Ayako Shono, MPT

Known for innovative therapy care, and trusted by Olympians, retirees, and people from every walk of life

With over 30 years of clinical experience, Ayako has dedicated her career to the care and rehabilitation of countless individuals. Ayako’s current patients include current and former Olympians, international and youth athletes, and people from every walk of life. A hallmark of Ayako’s practice has been finding solutions to challenging or difficult physical injury or conditions.

Ayako has worked with Olympians from the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games, NCAA Division I UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball team, USA Men’s National Indoor Volleyball players, USA and international Men’s and Women’s professional Beach Volleyball players. She has also travelled internationally to treat professional beach volleyball players, preparing them for World Championship and Olympic runs.

Ayako graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Kinesiology where she conducted research with then-Department Chair Dr. Judith Smith. She earned her Masters of Physical Therapy (MPT) with honors from Chapman University, where her thesis focused on the relationship between scoliosis and TMJ. Post-graduation, she returned to UCLA as Senior Physical Therapist at the UCLA Outpatient Orthopedic and Sports Rehabilitation Facility and undertook a mentorship and teaching role for the Department of Physical Therapy. After concluding her work at UCLA, she started running her own practice. Ayako regularly mentors physical therapy students and developing therapists.

In her free time, she loves to study anatomy (yes, really!) and spending time with her family. She enjoys hiking, biking, pilates, tennis, paddle boarding, and kayaking around Back Bay.