Care that treats the cause, not the symptom
A multidisciplinary team of physical and occupational therapists — matched to what your body actually needs.
Orthopedic care for back, neck, and joint injuries — one-on-one.
ACL, rotator cuff, running injuries; back to what you love.
Structured recovery after joint or spinal surgery.
Headaches, dizziness, and fog; safe return to work & sport.
Hands-on scar tissue release after surgery or injury.
Hand & upper-extremity recovery; independence in daily life.
Skilled hands-on joint & soft-tissue work for mobility.
Gentle hands-on work for the abdomen and trunk after surgery, scarring, or chronic pain.
Little bodies need expert care too
Pediatric physical, occupational, speech, and feeding therapy — helping your child move, communicate, and thrive. Same one-on-one care, sized for kids.
You don't need an injury to belong here
Yoga and mat Pilates classes in the same calm, unhurried space as our clinical care. No diagnosis, no referral — just an hour for your body.
Is something holding you back?
You're not alone. These are some of the most common conditions we help Gallatin Valley patients move past.

We look deeper to find what's really holding you back
We don't chase symptoms. Your full session with your therapist — every visit — lets us treat the actual cause, so results last. Serving Bozeman since 2019.
Every visit is hands-on, direct care with your therapist — your whole session, not a fraction of it.
PTs and OTs covering orthopedics, strength and conditioning, headaches, and more — plus pediatric PT, OT, and speech therapy.
A deep evaluation of your movement, history, and goals — not just where it hurts today.
What to expect at Root
No mystery, no assembly line. Here's exactly how your care unfolds.
Your first visit is a full 60-minute dive into your movement, history, and goals — not just where it hurts. You leave with a plan and home exercises.
One-on-one, hands-on treatment aimed at the root cause — manual therapy, targeted exercise, and the advanced techniques your body actually needs.
Clear milestones so you always know where you stand, and a plan that adjusts as you progress.
Bozeman trusts Root
“I saw my primary care doctor for back and leg pain. She recommended I get physical therapy. I contacted Root Therapy and wellness. I was able to get an appointment in the next week. They did an evaluation and discussed a treatment plan. My providers were Kristi, PT, and Lindsey, PTA, they both were very respectful, explained every step and made sure I understood. Thanks to them I'm now pain free. I recommend them without reservation.”
“Kezia is amazing. I went in for TMJ issues including pain and my jaw locking up. It suprised me that she started working from my upper back to my neck then jaw area. But after that visit I had marked improvement and by the 4th Visit my jaw had stopped freezing. Not only my jaw problems but the underlying tension and anxiety were lessened as well. Kezia asked what my goals were and she more than delivered. I wish my insurance would pay for me to go weekly for the rest of my life.”
“I have been to many physical therapists for various injuries over my lifetime and this clinic is the absolute best. I feel like for the first time we are creating a plan to rehabilitate my injury but also figuring out how to avoid injuries in the future and create a strong body for my future. Tracey and Kristi both have shown me exercises I will do for life. I am so happy I chose Root.”
“We had an amazing experience with Karna. From the first phone call scheduling to the actual physical therapy session, everything exceeded our expectations. This is our third PT clinic we have tried in Bozeman for our 6 month old son and it, hands down, has been the best!!! We highly recommend.”
Common questions
Do I need a doctor's referral?
Montana allows direct access to physical therapy — no referral needed. Some insurance plans may require one for coverage. We're happy to help you check when you call.
What should I expect at my first appointment?
A 60-minute evaluation: health history, movement assessment, hands-on exam, and goal discussion. You'll leave with a treatment plan and home exercises. Wear comfortable clothes.
Does Root accept my insurance?
In-network with Medicare, Montana Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, Aetna, Cigna, Allegiance, and more — the full list is on our Insurance & Payment page. We're out-of-network with United Healthcare, but self-pay with a superbill works well there. Call (406) 219-5388 to verify your plan.
How much does physical therapy cost in Bozeman?
With insurance, you pay your plan's usual copay or coinsurance — we're in-network with most major Montana plans (full list on our Insurance & Payment page). Self-pay rates are $250 for an initial evaluation, $175 for a 60-minute follow-up, and $131.25 for a 45-minute follow-up, with a written Good Faith Estimate at scheduling and superbills for out-of-network reimbursement.
How long will I need therapy?
