A good friend recommend this place since I spend a lot of time in the east Bay. I worked with both Karen and Berrin and recommend both. We address some issues I had postpartum. PT in general could be difficult to schedule if you have a specific preference, I recommend scheduling your appointments one month in advance. read more

Karen is awesome. She is a wonderful and very experienced physical therapist. She is efficient and doesn't prolong sessions. She does an excellent job of connecting the dots and figuring out the root cause of an issue and working from the bottom up. She knows her stuff. She is very experienced in the modalities she uses. I can't recommend her enough. She has a great deal of knowledge. She doesn't throw you a bunch of exercises - she targets what exercises would benefit you the most. I have gone through multiple PTs and am highly selective with whom I work with. Karen is the real deal. If I have future injuries, I know to see her because I know Ill get the best care I can get. Her staff are wonderful as well. Thank you Karen for being a part of my treatment team. read more

I have been seeing Berrin since I was cleared for physiotherapy after a PAO surgery for hip preservation. This surgery has a very long expected recovery (1 year) and can sometimes be complicated. Berrin helped me get back to walking and continues to support me with the aches and pains while I return to work. She is extremely kind and thoughtful, which was very important for me, as this is such a challenging process emotionally. Berrin listens to everything I say and analyzes the way my body moves. She offers exercises or manual release work that have helped me expand what I can do. I am someone who is very nervous about the body and pain, and Berrin is very gentle and makes me feel safe. I was going to an HMO physiotherapist at the same time, and the experience was completely different. Berrin noticed things the HMO physiotherapist didn't, and I was very grateful to be able to come to Bayo Vista to get a better chance in recovering with fewer complications! read more

I was referred to Bayo by my midwife on my third pregnancy due to challenges during my last birth. With an episiotomy with my first birth and 3 hours of pushing on my second birth, I knew I need to figure out a better solution for my third. I had broken/fractured my tail bone years ago while snowboarding and it had healed incorrectly. The tailbone was affecting how easily the head of the baby slid through while pushing. It was significantly curved making pushing each time nearly impossible for the baby to begin to exit. I started seeing Emily around 20 weeks pregnant every couple weeks until I gave birth. With a variety of treatments at the clinic and exercises she provided, I pushed my third baby out in less than 10 minutes. Truly a night and day experience from my last two births. I owe my seamless third birth to Emily and can't thank Bayo enough for setting me up for success. She is an amazing practitioner to work with and I am so grateful I was referred to her. Highly, highly recommend her expertise for all things pelvic floor. Thank you, Emily!! read more

Lindsay at Bayo Vista is incredible. I dealt with pretty severe pelvic and low back pain during pregnancy, and she helped me figure out what was going on and alleviate the pain as much as possible. I got a tremendous amount of value from our sessions and the exercises she recommended! She improved my round ligament pain, pelvic floor readiness, and leg / back / hip / glute tension. I already have my postpartum appointment set up, and can't wait. read more

I was referred to Bayo Vista to address what was likely a torn labrum in my hip. I saw Karen Hodges for a diagnostic and since then have been working mostly with Emily Kistner, first weekly and more recently every few weeks. My feedback here is mostly for Emily, since she's who I've been working with most often. Emily is wonderful! She takes the time to listen and understand when I share any details about my recovery/management process and I love that she never makes me feel rushed in our appointments. She also always makes sure to explain things in layman's terms and adjusts the exercises I should be doing at home based on progress or new information. I have also done a few pelvic floor exams with Emily and she's very communicative and ensures that I feel comfortable and safe the whole time. Overall, I've noticed an incredible improvement over the past two months of working with Emily and Karen--after just a month of working with them I was able to go on a hiking trip (armed with exercises to do) and experienced very minimal discomfort. Highly recommend this practice! read more

I was referred to Bayo Vista from a friend who had a great experience with Karen. I had Karen for my intake appointment she made me feel very comfortable with the pelvic exam. I have been working with Emily for all of my other appointments and she is WONDERFUL. She looks at your whole body and works on all parts holistically. I felt silly to point out my knee feeling stiff in one appointment as it wasn't the major problem spot. Emily looked into it and wow, did she make a difference! I felt like a new person. I had assumed that this knee would always feel that way after I had ACL reconstruction 7 years ago... but I was happily proven wrong! All appointments are 1 hour and you really get focused time with Emily or Karen. They are out of network with insurance, but I would still highly recommend them due to the quality of care you receive. Emily and Karen also have been very supportive of my bringing my baby with me. It was very comfortable to bring her and we took breaks as needed for nursing/holding. Thank you for being baby friendly, especially when a mama just needs some physical therapy love postpartum. :) Erika is also their billing and administrative ninja. She is so on top of sending out superbills for insurance the day of your appointment and booking appointments for you. I really appreciate that Bayo Vista uses text messages for booking appointments or their online system. I would highly recommended Bayo Vista! read more

I was referred to Bayo Vista to address what was likely a torn labrum in my hip. I saw Karen Hodges for a diagnostic but have mostly been working with Emily Kistner for about two months, so this feedback is mostly for her. Emily is wonderful! She's very kind, personable, and really takes the time to listen and understand any information I share or questions I ask, and to explain things in layman's terms. I also love that she never makes me feel rushed during our appointments, and that she changes up the exercises I do at home based on progress or new information. I've done a few pelvic floor exams with Emily and she makes sure I feel comfortable and safe throughout the process. Overall, I highly recommend Bayo Vista's practice--after just a month working with them, I was able to go on a big hiking trip (armed with exercises!) and experienced minimal discomfort. So grateful for them! read more

