked part-time as an ergonomist, helping improve work space ergonomics for various companies. She has a special interest in women and men’s health, and treats various conditions for pelvic pain, incontinence, and constipation. She has assisted in training others in pelvic floor health through Herman and Wallace continuing education courses, a nationally respected pelvic rehabilitation Institute. Dana also has a special interest in running and enjoys using video analysis as an element of evaluation for runners. She uses many techniques in her treatment, including trigger point dry needling (http://www.kinetacore.com/), muscle energy technique, visceral mobilization, strain counterstrain, joint mobilization, and the Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), among others. She has always loved sports and tries to continue participating in these while balancing work and motherhood.

Contact Dana directly at [email protected]

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Kelly Biagini

Kelly holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from Marymount University in Arlington. Her bachelor’s degree is in Exercise and Sports Science from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where she also minored in Behavioral Psychology and Coaching.

Her clinical background is in orthopedics, with an emphasis on manual interventions including Maitland-Australian manual therapy, strain-counterstrain, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques. Kelly is an advocate of evidence-based practice and is passionate about incorporating the latest research into her treatments.

Kelly has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Marymount where she moderated student discussions on patient cases and current research.

Kelly lives in Alexandria with her husband, son, daughter, and dog. She is a lifelong runner and is always training for her next race, whether it’s running in Old Town or cross-training at the local parks with her kids in tow.

Contact Kelly directly at [email protected]

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Anne Viser

An experienced physical therapist, athletic trainer and Board Certified Orthopaedic Specialist, Anne has a wealth of expertise to share. She has worked with all age groups and a breadth of conditions ranging from acute sports injuries and overuse syndromes to chronic neuromusculoskeletal disorders and postoperative rehabilitation. Anne is particularly interested in women’s health. She views physical therapy as a valuable resource for women to achieve strength and mobility goals throughout their lives.

Anne earned her bachelor’s degree in Exercise & Sports Science with an emphasis in athletic training from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston and is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Specialist (OCS) formally recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association.

Anne is a certified Pilates Mat Instructor through the Australian Physiotherapy & Pilates Institute. She has found Pilates to be a powerful tool in helping clients reach their rehabilitative or fitness goals.

Anne enjoys being outdoors, whether exploring new playgrounds with her twins, hiking in the Shenandoah mountains, or riding her bike with her husband along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Please contact Anne directly at [email protected]

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Jolene Walsh

Jolene Walsh received a Masters Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2002. Prior to that, she completed a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science, with a concentration in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation. Since graduation, Jolene has developed a wide range of skills for the treatment of many musculoskeletal and neurological diagnoses. With over 140 hours of training in manual medicine techniques through the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine Continuing Medical Education program, Jolene specializes in manual therapy techniques of the spine and extremities. Combining manual skills with specific exercise techniques allows for a comprehensive approach that is individual to each patient. Her philosophy is to treat the body as a whole, not as one injured part. Jolene has completed several courses through Postural Restoration Institute, soft tissue mobilization courses through the Institute of Physical Art and recently visceral mobilization with the Barral Institute. Jolene also offers custom orthotics casting and video running analysis.

Jolene serves as adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Program in Physical Therapy. She lives in Alexandria with her husband and two children and enjoys playing soccer in the local Alexandria co-ed league.

Please contact Jolene directly at [email protected]

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Kateleen Hall

Kateleen is a physical therapist with a special interest in orthopedics as well as the geriatric population. She enjoys helping people return to activities following an injury. She also believes that movement is medicine and will try to encourage lifestyle changes to improve overall well-being. It is her goal to make therapy fun and relevant for her patients. In her free time, Kateleen enjoys teaching yoga, playing with her goldendoodle Bogi, spending time with her family, and travelling the world.

Please contact Kateleen directly at [email protected]