Q & A with Dr. Kayla Guillermo, DPT, Cert. VRS, Cert. MDT 

First Things First

Part of my mission with HolisticDPT is to connect you with information you can trust from experienced professionals that have the vibes we like.

You know the people – open, honest, down to earth, passionate and knowing of thy shit.

Dr. Kayla Guillermo is one of those people. I met Kayla while I was on a clinical affiliation in Buffalo, NY. She is our people.

Inspirational is an understatement. Though surviving trauma was not her choice, her choice to heal and show up for herself every day (even when it’s hard) embodies everything that we strive to be.

In this Q & A, we dive into her story as she shares insight into healing, plant-based living, and navigating the working world as a young professional.

Enjoy!

About Kayla

Tell us a bit about yourself!

My name is Kayla Guillermo, I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a certified lover of dogs, a big-time nerd, and a passionate vegan (1.5 years strong).

I grew up in a military family, both parents in the US Army, but I have spent the majority of my life in New York State. I went to Daemen College and now I work two blocks away from it at Phoenix Physical Therapy.

I am one of those people who have to be learning something new every single day. I have a few different certifications including certifications in McKenzie Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy, Vestibular Rehab, and I’m currently working on a certification in Plant-Based Nutrition. I have also been trained in the John Barnes Approach of Myofascial Release, which has become my favorite style of treatment.

Over the years, I have become a firm-believer in holistic therapy – I know that every patient, every person, has a number of different physical and/or mental ailments and I know that each and every individual will not respond to the same cookie-cutter therapies.

One thing I am most passionate about is the effect of nutrition on prevention/reduction of disease and chronic pain, as well as its effect on overall quality of life.

I have spent the last year studying nutrition via books, documentaries, classes, podcasts, etc, and I am overwhelmed by the available research surrounding the amazing benefits of a whole-foods/plant-based diet. 

Over the years, I have become a firm-believer in holistic therapy – I know that every patient, every person, has a number of different physical and/or mental ailments and I know that each and every individual will not respond to the same cookie-cutter therapies.

Dr. Kay

If you’d like my reading list, my podcast list, and my list of must-see documentaries, please contact me or see the list below! 

Food Thoughts

Have you been plant-based for a long time? What got you started?

The story of my transition to a plant-based lifestyle begins way back in 2012, when I was in a head-on motor vehicle accident caused by a kid who was drag-racing his pick-up truck up a hill in the middle of the night (yeah, I know, stupid).

I was a kid fresh out of my first year of college (I was at UB at the time) and I was actually in the best physical shape of my life – running 6+ miles per day, doing the Insanity workouts 1-2 times per day, etc. I was going to run marathons, I was going to do an IronMan, I had big plans.

So anyway, this car accident left me with one shattered kneecap, bimalleolar fractures, a crushed navicular, and two broken 1st METs aka I was in a bad spot.

My surgeon, who is by far my favorite human on the face of the Earth, Dr. Maria Iannolo, a trauma surgeon in Syracuse, was unsure if I would be able to walk again due to the extent of my foot injuries.

I remember laying in the hospital bed at Upstate, on the pediatrics floor (because even though I was 19, I’m barely 5 feet tall), staring at monkeys and giraffes on the wall

That’s when I decided that I wouldn’t let this accident destroy me and I certainly wasn’t going to rely on pain medication beyond that weekend (I had also decided that they were going to discharge me on Monday whether they liked it or not haha).

I took opiates for one week before I decided that I wouldn’t take them anymore even if they helped with the pain.

I decided that I wouldn’t let this accident destroy me

I spent 3 months in a wheelchair, another 4 or 5 on crutches, and then for several years afterward, I was weight bearing as tolerated, which wasn’t saying much.

I was, quite obviously, plagued with a lot of pain in my right foot, where I now have a cluster of tiny screws holding my navicular together (if you don’t know, the navicular is basically the most important bone of the foot).

I had the typical pain after prolonged rest, pain after prolonged standing and/or walking, and I absolutely hated walking on pavement. I did three YEARS of physical therapy (and my biggest regret is that I didn’t go somewhere like Phoenix Physical Therapy, where manual therapy is the foundation for all of our treatment plans).

My running days were over, but every now and then I would chance a 1-2 mile run and suffer for 3 days afterward. So my pain got worse and worse up until 2017 when I graduated from Daemen and started working full time, which is when my pain got out of control.

My mental health was suffering, my physical health was suffering, I was just in a really bad place. The phrase “why me?” did come up a lot in my head.

So again, as I was lying in bed one night, I decided I couldn’t live like this anymore. I started looking into alternative therapy for pain relief – diet changes, supplements, yoga, etc.

I started logging my pain triggers, which turned out to be pork, red meat, dairy, sugar, gluten, and dehydration.

I started an elimination diet and by the end of the year, I had cut out everything but eggs. The more animal-based products I cut out, the less pain I would feel.

The more animal-based products I cut out, the less pain I would feel.

Now, after 1.5 years of being entirely plant-based (and actually mostly gluten free), I rarely experience pain in my right foot. That was a very long-winded explanation, but necessary, I think ha! 

What have you noticed are the biggest benefits for you personally from eating this way?

The biggest benefit from being plant-based/vegan is by far the effect it has had on my chronic pain. I went from barely being able to walk and limping every time I stood up (oh my god, I used to hate when people would watch me limp) to being, again, in the best shape of my life.

I definitely started my transition purely for personal purposes – I wanted to feel better. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know about ALL aspects of living plant-based.

A plant-based lifestyle affects not only you, but it also has a HUGE positive effect on the environment. It may also seem a little bit strange, but becoming a “vegan” has also helped my conscience, as I no longer contribute to the suffering of animals. I truly believe that most of the “Western” diseases are a direct result of a combination of both bad karma and terrible food choices.

A reduction in animal-based products and an increase in whole-foods/plant-based products reduces overall inflammation and acidity in the body, which affects pain. Also, a reduction in adipose tissue, which typically comes as a result of dietary changes, also reduces systemic inflammation, which affects pain. 

What are the biggest challenges around being plant based and how do you work around them?

My biggest challenges were, at first, finding out how to balance the nutrients to avoid any sort of deficiency; most people believe that when you adopt a plant-based diet, you will become deficient in protein, B12, etc etc aka become malnourished in some sense.

That’s actually false – the only thing I can’t get from a plant-based diet that I would have gotten in my animal-based diet is cholesterol!

It took me roughly a year to transition from my diet which was highly animal based to an entirely plant-based diet and it also took a ton of willpower because I was raised on meat and rice just like everyone else.

It used to be hard to go out to eat with friends, but over the last year, this area in particular has had a huge rising of vegetarian/vegan-friendly restaurants. 

Can you share a couple of your go-to recipes or resources here for someone who wants to try going more plant-based?

At first, it is definitely time-consuming. If you aren’t a fan of cooking, that is the hardest part of this lifestyle because if you don’t like to cook, then you may fall into that trap of living vegan junk-food aka processed meat-alternatives and pre-made meals.

Yes, I spent a lot of time in the first few months figuring out what the heck I needed to eat to “avoid nutrient deficiencies” and to “get enough protein” — which by the way, you are highly unlikely to experience EITHER if you are following a whole-foods/plant-based diet.

This is another reason I am currently working on my plant-based nutrition certification, so I can help others to make this transition easier for others.

For me, I turned to Instragam and still use Instagram a lot for inspiration and tips on how to get everything I need in a variety of ways. Some of my favorites are MinimalistBaker, PlantYou, PlantBasedBen, Amandavsevilla, and Dr.Vegan, among SO many others.

I love to cook and I love to play around with new recipes, but that’s definitely the hardest part.

Connect with Kayla!

Physical Therapy Life

I find it difficult to be taken ‘seriously’ as a young professional/ new grad sometimes. Like, even though I’ve graduated and hold several licenses my colleagues and patients still sometimes see me and treat me as a student.

Have you encountered anything similar on your journey from New Grad to experienced PT?

Yes, I have had clinical instructors and patients tell me that as a short, young woman, I will never be taken seriously in the medical field. I even had one tell me that if I wanted to have children, I could kiss my career goodbye (and now I work in a female-owned clinic).

There are still some days where I know a patient is not taking me seriously just because I’m small and I’m young-looking (can’t say I’m young anymore), but that’s where I have found that the more you know, the more you can provide evidence to support anything and everything you say, the more people will take you seriously.

Some people naturally receive respect, I have to earn it. 

What advice would you give to a new grad or young professional navigating challenges like this?

My advice for any young professional, male or female, is to act confidently. Even if you are a little unsure or a little nervous, if you remain confident in your own knowledge and skillsets, people will take you seriously.

I also believe that you should not specialize – have knowledge in a number of different therapies, schools of thought, etc (not saying you can’t have your favorites) in order to be well-rounded. 

Would your advice or opinion be different for a female versus a male?

I would say yes, unfortunately, as we live in this world where women are not taken as seriously as men no matter how many degrees, certifications, or skills we have.

I have great respect for many men in various fields of study, even outside of the medical field, but it is easier for them to be taken seriously. 

Did you always know you wanted to work in the setting you’re in now? Can you talk about the different points over the years that led you to decisions to niche down more?

