Get to Know Us
What Inspires Us
After years of practicing physical therapy in a traditional method, we felt we had so much more to give. We often felt limited by a broken healthcare system. We wanted to set a new, high standard by providing holistic care that empowers client's to solve their problems and importantly enables them to become more resilient and regenerative and create sustainable, long-term wellness.
Our Team
Hey! I'm Sumedh, a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Certified Myofascial Trigger Point Therapist/ Dry Needling and Functional Patterns Human Foundations Practitioner.
As a physical therapist, I’ve often felt frustrated at the inefficiencies of the healthcare system in its ability to help people truly solve their problems. Look around us, we are facing a surge in chronic diseases, chronic pain, obesity, depression, and cancer. Many individuals unknowingly coast through life, oblivious to their declining trajectory and ignorant of the potential for improvement. In most cases they simply lack the knowledge and tools to make a change. Additionally, the healthcare system often compounds confusion and sickness, resulting in plenty of labels, diagnoses, and a dependency on pharmaceuticals and other treatments that don't address the root cause. Thats why I founded Wellness Path LLC along with my wife Tyan. To improve the health and wellness of people by empowering them with knowledge and tools to navigate their problems and create wellness for themselves through their own actions and triggering their body’s regenerative capacity.
Why do I care so much? Here is my story:
I grew up playing and often excelling at many sports. In Zambia, where I grew up, I was a part of my school's U19 teams that won national championships in soccer and volleyball. Growing up being intensively involved in sports instilled within me a drive to constantly improve and be the best version of myself.
At the age of 18, I left my parents and home in Zambia, to attend college in the US. My interest and passion for sports and being active led to choosing to major in Kinesiology with the aim of pursing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
While in grad school, pursuing my Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree at the University of Pittsburgh, I encountered Functional Patterns (FP) through a former FP Minnesota client who was a close friend of mine. While I was very open to FP and fascinated by what I was seeing on social media, I was swamped with school work and didn't get too into it. During DPT school, I engaged in heavy strength training 3 times a week using conventional methods and it initially seemed to be going well but gradually led to problems.
Early in my final year in DPT school, I had a bout of quadriceps tendonitis which made playing soccer uncomfortable. This was the first time in my life that a 'chronic' condition affected my participation in soccer despite playing competitively for over 15 years. Shortly after that I also developed a numb sensation in the bottom of my left foot and also had a few bouts of significant back pain. I was applying techniques I learned in PT school and continuing to strength train but I couldn't find any lasting relief from the numbness in the bottom of my foot. At the same time, my clinical experiences were helping me realize that the current healthcare model and physical therapy model similarly often failed to deliver long term relief to chronic issues.
That's when I took the plunge with the 10 week online course. Within the first 4 weeks of MFR, the numbness that was in the bottom of my left foot for about 6-8 months had completely disappeared. Through FP, I realized how my previous strength training using conventional methods had contributed to some of the issues I was dealing with. I gradually continued the FP journey by working on the Functional Training System (FTS). I tried to incorporate the FP framework in my physical therapy work as much as possible. However this was more challenging than I expected because I found the model posed various barriers.
The first barrier I encountered was that there's no incentive to prioritize long-term and lasting improvements. Did you know, insurance physical therapy reimbursements are based on time spent with the client rather than outcome based? Think about that for a moment! This meant that mediocrity was not only acceptable, but was the norm in most cases. I've seen clinics where patients are seen for 2-3 months, doing some basic exercises that clearly aren't working, collect payments despite producing no outcomes and eventually discharging a patient that's reached a plateau. Fast forward a few months, the same patient comes back, with a new problem or an acute worsening of an existing one and the cycle repeats itself. As someone who is driven to constantly learn and improve, the whole healthcare and conventional physical therapy model felt stagnant to me. This is why, despite getting good results with my clients, I felt frustrated operating in an environment where self improvement was not the norm and people were okay with constantly repeating these inefficient cycles of care.
Also, insurance restrictions frustrated me. It's insane that insurance companies don't understand that to "cure back pain" we may have to assess and treat other "body parts". This "isolated" approach is exactly why so many people fail to deal with chronic conditions. My passion to deal with the root cause and find lasting solutions for my clients led me to studying various other concepts. As I studied quantum biology, anthropology, bioenergetics and other areas, I found that most fellow healthcare professionals my clients had come into contact with before me had little to no understanding of the big picture of how various systems connect to contribute to health and well being.
This wore down on me mentally and by my 3rd full year working as a physical therapist in a conventional outpatient clinic, I was dealing with mental anguish and questioning my entire career and life. I knew I would need to operate differently to the mainstream physical therapy system. By my 5th year as a practicing clinician this led to me founding Wellness Path LLC along with my wife Tyan.
Tyan Kan
MS, PT, DPT, CMTPT/DN
Founder
Tyan is a highly proficient practitioner committed to guiding individuals on their holistic wellness journey. With an extensive background spanning over five years in outpatient physical therapy as a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Tyan adeptly addresses diverse conditions with a blend of clinical expertise and compassionate care.
Certified in dry needling, Tyan employs this specialized technique to alleviate chronic pain and soft tissue injuries, fostering healing and relief for her clients. Additionally, her dedication to continuous advancement in her field led her to explore Functional Patterns, a revolutionary approach to movement and rehabilitation.
Under the guidance of her husband, Sumedh Shivkumar, who holds an HF certification, Tyan has been practicing Functional Patterns for approximately 3 years, witnessing its remarkable impact on the health industry and her own health. Recognizing the transformative potential of this method, Tyan integrates its principles into her practice at Wellness Path.
At Wellness Path, Tyan offers a comprehensive range of services including functional assessments, movement and wellness coaching, physical therapy, and dry needling, all tailored to optimize her clients' health and function.
Sumedh Shivkumar
PT, DPT, CMTPT/DN
Founder
Our Methodology
Our training approach uses the Functional Patterns methodology, developed by Naudi Aguilar, which trains humans in relation to their biological characteristics. Throughout human evolution the main movements used for movement and survival have been: standing, walking, running and throwing. This bipedal movement and structure is unique to humans and Functional Patterns has created a functional training system suitable for people of various ages and physical conditions. Because these "First 4" movements are involved in other movements of daily life, and sport, training through this system will transfer to every other movement you do. Therefore, whether you are looking to decrease pain, stay fit or improve athletic performance, this methodology can help you! Check out our Free Resources tab for a video on the methodology.
