Doctor Tara O’Brien

Hi, I’m Dr. Tara O’Brien. I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy located in Orange County, California. I am a movement specialist, FRC and FRA certified, and committed to helping athletes of all ages and skill levels perform at their best while reducing their risk of injury. I help my clients create individualized mobility and strength training programs specifically designed to combat old injuries, bulletproof your joints against future injuries, and enhance performance. I conduct both in-person and virtual consultations depending on your location/schedule. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have!

Hi, I’m Tara O’Brien, PT, DPT, FRCms, FRAs. I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy located in Orange County, California. I graduated from the Univeristy of Southern California (fight on!) in 2016 and have been practicing as an orthopedic physical therapist for the past 4 years. I am a movement specialist, FRC and FRA certified, and committed to helping athletes of all ages and skill levels perform at their best while reducing their risk of injury. Together, we’ll create individua...lized mobility and strength training programs specifically designed to combat old injuries, bulletproof your joints against future injuries, and enhance performance. I believe educating my clients on how their bodies move and function is one of the most important factors into creating a sustainable, daily mobility program. I conduct both in-person and virtual consultations depending on your location/schedule. I also conduct sport-specific group classes structured around the individual joint requirements for that sport such as a club soccer team, BJJ, and Irish Dancing. Check out the link in my bio for some FREE YouTube content with specific mobility exercises organized by body part! Please dm me with any questions you may have or if you’d like to start building your own mobility program with me! See more

CARs Controlled Articular Rotations CARs are a staple of the @functional_range_conditioning system. We utilize CARs to provide your joints with nourishment, strengthen the brain-body connection, bulletproof your joints against injury, as well as return joints to full capacity after an injury. Think of them like brushing your teeth. You brush your teeth to prevent cavities, keep your teeth white and clean, etc. Do you do something specific as that for each of the joints in y...our body everyday? That’s where CARs come in. They’re a daily mobility program that take a total of maybe 15 minutes to do. It’s a good way to self-assess how your body feels each day, take note of any popping, cracking, or painful sensations, and specifically maintain your full useable range of motion of each joint in your body to allow you to have fun and participate in all the activities you like to do, whether that’s recreational running, competitive Irish Dancing, or an avid video gamer. After doing the CARs routine just once, you’ll be amazed at how your body feels. After doing the CARs routine for weeks to months, you’ll appreciate how these small daily inputs can make such a profound impact on your life. Stay tuned for more videos showing the CARs routine for each individual joint.

While attending USC to obtain my B.S. in Kinesiology, I was a Student Athletic Trainer for the USC Football Team, Women’s Soccer Team, & Women’s Tennis Team. Not only did this expose me to the wonderful world of NCAA Athletics, but it also allowed me to learn the importance of hydration, sleep schedule, dietary supplements, strength and conditioning, as well as injury prevention programs to keep the athletes performing at their best. While I create individualized strength and... mobility programs for my clients to help them achieve their goals, I also educate them in the importance of sleep, mindfulness/meditation, hydration, and nutrition. Working with individuals at the highest level means addressing everything from big toe mobility to breathing mechanics to coffee consumption to sleep hygiene. Without one, it’s impossible to perform at your highest level. I’ll never forget working with individuals like @officialrealdeal who lived and breathed football 24/7. Constantly focused on his goal of playing in the @nfl, he consistently took time to address his physical, mental, and emotional well-being. As a result, he remained relatively injury-free throughout his college career, a feat near impossible considering the nature of the sport. . Even though you may not be playing a sport at a high level, it is important to think about how you maintain your own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Are you getting 7 hours of sleep every night? Do you meditate or perform regular body scans? Do you have a daily mobility practice to not only maintain but also enhance your flexibility or control? If not, what is stopping you? If the answer is I’m too busy, try changing that phrase to This is not a priority to me. Changing this phrase can help you realize that you’re potentially placing your health and wellness lower on your priority list than you might’ve thought. Without maintaining a health lifestyle, you’re putting yourself at a greater risk of injury, psychological distress, and disease. Try changing the phrase from busy to not a priority for a week and I guarantee you’ll start to see things differently.

A little background on me: I was a competitive Irish Dancer for 12 years growing up, in addition to playing AYSO soccer, high school track & field, cross country, and tennis. Having sustained many injuries over the years, I understand the emotional and mental factors associated with sports injury. I’ll never forget the injury that prompted me to attend physical therapy myself. At the ripe young age of 16, I had developed intermittent bilateral hip pain primarily with running ...but occasionally just with sitting, standing, or walking. I consistently participated in rigorous 2 hour PT sessions twice a week for over a year with minimal progress. I still wasn’t able to run more than 2 miles without pain and was pretty frustrated with the fact that although the MRI was negative, I was still experiencing pretty significant symptoms on a daily basis, regardless of activity level. Even though PT didn’t work for me at the time, I loved the idea of helping athletes get back to their sports, grandmas getting back to walking, and was honestly determined to fix my own hips (spoiler alert: I’m now able to run 3 miles pain-free with a consistent hip mobility program I’ve developed for myself!). With my background in Kinesiology & a Doctorate of Physical Therapy, I am determined to help athletes of all ages learn about the importance of treating their bodies with care, provide sport specific mobility and strength programs to prevent injuries, and guide them through the rehabilitation process if the time comes. Let me help you create a program specifically designed around your activities whether you’re a competitive Irish dancer, high school soccer player, recreational golfer, or Wii tennis player. @ La Verne, California

Hi, I’m Dr. Tara O’Brien. I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy located in Orange County, California. I am a movement specialist, FRC and FRA certified, and committed to helping athletes of all ages and skill levels perform at their best while reducing their risk of injury. I help my clients create individualized mobility and strength training programs specifically designed to combat old injuries, bulletproof your joints against future injuries, and enhance performance. I conduct both in-person and virtual consultations depending on your location/schedule. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have!

Hi, I’m Tara O’Brien, PT, DPT, FRCms, FRAs. I’m a Doctor of Physical Therapy located in Orange County, California. I graduated from the Univeristy of Southern California (fight on!) in 2016 and have been practicing as an orthopedic physical therapist for the past 4 years. I am a movement specialist, FRC and FRA certified, and committed to helping athletes of all ages and skill levels perform at their best while reducing their risk of injury. Together, we’ll create individua...lized mobility and strength training programs specifically designed to combat old injuries, bulletproof your joints against future injuries, and enhance performance. I believe educating my clients on how their bodies move and function is one of the most important factors into creating a sustainable, daily mobility program. I conduct both in-person and virtual consultations depending on your location/schedule. I also conduct sport-specific group classes structured around the individual joint requirements for that sport such as a club soccer team, BJJ, and Irish Dancing. Check out the link in my bio for some FREE YouTube content with specific mobility exercises organized by body part! Please dm me with any questions you may have or if you’d like to start building your own mobility program with me! See more