Yes, I always knew that I wanted to work in outpatient ortho; however, I had a hard time kind of finding my niche for a while.

I am very passionate about the simplicity of the McKenzie Method of MDT, and I have said a million times that McKenzie has been one of the things that made the most sense to me before/after school.

My own experience with chronic pain and trauma led me to Myofascial Release, where I have learned about how the body does store physical / emotional trauma in the fascial system.

The fascial system is the spiderweb-like network of tissue within the body that extends from the innermost parts of the brain to the tippy toes without interruption.

I find myofascial release to be the most important style of treatment, as it breaks away from the reductionist style of treatment and moves to a more wholistic approach – treatment of body AND mind.

Physical trauma is never just truly physical. 

Can you “break up” scar tissue? 😉

While scar tissue cannot be truly broken up or rolled out or scraped away, it can be affected by use of manual therapies in a sense of remodeling.

We can affect the orientation of scar tissue/fibrous tissue and in turn, affect how the brain perceives the pain and/or limitation around that area.

The manual treatment/ mechanical stimulus changes the neurophysiological response by the body, which affects the pain experience. 

What’s your favorite type of patient/injury to treat and why?

My favorite type of patient to treat is the patient who is not looking for a quick-fix, which is actually hard to find.

I love patients who are interested in the effects of nutrition on their pain, especially chronic pain, and those who understand the importance of self-care – physical activity, good diet, mental health care – in treatment of their ailments. 

Healing

Can you talk about the mental and emotional impact of trauma/injury on people either in your practice or in general?

As someone who has been through highly traumatic experiences and has been battling chronic pain for years, I know there is a huge piece of recovery that revolves around mental / emotional health.

There is a lot of anger, resentment, and disappointment around a lingering injury – either toward self or towards those who have hurt you.

Mental / emotional trauma can be stored in the body, which can lead to feelings of pain and/or tightness and/or general fatigue as the body fights its own protective mechanisms.

Even feelings of general disappointment or poor satisfaction with one’s life and/or personal situations can manifest in the body and present as pain or other ailments. 

Do you incorporate any interventions other than physical, hands-on stuff for patients with chronic pain/injuries?

I always encourage dietary changes in conjunction with regular physical exercise as a way to manage and recover from chronic pain/injuries. The more you move, the better you’ll feel.

I like patients to explore all of their options, massage/ acupuncture/ chiropractics/ whatever. The more you try, the more you know what will and will not work for you. 

If someone is suffering from chronic pain, what is the ONE thing or habit they can do TODAY to start making a difference in their lives?

DIET AND EXERCISE.

We have the power to control what we put into our bodies – we control the food we buy, the things we consume, and the ability to change!

What you put in is what you get out – if you start to put fewer toxins into your body, if you choose to reduce consumption of animal-based foods, even just by a LITTLE BIT, you are making a huge change.

Also, move your body just a little bit or a lot a bit a day and you’ll feel a huge difference. Find something you like – yoga, pilates, spinning, walking, pickle ball, barre, tai chi.

I don’t care what it is, just MOVE. 

Closing Thoughts

Please share how you incorporate holistic health into your life (mind/body/soul)

My whole life has changed in the past few years so that every decision I make is based on how it will affect how I feel mentally and physically. Every time I eat, every time I make a purchase, every time I move, that’s a choice to be better.

I have begun psychotherapy, I read every day about how nutritional choices affect myself, the planet, and the billions of sentient beings around the world.

Find something you believe in and run with it, that’s how I feel. 

Share anything else you would LOVE the world to know 🙂

I know I shared a lot of information and a lot of stories, but I want people to know that if you are in pain, any sort of pain, there is help for you.

If you want to just make more conscious decisions, do it.

Little changes lead to big results and nobody is perfect. 

Reading/ Viewing List Documentaries:

• What The Health
• Forks Over Knives
• Food Choices
• Eating Animals
• Cowspiracy
• Earthlings
• Dominion
• Fat, sick, and Nearly Dead 

Books

• The China Study, Campbell
• How Not to Die, Gregor
• Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition, Campbell
• The Food Revolution, Robbins
• Animal Liberation, Singer 

Cookbooks

• Thug Kitchen
• Vegan Richa
• The China Study Cookbook
• East Meets Vegan
• The Minimalist Baker (.com) 

Podcasts

• Plant Proof Nutrition Rounds

Thank You!

A HUGE thank you to Dr. Kayla for sharing her stories of strength and all the insights on plant-based living! She truly embodies the HolisticDPT values and her candid perspective on such a traumatic event is so inspirational.

If you found value in this post, or know someone who would, please share it with a friend!

Don’t forget to tag me @HolisticDPT and Kayla @kaybflodpt on Instagram!

See you soon,

HolisticDPT