Esther Smith

Physical Therapist, DPT

Esther Smith DPT, Cert. MDT, received her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Utah in 2011. She is credentialed in the McKenzie Method® of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy® (MDT), which helps to guide her physical exam and select customized treatment interventions. Using a combination of Pilates movement, strength and endurance training, nutritional therapy, Functional Dry Needling®, and myofascial manual therapy techniques, she has the tools to effectively treat all types of injuries and complex spine pain.

Esther’s career path and continuing education has been largely focused on treating athletes, specifically rock climbers, runners and skiers. She enjoys working with people from all walks of life and especially loves to help people to stay strong and active as they age. She has found that athleticism is an innate human quality, and that movement is medicine. Injuries are often an opportunity to explore what the body needs in order to heal and find balance. Training is our way into our physiology – through resistance we draw the attention of the mind and the body to repair tissue and systems in a targeted manner.

Esther believes in educating her clients because it’s the individual that holds the key to their own healing. Her philosophy of training has been strongly influenced by her work as a coach with Samsara Experience (a mountain athlete focused training company) where she has helped countless people build the physical and mental bridge to high performance. Esther has written several training and performance articles for Outside Magazine and has produced an extensive library of free online YouTube content focused on self treatment strategies.

Before finding her way to Montana, Esther practiced in Salt Lake City, Utah and Wilson, Wyoming. She enjoys cooking up good food gathered from local producers, rock climbing and skiing in wild places, and generally adventuring outside with friends and family all year long.