Specializing in Fascial Counterstrain

welcome to calyx physical therapy

San Francisco Bay Area

Gentle Hands-On Therapy for Pain Relief, Recovery, and Long-Term Healing


Physical Therapy in San Francisco. Personalized, one-on-one care for chronic pain

Bodies don't follow a standard script.
Injuries and illness, including stress, don't either.
Every condition affects everyone differently.

Sometimes the body just doesn't finish healing.
Under ideal circumstances, after injury or illness, the body heals through a well-coordinated process — inflammation clears, pain signals quiet, mobility improves, and the system gradually returns to balance. But sometimes that healing process remains incomplete. Incomplete healing allows irritation and inflammation to persist, showing up as ongoing symptoms that simply do not resolve.

Fascial Counterstrain meets every body where it is.
So healing can finally finish what it started.

Fascial Counterstrain is particularly effective at addressing exactly this, helping the body complete what it started. And sometimes, even when healing is on track, helping the body clear inflammation more quickly can make recovery faster and more complete.

[About Fascial Counterstrain]

Because fascia touches everything, the list of conditions we can help with is broader than you might expect:

  • A sprained ankle or tendinitis that isn't healing the way it should

  • A shoulder that still doesn't feel right after treatment or surgery

  • Chronic back, sciatic, or pelvic pain

  • TMJ dysfunction or headaches

  • Post-surgical recovery that stalled

  • Digestive complaints or breathing difficulties that haven't resolved

  • Fatigue, dizziness, or sleep disruption

  • Something that has been difficult to resolve no matter how many approaches have been tried

Fascial Counterstrain is a gentle, effective approach at the heart of this practice, one that often helps when other treatments haven't.

[Conditions we treat]


Cristina Shupe, PT

I’ve spent nearly 30 years doing what I lovehelping people feel better.

Fascial Counterstrain changed the way I practice, and expanded what feels possible for the people I treat. My approach combines Fascial Counterstrain with evidence-based rehabilitation and therapeutic movement to help address pain, dysfunction, and the underlying patterns that may be contributing to them.

Alongside hands-on care and therapeutic movement, I help patients understand their symptoms in a more clinically meaningful way, offering context when it helps clarify what may be contributing to pain, dysfunction, or patterns of limitation.

At the heart of my work is a commitment to unhurried, focused care, giving each patient the time, attention, and continuity needed for healing to unfold in a thoughtful and supported way.