It varies with your condition and your goals — recent injuries often settle faster, while chronic or post-surgical recovery takes longer. At your evaluation your therapist gives you a realistic estimate and the milestones they're tracking, and you'll review it together as you go.
What makes Root different?
Full 1-on-1 sessions — no aides. A multidisciplinary team of PTs and OTs covering orthopedics, strength and conditioning, headaches, and more, plus pediatric PT, OT, and speech therapy through Root Pediatrics. We treat the root cause, not just symptoms, for faster and more lasting results.
What areas do you serve?
Our clinic is at 1283 N 14th Ave, Suite 101 in Bozeman, with on-site parking. Patients visit us from across the Gallatin Valley and beyond — including Belgrade, Manhattan, Four Corners, Three Forks, Big Sky, Livingston, and the Paradise and Shields Valleys.
Where are you located?
1283 N 14th Ave, Suite 101, Bozeman, MT 59715. Mon–Fri 8am–5pm. On-site parking available. Our fax number is (406) 578-1443.
Whatever brings you in, start here
A full 60-minute evaluation with a licensed therapist. No referral needed for most plans; most insurance accepted.
Book Your First VisitYoga and mat Pilates classes, open to everyone — no diagnosis, no referral, no paperwork.
About Our ClassesReady to get to the root of it?
Accepting new patients. Book online in about a minute, or call and we'll take care of the rest.
Bozeman, MT 59715
Proudly serving Bozeman, Belgrade, Manhattan, Four Corners, Three Forks, Big Sky & the greater Gallatin Valley
Phone: (406) 219-5388
Emma Gaenzle
OTD, OTR/L
Emma is an occupational therapist who works with clients across the lifespan, drawing on experience in outpatient pediatrics, acute care, and adult rehabilitation.
Specialties
Certifications
- National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) certified
Education
- Doctor of Occupational Therapy — Creighton University, 2026
Emma is licensed through the Montana Board of Occupational Therapy and certified by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. She earned her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Creighton University in 2026.
She has worked with people across the lifespan, in outpatient pediatrics, acute care, and adult rehabilitation. What draws her to occupational therapy is its reach — the way it can support someone at any stage of life by addressing the physical, emotional, sensory, and environmental factors that shape whether a person can take part in their own days. Her approach is holistic and client-centered, and she likes working alongside individuals and families to build routines that mean something and to make independence practical.
For her doctoral capstone, Emma developed a maternal health program supporting women through pregnancy and postpartum from an occupational therapy perspective. She hopes to bring that interest to Bozeman, supporting mothers through the physical, emotional, and lifestyle transitions that come with motherhood.
Outside of work, Emma is busy with everything Montana has to offer — skiing, hiking, being outdoors, live music, travel, and time with friends and family.
Hannah Haugen
PT, DPT
Hannah is a pediatric physical therapist, born and raised in Montana, who built her experience in Denver treating children with a wide range of diagnoses across clinic, home, and community settings.
Specialties
Certifications
- Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) — Registered Practitioner, Levels A and B
- Strider Bike Early Learning and Inclusive Learning Certified Instructor
Education
- Doctor of Physical Therapy — Northwestern University, 2019
- B.S. Exercise Science, Health and Human Performance — Montana State University, 2015
Born and raised in Montana, Hannah gained her pediatric experience in Denver, Colorado, working with children across a variety of diagnoses and settings before coming home. She works with the youngest patients at Root Pediatrics, including early intervention for children from birth to three.
Hannah treats the whole child rather than a diagnosis, and she meets families where they are — the goal is to leave them able to keep going on their own, working toward whatever mobility that particular child is capable of. Pediatrics takes creativity, which is the part she loves: finding what motivates a specific kid and getting there through play.
Much of her work centers on how a child moves: building the breathing and postural control that gross motor skills are built on, training gait, and managing foot position with orthotics, serial casting, or night splints where that is the right tool.
Clinical focus areas
- Early intervention (ages 0–3)
- Torticollis and plagiocephaly
- Toe walking
- Developmental delay
- Neurological, genetic, and other conditions — including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, Down syndrome, muscular dystrophies, spinal muscular atrophy, epilepsy, autism, and hip dysplasia
Additional training
- Foot management — orthotic prescription, serial casting, night splints
- Breathing and postural control
- Gait training
In her free time you can find Hannah boating, hiking, camping, cooking, skiing, and traveling with her husband and their two kids.
Tracy Heck
PT
Tracy has been a licensed physical therapist since 1994, and has spent two decades combining that training with yoga and mat Pilates.
