Emily DeCarlo, PT
Oregon License #3094
Emily DeCarlo, MPT
Movement has always been medicine for Emily DeCarlo, and that led her into sports and physical therapy. After more than 30 years in a profession she loves, and with her two kids out of the house, she is delighted to specialize more deeply and join her friends at Portland Myofascial Release in 2025.
Graduating undergrad from the University of Virginia and the University of Delaware’s physical therapy program, she made her way to the west coast. For the first half of her career, Emily focused mostly on acute neurologic and head injured clients. After years of reading John Barnes’s compelling Myofascial Release articles, she took her first class in 2009 and enthusiastically took all of his classes over and over again.
She started using MFR in the acute hospital setting with a very diverse population from all over the world and found that hands on support and in-the-moment presence transcended all language barriers and diagnoses. In order to focus on expert-level myofascial bodywork, Emily moved into the private practice setting for the second half of her career, adding to her versatility by seeing all types of orthopedic clients, chronic pain, and autoimmune conditions. In 2014, she began treating chronic pelvic pain and breast health clients and continues to enjoy this specialty. In the face of discouraging diagnostic labels, she has a deep faith in the miracles of shift that happen with myofascial work and its true healing potential.
A long-standing practice of hatha yoga sustains her groundedness, as well as every day dog walks celebrating nature and the seasons. Emily volunteers weekly at Hopewell House Hospice, tending to the dying and their families. There, she continues to experience the deep nuances of grief and to appreciate what it is to always be a beginner.
Eating in Portland with her husband is one of her favorite activities. And, she confesses to a minor chocolate addiction… is it really a problem?