I LOVE Karen - so thankful she's now in my life. I've had shoulder/neck pain for years, been immobile in bed during the worst episodes. My first appointment with Karen and she figured out the most obvious issue that I never knew and no other PT ever pointed out. Who knew your chin can be held too high up? :-) She instructed me to tuck my chin back and wow I felt instant relief in both my neck and shoulders. I was astonished. Karen analyzes every muscle. She goes straight to the source of issues and anticipates others. Two sessions later she already knows my body better than me. read more

Grateful to Karen Hodges for resolving my postpartum pelvic floor issues through a combination of treatments and advice. FYI that in addition to her Oakland office, she also sees patients in her San Francisco office (located in Lower Haight). read more

I was referred to Karen by a midwife for back pain about 4 weeks after I delivered my babe. I couldn't bend down to lift her out of her bassinet and felt like I couldn't properly care for her because of the pain. Karen treated me twice with stretching and hands on work in her office and that's all it took. I got back to being able to care for my babe pain free. On top of having magic hands, she's also just a lovey person who I really enjoyed chatting to. read more

I had to travel to San Francisco shortly after having ACL/Meniscus surgery in Washington DC. I was concerned that this travel would interrupt my physical therapy progress and cause me regreasion, so I searched around San Francisco and found Karen. I booked an appointment, and was amazed. While my normal therapy was good (and being done at one of the top rehabilitative hospitals in DC), Karen was amazing. She answered questions that my therapists couldn't, and had an amazing knowledge of body mechanics. Rather than just going by the standard therapy protocol for where I was in my recovery, she did a full examination to find out what was affecting my individual recovery. Not only did she address those areas, she provided me with detailed exercises that I could do on my own to strengthen and loosen those areas to help speed up my recovery. Karen took the time to film me doing the exercises on my phone, while providing detailed instructions orally. I may have thought this to be a little silly at the time, but it really helped make sure I was doing the exercises correctly when I did them at home. I was so happy with the experience that I modified my trip plans to get in a second appointment with her. To date I think seeing Karen was the best thing I did to aid in my recovery and rehabilitation. I cannot recommend Karen enough, she was so knowledgeable and compassionate it was amazing. read more

Karen was amazing to work with. I started seeing her about 7 weeks postpartum and my only wish was that I started seeing her before labor! She really helped get me reconnected to my pelvic floor and running again post baby. Highly recommend to all new mamas! read more

Karen is absolutely the best. One in a million. I first went to see Karen about two and a half years ago, for help with pelvic floor pain. She helped me pre-conception as well as with issues during pregnancy and postnatal. I've seen her regularly for pelvic issues but also for a wide range of other issues ranging from pain associated with my work (repetitive strain from playing a musical instrument) and sports injuries. Her work is incredibly effective and efficient, and it's such a relief to know that when I'm in pain, Karen can help me get back on track, both via her manual work and also by teaching me exercises, releases, and stretches to do at home. Aside from her expertise and excellent work, Karen is all around a wonderful person- enthusiastic, kind, warm, present, and always happy to see her clients. It's clear she loves her work, and that's the type of professional I want to work with. read more

Karen is just amazing! She has treated me for several problems. I first saw her for relentless back spasms a few years ago. And more recently for a shoulder injury and severe sciatica. Her knowledge is incredible and she definitely does not take the one fits all approach, which I had experienced time and again in the past. She individualizes her treatment and really gets to the bottom of the problem. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for a top notch physical therapist. read more

Karen has treated me for a number of sports related injuries - once for an IT band issue following a marathon, and another time for shoulder pain as I was training for an open water swim. Karen has always been thorough in her examinations, and thoughtful in her treatments - she really takes the time to figure out what's going on, and is great at communicating what she finds and how to fix it. Karen educates while she treats, and has always left me with a number of exercises so I can continue to get stronger and heal in between visits. Karen has been an absolutely great partner for my physical health, and I highly recommend her. read more

I was in so much pain months after I gave birth to my daughter. A friend suggested I go see a great PT and get a Perineal massage/release. I found Karen (an amazing PT) and she made a huge difference! I noticed the pain subsiding immediately after my appointment, and I only needed two visits to be completely back to normal. Not only did she fix a problem that my gynecologist wasn't able to, but she gave me exercises and stretches to do when I got home and explained how the injury happened and what was going on with my body. Karen was helpful, thoughtful, and so informative. I'll definitely be going back to see her if/when I have any more children. I've already told all of my new mommy friends about her. read more

I have seen Karen for multiple things over the years - cranial sacral, and most recently in last few years prenatal and post partum with both of my pregnancies. I have experienced profound relief and helpful coaching to maintain what my body needs to stay healthy and strong. She is so dialed into the body and the way it works, it is so impressive! My most recent pregnancy I had very severe diastasis recti and extremely weak pelvic floor after delivery. Karen came to my house while my toddler napped, and held my fussy newborn while working on me. It was AMAZING! I don't think ever would have made the time to go to another physical therapist office to ensure my body recovered properly. The convenience of Karen coming to my house and her expertise was beyond anything I have ever experienced with any other medical professional. She is the BEST and I can't recommend her enough! read more

For about a year, intense calf pain kept me from being able to jog more than a mile at a time. I worked with two separate physical therapists for months without much success before trying Dr. Hodges. She offered quite different suggestions than the other doctors had, and within 2-3 weeks I was able to begin slowly adding on mileage to runs, something I hadn't been able to do for nearly a year. A few months afterward, I was able to (slowly) complete a half-ironman. I'm quite certain that if I had not had Dr. Hodges' help, I would still be capped at mile-long, pain-filled runs. I would recommend her to anyone. read more

I came to Karen with Diastasis recti after giving birth to my daughter. She showed me some exercises and helped me with my posture to get my recovery started. She is very knowledgeable and i trust her fully. all in all, she is the best. I wouldn't trust anyone else. read more