Specialties
Certifications
- Pilates instructor certification — ProHealth and Fitness, 2003
- Hatha Yoga Teacher Training, 2008
Education
- Physical Therapy — Ohio State University, 1994
- B.S. Exercise Science — Ohio State University, 1991
Tracy became a licensed physical therapist in 1994, starting out in orthopedics, sports medicine, home health, and nursing homes. Over her career she has held physical therapist licenses in Ohio, Arizona, and Montana. In 2003 she began teaching Pilates and studying yoga, and in 2005 she opened a yoga studio she ran until 2019 — seeing physical therapy clients privately throughout, combining the tools of physical therapy, mat Pilates, and yoga. She found that holistic combination worked well for helping people move toward better health and well-being.
She has owned Rise Together Yoga, LLC in Bozeman since 2021.
Clinical focus areas
- Chronic pain
- Trauma-informed yoga, working with the somatic and visceral body
- Yoga- and mat Pilates–informed movement
- Flexibility and range of motion
Tracy has continued to take trainings, workshops, and continuing education in physical therapy, yoga, and Pilates throughout her career. She is currently training as a Roll Model Method practitioner — a therapy-ball approach to self-myofascial care.
Cathelyne Hollibaugh
MA CCC-SLP
Cathelyne is a pediatric speech and feeding therapist who has worked with young children and their families for the last 16 years as an early intervention provider.
Specialties
Certifications
- Certified feeding therapist — SOS Approach to Feeding
- Early Intervention Provider Training
Education
- M.A. Speech-Language Pathology — University of Colorado
- B.S. Psychology — The University of Georgia
Cathelyne is a pediatric speech and feeding therapist. She has worked with young children and their families for the last 16 years as an early intervention provider, and is excited to share her knowledge and strategies with families in Bozeman. She is a certified feeding therapist in the SOS approach to feeding and has worked with children with a wide range of feeding, language, behavioral, sensory, and speech needs.
She likes to use an integrative approach with children and their families — one that is supportive, and built around each individual child.
Clinical focus areas
- Early intervention
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Feeding — transitioning from G/NG tube to oral feeds, moving to solids, and addressing sensory aversions
- Parent coaching
- Phonological and articulation disorders, including childhood apraxia of speech
- Social and pragmatic language
- Stuttering and fluency disorders
- Developmental delays
Additional training
- Supporting the Development of Infant Feeding in the NICU and at Home when Tube Feedings are Necessary
- Overcoming Discombobulation: Interventions and Activities for Sensory Deficits in Infants and Children
In her free time, Cathelyne loves going to see live music, and enjoys exploring and traveling with her two young boys and husband.
Karna Johnson
PT
Karna has practiced physical therapy since 1999 across orthopedics, post-head-injury rehabilitation, and pediatrics — a range that shapes how she reads the way a child moves.
Specialties
Education
- M.S. Physical Therapy — Widener University, 1999
Karna earned her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from Widener University in 1999. Earlier in her career she worked in general outpatient orthopedics and in rehabilitation following head injury, including traumatic brain injury and stroke, alongside pediatrics, hippotherapy, and aquatics. That breadth built her understanding of how biomechanics, postural control, motor learning, and the sensory systems together shape the way a person moves through their environment.
She brings a holistic, team-based mindset to pediatric care, partnering with families rather than working around them. In sessions she leans on creativity and purposeful play — engaging a child in something genuinely fun while still working toward gross motor and mobility goals.
Clinical focus areas
- Gross motor and mobility development
- Postural control and breathing
- Motor learning
- Toe walking
- Torticollis
- Assessing adaptive equipment and mobility needs
Karna keeps up an active continuing-education habit; her most recent coursework covered toe walking, breathing with postural control, torticollis, and adaptive equipment assessment.
Outside the clinic she spends time with her husband, their two children, and two golden retrievers. She bikes, hikes, cross-country skis, gardens, and reads.

Katherine Northrup
OTD, OTR/L
Katherine is a pediatric occupational therapist who has worked with children across a range of diagnoses in both outpatient clinics and the school system.
Specialties
Education
- Doctor of Occupational Therapy — University of Mary, 2024
- B.S. Exercise Science — Montana State University, 2021
Katherine earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Montana State University in 2021 and her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from the University of Mary in 2024. She has worked with children carrying a variety of diagnoses, both in outpatient clinical settings and inside the school system — two contexts that ask quite different things of the same child, and give her a fuller picture of how a kid is actually doing day to day.
