Onward Physical Therapy Bellingham

Onward Physical Therapy Bellingham Performance Based Physical Therapy serving active individuals in the Bellingham area! This is Performance Physical Therapy! This is the Onward difference.

ONWARD BELLINGHAM’S MISSION:
Eliminating pain and maximizing performance for active individuals in the Bellingham area! When you see one of our physical therapists at Onward Bellingham, you aren’t just “going to PT”. You’ve now got someone on your team and in your corner dedicated to keeping you living and performing at your peak. We’re obsessed with getting you the results you deserve and constan

tly tailoring your plan to ensure you get there.⁠

We want you to know, without a doubt, that Onward Bellingham is the place for you, and are pleased to offer free phone consultations with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy!

We are SO EXCITED to add Rachel to the team in Bellingham!!! She starts in May, and you can book with her via the link i...
04/21/2026

We are SO EXCITED to add Rachel to the team in Bellingham!!! She starts in May, and you can book with her via the link in our bio!

Dr. Rachel Popelka is a Doctor of Physical Therapy who helps women in ultra-endurance sports perform at a high level while protecting their long-term health. She works with athletes across every stage of life, including pregnancy, postpartum, and into peri-menopause, providing a level of care that is both deeply individualized and rooted in clinical expertise.
Her work is designed for women who are serious about their performance and unwilling to accept recurring injury, pelvic floor symptoms, or burnout as part of the process. Rachel takes a comprehensive approach that looks beyond training volume alone. She integrates strength, bone health, tendon resilience, pelvic floor function, and recovery into a cohesive strategy that supports both immediate performance and long-term durability.

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all programming, Rachel works closely with each athlete to understand their goals, physiology, and the demands of their lives. The result is a thoughtful, high-touch approach that allows women to train with confidence, adapt through different seasons, and continue progressing without sacrificing their health.

Her philosophy is simple. Performance and longevity are not opposing goals when training is done well. Women deserve a standard of care that reflects the complexity of their bodies and the ambition of their goals.
Outside of her work, Rachel lives what she teaches. She spends much of her time training for ultra trail races and expedition adventure racing, often exploring the outdoors with her dog Odin. Her lifestyle reflects the same balance she helps her clients achieve, pursuing performance while protecting long-term health.

03/26/2026

At Onward Physical Therapy, our goal is simple: keep you doing the things you love.

Runners running.
Lifters lifting.
Mountain bikers on the trail.

We believe in the minimum effective dose, doing the least amount necessary to get results. That means fewer pointless exercises and more targeted strategies that actually help.

If pain shows up 15 minutes into a run, the answer isn’t always to stop running. Sometimes it’s just about changing the variables like pace, intervals, terrain, or rest so you can keep building capacity.

Rehab shouldn’t feel disconnected from the activities you care about. Whenever possible, we use the things you love as part of the rehab process.

If injuries have you doing more and more things you hate just to stay active, let’s change that.

Let’s get you back to doing what you love.

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning yo...
03/16/2026

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning your fitness.
We believe the fitter and stronger you stay, the further you are from sickness and injury.
But we also know how frustrating it is when pain stops you in your tracks.
A cranky low back during deadlifts.
A pinchy shoulder pressing overhead.
A sharp pain in your knee that won’t let you run or jump.
That’s where we come in.
We’re here to calm the fears, give you a clear plan, and keep you moving forward, not sitting on the sidelines. Injuries don’t have to define this season for you.
So free injury screens are back.
We’ve love working with the community, from working with members in the clinic to coaching and working out at the gym.
No gimmicks. No catch. Just honest, helpful advice.
Give us 15 minutes. We’ll give you clarity and a path forward.
If you’re dealing with something that just won’t go away, don’t wait.
Click the link in bio or scan the QR code at and let’s get you back to doing what you love, without pain.

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning yo...
03/03/2026

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning your fitness.
We believe the fitter and stronger you stay, the further you are from sickness and injury.
But we also know how frustrating it is when pain stops you in your tracks.
A cranky low back during deadlifts.
A pinchy shoulder pressing overhead.
A sharp pain in your knee that won’t let you run or jump.
That’s where we come in.
We’re here to calm the fears, give you a clear plan, and keep you moving forward, not sitting on the sidelines. Injuries don’t have to define this season for you.
So free injury screens are back.
We’ve love working with the community, from working with members in the clinic to working out at the gym.
No gimmicks. No catch. Just honest, helpful advice.
Give us 15 minutes. We’ll give you clarity and a path forward.
If you’re dealing with something that just won’t go away, don’t wait.
Click the link in bio or scan the QR code at and let’s get you back to doing what you love, without pain.

