Kristen Douhan, PT, DPT, ATC, CSCS  |  Owner

Kristen, whose father worked at a variety of locations for the National Park Service, has had the opportunity to see much of the United States. She spent many years in the Midwest, growing up primarily in Iowa and Indiana.  She and her family moved to Colorado where she attended Colorado State University, receiving an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science/Sports Medicine. She remained with the athletic department at CSU as a Graduate Assistant/Athletic Trainer as she earned her Master’s Degree in Education with emphasis in Human Resource Development. While at Colorado State, she was the first woman to travel as an athletic trainer with the Football Program. She was also the Head Athletic Trainer for Women’s Basketball. After graduating, she served as the Medical Director for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to earning her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy from Regis University, Kristen worked for over 10 years as an athletic trainer in both professional sports and clinical settings.  She has extensive experience treating athletes from hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball and football, which helps her treat individuals of all ages and physical abilities.  For several years she served as the Head Athletic Trainer for the USA Rugby Men’s 15’s and 7’s National Teams during which time she traveled nationally and internationally, including the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, providing for the players’ healthcare needs and treating injuries. She was more recently a member of the medical staff for USA Rugby as the Head of Medical for the Men’s 15’s National Team and served as the physical therapist for the team in the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Other professional team experience includes serving as the Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer Team where she assessed injuries, provided treatments and created functional rehabilitation programs that returned players back to their previous high-level professional level of play.

She started KDP Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, which she grew to become Paragon Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, where she continues to build her passion for assisting individuals with detailed, intentional, and thoughtful care.

Motivated by her experiences as a gymnast for 10 years, Kristen has learned as much as she possibly could about human movement and how to help the human body perform optimally, while caring for the whole person. Through her years of observation, training, education and experience, she developed a keen interest in neuroscience, orthopedics and sports medicine as these disciplines relate to treatment of the spine and extremities, including hip, knee, shoulder and ankle, and in post-concussion management. Throughout her career, she has grown her knowledge in returning individuals to prior levels of function following ACL reconstruction, as well as post-operative and non-operative hip conditions. She recognizes the importance of manual therapy in her treatment plans, such as joint manipulation and is certified in lower extremity Active Release Technique (ART) as well as trigger point dry needling (TDN). She continues to enhance her abilities by completing course work in Connect Therapy, an assessment method that focuses on the whole person, both body and mind with the goal of returning the patient to the highest level of activity possible.  This has been her mantra since she began her career.