Team

Our Team

Marilyn Johnson, PT

Marilyn Johnson, P.T. and owner of Innovative Physical Therapy has been a physical therapist for 37 years starting out specializing in sports medicine treating professional and amateur athletes. Over the years she has widened her skills through extensive continuing education to provide excellent service to all types of patient populations. She graduated from Children’s Hospital School of Physical Therapy in Los Angeles with a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Physical Therapy and from the University of California in Santa Barbara with a Baccalaureate Degree in Health Studies. She started Innovative Physical Therapy in 1994.

Marilyn’s diverse experience, extensive knowledge, and passion for Orthopedics has lead her to specialize in the treatment of TMJ disorders, Tinnitis and the fabrication of custom foot orthotics. She uses a unique evaluation style to determine the cause of symptoms and then through the use of hands on techniques and functional training delivers highly effective treatment to her patients.

Outside of physical therapy, Marilyn enjoys spending time with her grand children. She also enjoys hiking, gardening and traveling.

Lindy First, PT, DPT, CPI

Lindy First, DPT is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy, Internationally Certified Pilates Instructor and Owner of Innovative Physical Therapy. She received an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science/Pre-med and a minor in psychology from George Washington University and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy from USC.

As a former Tennis Division I Scholarship athlete, Lindy has a passion for health and fitness and a thorough understanding of movement and body mechanics. Lindy’s strong manual skills and extensive knowledge in strength, resistance, and sport-specific training allow her to excel in rehabilitating patients with orthopedic injuries and training all ranges of athletes for return to sport.

In addition to rehabilitating patients with orthopedic conditions, Lindy specializes in Pilates, treating Runners, Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction, Headaches, Sacroilliac joint dysfunction, and spinal injuries. Integrating skilled Manual Therapy, Kinesiotape, Pilates, Cupping, patient education and therapeutic exercise, Lindy has developed her own style of physical therapy to reduce her patient’s pain and improve movement and daily function.

When Lindy is not at the clinic, you can find her hiking the beautiful trails of San Diego with her husband Matt, their two kids, Louie & Charli, and their pup Whiskey. She also loves exploring new restaurants in town, cooking up her own recipes from scratch, taking Pilates classes, and spending time with her tight knit family at local Farmer’s Markets.

Adam Levie, PT, DPT

Adam Levie, PT, DPT received his undergraduate education at UC Davis, where he majored in Exercise Biology and minored in Psychology. Adam was a Division I scholarship tennis player there, and captained the team his senior year. After he finished at UC Davis, Adam moved back to San Diego to coach tennis and prepare his applications for graduate school. In those two years, he was an aide at Innovative PT!Adam earned his DPT at Marymount University in Arlington, VA in August of 2022. While there, he was the graduate assistant for the DPT program, where he tutored the first year students and helped the department run smoothly. Adam greatly enjoyed his time there and participated in a variety of clinical experiences including outpatient orthopedics, pediatrics, and sports PT.In Adam’s free time, he loves being active outside. Even though his favorite sport is tennis, in his post-college athletics days, he greatly enjoys trying all kinds of sports. In recent years, he’s picked up soccer, ultimate frisbee, and surfing to name a few. Adam also tries to keep to his gym and personal physical therapy schedule since he often gives himself bumps and bruises through his weekly activities. He loves listening to all varieties of music, old and new, and is always welcome to recommendations from his patients! Adam intends to learn Spanish and how to play an instrument within the next few years.

Maya Bizik, PT, DPT, PCES

Maya Bizik is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy and has specialized in outpatient orthopedic physical therapy since 2014. She received her certification as a Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise specialist in 2023. Her philosophy of effective treatment focuses on educating patients regarding overall body awareness and proper body mechanics, while integrating skilled manual therapy and therapeutic exercises to assist through the rehabilitation process and to prevent re-injury. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania and earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from University of St. Augustine in San Marcos, CA. She specializes in manual based treatments by incorporating the skills she learned from various Manual Therapy Certification courses. She also has furthered her education to treat pelvic floor dysfunction and/or pain that may be caused from pregnancy, diastasis recti, incontinence, and pelvic surgeries.

As a young adult she was involved in several different sports and events that encouraged her to pursue her career into physical therapy. She was a lead role on her cross-country running team. She also performed several years in dance competitions and was a valuable member on the swim team. She also comes from an extensive background of musical influence and taught herself how to play the piano

In addition to physical therapy, Maya enjoys soaking up “all natural vitamin D” while hiking with her dog Duke, riding her bike, attending yoga on the cliffs and/or spending time at the beach.

Melissa Warheit, PT, DPT

Melissa Warheit is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy who earned her undergraduate and Doctorate degree from Quinnipiac University where she graduated in 2017. Melissa grew up playing sports and was a Division 1 lacrosse player in college. She has always had an interest in the human body and how it moves. After taking a sports medicine class in high school, she really developed a passion for it.

Having suffered many injuries over the years Melissa understands patients desire to return to the activities they love. Her focus is on sports and orthopedic injuries, treating athletes from all different backgrounds. She has a real passion for working with runners, having completed 5 half marathons herself. She also has experience treating patients suffering from Vertigo and Balance related disorders. Melissa incorporates manual therapy, therapeutic exercises, along with educating patients on full body mechanics to help them get back to doing what they love and preventing re-injury.

When not in the clinic, Melissa enjoys all things outdoors like running, hiking, and going to the beach

Katrina Jenkins, MT

Katrina JenkinsKatrina Jenkins is a licensed massage therapist specializing in deep tissue and sports massage.  Before pursuing her passion at the Massage Therapy Institute of Colorado, she graduated from Towson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and a concentration in Community Health Education.  While studying, she worked as a nurse’s aide.  Throughout her career as a massage therapist, she applies her teaching and nursing experiences to meet the unique needs of each patient in her care.

In her spare time, Katrina enjoys writing.  Most of her work is fiction, but she also writes educational health blogs.  When she isn’t writing, she’s probably hiking or watching the Baltimore Ravens.

 

Annika Soltero, Office Manager

Annika Soltero, our Office Manager, received her certification in Front Office Medical Assisting from Southwestern Community college in 1998. She now has over 18 years experience with Innovative Physical Therapy. Annika is responsible for all the day to day operations of the clinic. In addition to managing the office, Annika also handles all of the insurance and billing needs for IPT. In her spare time she loves baking, watching football and spending time with her family. Annika is also our office HIPAA compliance officer. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your privacy or our policies & procedures, please do not hesitate to contact her.

Find Us

Innovative Physical Therapy has been in San Diego since 1994. We are manual therapists believing in a hands on, one on one, approach to physical therapy. Contact us using this form or give us a call.

TEL (619) 260-0750 | FAX (619) 260-0201

Mission Valley

5030 Camino De La Siesta Suite 220
San Diego, CA 92108

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