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning yo...
02/26/2026

If there’s one thing we’re passionate about, it’s keeping you active and healthy. That means you, in the gym, earning your fitness.
We believe the fitter and stronger you stay, the further you are from sickness and injury.
But we also know how frustrating it is when pain stops you in your tracks.
A cranky low back during deadlifts.
A pinchy shoulder pressing overhead.
A sharp pain in your knee that won’t let you run.
That’s where we come in.
We’re here to calm the fears, give you a clear plan, and keep you moving forward, not sitting on the sidelines. Injuries don’t have to define this season for you.
So free injury screens are back.
We’ve love working with the community, from working with members in the clinic to dropping into classes.
We reached out because we wanted to do more.
No gimmicks. No catch. Just honest, helpful advice.
Give us 15 minutes. We’ll give you clarity and a path forward.
If you’re dealing with something that just won’t go away, don’t wait.
Click the link in bio or scan the QR code at and let’s get you back to doing what you love, without pain.

We will see you March 7th after the Saturday class

The “best” exercise program on paper doesn’t matter if you hate it, dread it, or never come back to it.Real progress com...
02/04/2026

The “best” exercise program on paper doesn’t matter if you hate it, dread it, or never come back to it.

Real progress comes from movement you enjoy, the kind you look forward to, return to consistently, and can actually sustain.

That consistency builds strength, confidence, and resilience over time. Not perfection.

Find what you enjoy.
That’s where progress lives.

Because no one ever said “I wish I was weaker” and so many other great reframes 🖤
01/31/2026

Because no one ever said “I wish I was weaker” and so many other great reframes 🖤

01/23/2026

When performance is everything, we handle the recovery

Trusted with the fittest on earth at the 2026 CrossFit Games

Numbness isn’t part of cycling.Pain, tingling, or loss of sensation during or after rides is your body asking for change...
01/15/2026

Numbness isn’t part of cycling.

Pain, tingling, or loss of sensation during or after rides is your body asking for change not something to push through. Research shows these symptoms are often related to nerve compression from prolonged saddle pressure, posture, and training load.

The good news? Early adjustments and the right rehab can keep you riding comfortably and confidently.

Chiaramonte et al. 2021

In an age where everyone’s an online “guru,” we’re here to cut through the noise and bring real, high quality education ...
11/19/2025

In an age where everyone’s an online “guru,” we’re here to cut through the noise and bring real, high quality education straight to Bellingham.

We’re kicking off 2026 with four powerhouse courses led by true experts:

• Lower Body Dry Needling — 
January 9–11

• Running Resiliency — 
January 31–February 1

• Upper Body Dry Needling — 
March 20–22

• IBFI Bike Fitting Certification (Level 1 & 2) — 
May 16–17

We hope to see you there. Let’s level up together.

Your Achilles doesn’t care how much it hurts it cares how much you load it!A study looked at 12 common rehab exercises f...
10/29/2025

Your Achilles doesn’t care how much it hurts it cares how much you load it!
A study looked at 12 common rehab exercises for runners with Achilles pain and measured how much force each one puts through the tendon.
The results?
* Simple things like heel raises and walking put 1–3x your bodyweight through the tendon.
* Running, hopping, and jumping put 5–6x your bodyweight through it.
* And here’s the kicker: pain and load weren’t related.
(More load didn’t always mean more pain!)
What this means:
To get your Achilles ready for running again, you’ve got to progress beyond slow, heavy heel raises and add faster, springier work like hops and skips.
A little pain is okay, progress is what matters.
At Onward Physical Therapy, we use research like this to get runners out of pain and back to performance.

(Research from Sancho et al., Physical Therapy in Sport, 2023)

Address

1211 Granary Avenue Suite 102
Bellingham, WA
98225

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 7pm
Tuesday 7am - 7pm
Wednesday 7am - 7pm
Thursday 7am - 7pm
Friday 7am - 7pm
Saturday 7am - 7pm

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