OUR TEAM

KAREN WAKAMOTO, MPT

Karen Wakamoto is a physical therapist treating musculoskeletal conditions of the spine and extremities through manual therapy and a functional movement approach. Born and raised in Huntington Beach, Karen graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Kinesiology and earned her Master of Physical Therapy degree from USC in 1991.

Karen worked at Northridge Hospital Medical Center where she was recognized as PT Staff of the Year in 1993. She later moved on to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian before opening her private practice, Optimum Physical Therapy, in Cypress in 2009.

In 2016, Karen became a certified Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization Clinician after completing coursework and training in Prague of the Czech Republic. She is also a certified MovementLinks Clinician, specializing in the area of movement science. 

Karen is married to her husband Craig and they are the proud parents of three awesome grown kids: Nathan, Olivia, and Andrew.

MICHAEL JOSEPH, MPT

Michael Joseph grew up in Los Alamitos. After graduating from Los Alamitos High School, he received his B.S. in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon in --. He then proceeded to earn a DPT from Mount St. Mary’s University in ---.

Michael has gained clinical experience in various locations, including Concentra Occupational Health, White Memorial Medical Center, CATZ Sports Performance and Physical Therapy Institute, and Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Michael has also worked in more specialized areas of sports and orthopedics as a USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach and has provided athletic training for the LA Premier FC club soccer team.

Michael’s personal interests include Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting.