About Us

Kate Nugent

MPT, FNCP

Kate opened Physical Wellness Lab in 2020 with the intention to treat physical therapy patients holistically. In her years of treating patients with chronic issues, Kate realized that pain and movement dysfunction is a multi-modal issue stemming most obviously from mechanical issues, but also nutritional deficiencies and emotional load as well. Her approach to treatment encompasses this three pronged approach to help patients understand and connect with their bodies as a whole rather than independent systems in order to restore movement, gain more body awareness, and return to a full life.

Kate graduated from Northwestern University Medical School Program in Physical Therapy in 1998. Kate has worked in various outpatient orthopedic settings since graduating and has extensive training in manual techniques. She has additional certifications in Functional Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Craniosacral Therapies.  Kate served as the Clinical Coordinator for Northwestern Orthopedics as well as Adjunct Faculty at Northwestern Physical Therapy Program. 

Outside of treating patients Kate’s biggest passion is her family. She is the mother of 2 daughters and stepmom to 4 bonus kids. She enjoys weight lifting, interval running, golf, yoga, time outdoors, spending time with loved ones and consistently learning more about the body to bring that back to her practice. 

Cynthia Reeder

MPT

Cynthia has been working in the physical therapy field for over 20 years. Her experiences over this time have allowed her to grow within the sports and orthopedic field of physical therapy, specializing in manual therapy techniques. Her practice focuses on improving the efficiency of movement pathways to overcome symptoms, optimize function and heighten performance. She believes that the body does most of its healing on its own and strives to improve her clients’ connection to their own bodies to aid in the healing process and prevent future injuries.

Early in her career, Cynthia was exposed to both everyday acute and chronic conditions as well as high level performance injuries incurred by elite level professional athletes in the NFL, NBA, MLS, MLB, WTA and professional dance companies. As she grew professionally working in Los Angeles, Cynthia started her own practice in 2008 and eventually created a niche position in television performance productions as an on location physical therapist and consultant. She worked on America’s Best Dance Crew, Skating with the Stars and Dancing with the Stars. In 2015, Cynthia moved to the suburbs of Chicago where she continues her orthopedic practice both in clinic and on location for touring performances such as So You Think You Can Dance.

Cynthia likes to engage in her own movement therapy through dance studio classes, yoga and paddle tennis. She enjoys watching her own daughters progress their skills in soccer, basketball and dance. Cynthia is excited to join the Physical Wellness Lab Team to provide individualized care and grow a healthier community.

Shayne Welch

MPT, CHC

Shayne Welch graduated with a Masters in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 1999 with a focus in Manual Therapy. She has practiced at Northwestern Memorial Hospital NMFF Outpatient Clinic, Athletico Physical Therapy and most recently at Illinois Bone and Joint with a focus on Orthopedics and Metabolic Health. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Florida in Food Science and Human Nutrition and she currently holds her ACE Health Coach Certification. In addition to her career in the Allied Health Profession, she has coached in the Fitness industry at Orange Theory Fitness and instructing Spinning Fitness classes at Spynergy in Winnetka. 

Utilizing a holistic, evidence based approach, her goal is to implement a skilled approach to reduce pain and movement deficits and thus improve patients quality of movement and activity to enable patients to maintain an active lifestyle promoting longevity. 

Piotr Wojnowski

LMT

Peter graduated from the Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdansk, Poland in 2004 and The European Massage Therapy School in Skokie, Illinois in 2007. He is also former professional soccer player - Polish National Soccer Team Under 17, 18 AND 19. 

Peter’s extensive massage therapy experience (over 25,000 hours of massages) and experience as a former professional soccer player has allowed him to help patients recover from various soft tissue muscle injuries, such as frozen shoulder, back pain, tennis elbow and all kinds of body pains. Every single massage he delivers is customized to achieve the best results. He brings a wealth of experience in various massage techniques including deep tissue, sports, trigger point therapy, medical and clinical massage.

Elyse Hochberg

MSPT, MLD-C

Elyse graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2000 with a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy.  The majority of her career has been spent working at Athletico and other outpatient clinics, treating a variety of patients including pre and post-surgical orthopedics, sports injuries, body mechanics especially with runners, and workman’s comp with the patients being all ages. Elyse also is certified in the very specialized technique of Manual Lymphatic Drainage which is used to treat swelling and chronic pain.  She is so excited to join the team at Physical Wellness Lab and share her skills and knowledge with patients who are seeking relief from pain, swelling and movement impairment issues. 

When Elyse isn’t practicing physical therapy, she is spending time with her husband, 3 daughters and 2 dogs.  She enjoys weight training, walking her dogs, cooking , playing pickleball and running.  Elyse is always working on ways on how to better herself and become the best version of herself as a wife, mom, and therapist that she can!