Dr. Kyle A Willets, PT, DPT, MS, Dry Needling Cert., RYT
Alpine Fit Founder & Senior Physical Therapist
Doctor of Physical Therapy, Sports Med Specialist & Functional Medicine Practitioner
About Dr. Kyle
Dr. Kyle Willets, PT, DPT, MS is a board-certified physical therapist with over 20 years of clinical experience and the founder of Alpine Fit in Boulder, Colorado.
For nearly two decades, she has specialized in complex orthopedic cases — spine, hip, knee, shoulder, neck, and foot injuries — working with everyone from professional athletes to highly active adults who refuse to accept chronic pain as their “new normal.”
Dr. Willets has been performing dry needling for over a decade and is an advanced practitioner, utilizing precision-based techniques to treat persistent low back pain, hip dysfunction, nerve-related symptoms, tendon injuries, and post-surgical recovery. Her approach integrates dry needling with manual therapy, joint mobilization, biomechanics correction, and progressive strength programming — ensuring results are durable, not temporary.
Her career has spanned trauma-level rehabilitation, advanced orthopedics, preventative medicine, and functional medicine. She has completed hundreds of hours of advanced continuing education in manual therapy, spinal rehabilitation, scoliosis (Schroth), movement systems, and nutrition. She has extensive work with patients with complex multi-joint concerns as well as autoimmune dysfunction.
At Alpine Fit, Dr. Willets is known for thorough evaluations, detailed biomechanical analysis, and treating the root cause — not just the symptom. Patients often arrive after years of plateaued progress elsewhere and are surprised by what becomes possible when structure, alignment, strength, and nervous system function are addressed together.
When she’s not in the clinic, you’ll find her hiking Boulder’s trails with her husband, daughter, and pup Talula, skate skiing, mountain biking, or strength training — living the same active lifestyle she helps her patients sustain.
Education:
- Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College
- Masters in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College, with honors
- Clinical Science, BA from Ithaca College
Interviews:
Recent Courses:
-
Abdominal Vascular Compression Syndromes in Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (EDS): Presentation and Evaluation – 2026
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Upper Extremity Presentation in Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (EDS) – 2026
Licenses, Achievements & Certification:
- Board certification in Physical Therapy
- Functional Dry Needling Certified Level 1, Level 2, Advanced practitioner.
- Functional Movement Systems (FMS) certified.
- Functional Range Conditioning (FRC) certified.
- Blood Flow Restriction Training Cert. with B Strong
- SFMA Certified
- Y Balance Test Certified
- Spine and Schroth-trained scoliosis expert with advanced certifications.
- Certified graduate of Full Body Systems with the Functional Nutrition Lab
- Certified as an Ayurvedic therapist in Tamil Nadu, India.
- Certified Vinyasa Yoga Instructor.
- Studied Functional Nutrition with the Functional Nutrition Alliance.
- Recipient of the Mary McMillan Scholarship Award by the American Physical Therapy Association.
- Over 20 years of experience in the field of physical therapy and holistic health.
- Qualitative research on compassion.
Articles By Dr. Kyle
Why Walking Isn’t Enough After 40
If you live in Boulder, chances are you walk a lot. You walk the dog. You hike. You walk to coffee. You meet a friend for a loop instead of sitting across a table. You spend a Saturday morning on a trail and think nothing of covering several miles before lunch. And...
Why Your Knee Hurts: The Hidden Cause of Knee Pain in Boulder
If you've been dealing with knee pain for weeks—or even months—it's natural to assume the problem is your knee. After all, that's where it hurts. So you schedule an MRI. Maybe it shows a meniscus tear. Maybe it's arthritis. Maybe you're told it's "wear and tear."...
Hypermobility Injury Prevention: Why Proprioception Training Is Essential
What Is Proprioception? Proprioception is defined as our sense of where our body is in space. Proprioception is often decreased in people who are hyper-mobile, experience persistent pain, or have recurrent injuries. For example, whiplash can cause decreased head...
3 Tools for Hypermobility: A Physical Therapist’s Guide to Wearable Braces and Aids
If you live with hypermobility or Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), you’ve probably asked yourself: Should I be wearing a brace?Will this make me weaker?Is compression helpful — or just hype? At Alpine Fit Physical Therapy in Boulder, we work with active adults who...
Dr. Sarah’s 6 Active Recovery Strategies
Recovery isn’t passive—it’s when your muscles rebuild and your body adapts to all of your hard work. Here are six active recovery strategies to finish your week feeling strong instead of burnt out. 1. Move Gently When You’re Sore When muscles are sore, it’s a sign...
Metabolic Health: The Missing Key to Joint, Tendon, and Longevity Health
The Hidden Side of Joint Pain Up to 40% of tendon and joint pain in adults has little to do with injuries or wear and tear. Instead, the root cause often lies in something we rarely connect to achy knees or stiff shoulders: poor metabolic health. For decades, joint...
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