She is actively building her pediatric skills and education, and brings that appetite for learning into the care she gives her patients.
Katherine grew up primarily in Great Falls, Montana before moving to Bozeman, where she lives with her husband, their young son, and their cat. She backpacks, boats, and skis every variety she can, plays piano and cello, and reads.
Kristi O'Connor-Nyquist
MSPT
Kristi has practiced physical therapy for more than two decades, across outpatient orthopedics and cardiac rehabilitation.
Specialties
Education
- M.S. Physical Therapy — University of Montana, 2000
- B.S. Health and Human Performance — University of Montana, 1993
Kristi has been a physical therapist for over twenty years, with experience in outpatient physical therapy and in cardiac rehabilitation. Her treatment approach combines education, exercise, and manual treatment, aimed at the specific goals a patient brings in rather than a standard protocol.
Clinical focus areas
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Balance and falls
- Injury prevention and rehabilitation
- Hip and knee pain
- General deconditioning
Additional training
- Manual techniques including Maitland and Mulligan
- McKenzie techniques
- Treatment of spine and peripheral joint dysfunction
Outside of work, Kristi volunteers for several youth sports groups. She hikes, runs, works in her yard, and spends time with family and friends.
Kezia Peterson
OT, MOTR/L, SEP Candidate
Kezia is an occupational therapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner candidate, and the founder of Root Therapy and Wellness. Her focus is adult rehabilitation — chronic pain and upper extremity injuries — with deep experience across both.
Specialties
Certifications
- Somatic Experiencing training — SEP candidate
- Visceral Manipulation training (VM1–VM4)
- Craniosacral Therapy training (CS1–CS2)
- Myofascial Release training
Education
- M.S. Occupational Therapy — University of Minnesota, 2009
- B.S. Psychology — North Dakota State University, 2003
Kezia is an occupational therapist and the founder of Root Therapy and Wellness. Her practice is adult rehabilitation, and she brings deep experience to it — including more than 10 years of hand and upper-extremity work. Much of her caseload is people in persistent pain — the kind that has stopped responding to the obvious things, and that has started to narrow what a person can do at work, at home, and at play.
That focus is what sent her after training in several different modalities, from visceral manipulation and craniosacral therapy to Somatic Experiencing. Her goal with each patient is to meet them where they are, understand what they actually want to get back to, and make sure they have the right team of providers around them — so the work reaches the root of the dysfunction rather than chasing symptoms.
Clinical focus areas
- Chronic pain
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
- Upper extremity injuries — hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain
- Fractures
- Arthritis
- Sprains and strains
- Back and neck pain
- Headaches, migraines, and concussion
- Abdominal pain
Through her Somatic Experiencing training, Kezia supports patients in working through past trauma that may be holding a pain pattern in place.
Lindsey Petz
PTA
Lindsey found her way to physical therapy through her own recovery from a back injury, and now teaches the self-advocacy she needed then.
Specialties
Education
- A.A.S. Physical Therapist Assistant — Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 2021
- B.S. Health and Human Performance — Montana State University, 2017
Lindsey discovered her passion for physical therapy from the patient’s side of it, recovering from a lower back injury after a car accident in high school. Going through her own rehab is what made her want the career.
She believes in teaching self-advocacy and building lasting wellness through care built around the individual — giving patients the tools and skills to address the injury in front of them and improve their overall health, rather than making them dependent on the clinic.
Clinical focus areas
- Injury prevention and rehabilitation
- Back and neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Hip and knee pain
- Core instability
- General deconditioning
Additional training
- Myofascial decompression
- Upper Quadrant Mulligan Techniques
- STOTT Pilates Matwork
In her free time you can catch Lindsey hiking or camping with her husband and their two dogs. She also lifts, cooks, and spends time with family and friends.
Joleene Souza
Joleene finds joy in helping others and being someone people can count on. Outside of work, she's most often somewhere in the mountains with her kids.
Joleene Souza is the Office Manager at Root Therapy and Wellness in Bozeman.
In her own words:
I truly find joy in helping others and being someone people can count on. I’m grateful to connect with people each day and be part of a place that makes a difference in their lives. Outside of work, you’ll most often find me somewhere in the mountains with my kids.
You can reach the front office by phone or text on (406) 219-5388, or send us a message.

