When Kristen Davenport first attended college at San Diego State all those years ago, her dream was to major in kinesiology and be an athletic trainer. After all, that’s what her uncle did for a living, and she got to see firsthand how highly skilled and sought-after he was as she and the rest of her athletic siblings and cousins would line up during Thanksgiving gatherings to let him fix them up.
Whether it was a pulled muscle from a recent swimming meet, a bum knee from a triathlon or soccer game, or another injury that threatened to keep them from competing to their fullest potential, her uncle always had the answer. To Kristen, he was a magician.
“We were a family of athletes, and I always thought what he did for a living was cool,” she said. “He enjoyed helping people.”
She added, “But I quickly found out that because of that amazing job, he was also working weekends, nights, holidays, etc. I wanted to help people, too, but I also wanted to be a mom someday, and that kind of schedule wouldn’t work. I remember thinking, ‘What about physical therapy?’ It would still let me work with athletes, and I could do it in my way and on my terms.”
That moment of clarity may not have seemed earth-shattering at the time. Still, it laid the foundation for what would eventually become BASE Physical Therapy & Wellness, a thriving, privately-owned physical therapy clinic in Argyle, where Kristen is doing precisely what she set out to do—helping people move better, live stronger, and stay active. And the best part is that it doesn’t matter if you’re a weekend warrior at your local CrossFit gym, a 5-star recruit with an entire career in front of you, a mom of four who wants nothing more than to keep up with her kids in the backyard, or a grandmother who enjoys a few hours of pain-free gardening.
If you are dealing with something that’s keeping you from being the most active version of yourself—ankle pain, joint discomfort, muscle strains that won’t go away, pelvic floor issues, or chronic sciatica, BASE Physical Therapy is the answer.
“I’ve created a space that’s for anyone who desires to be active but is being held back by their body,” Kristen said. Along with creating her business from scratch, she also achieved her dream of being a wife and mother. She and her husband live in Argyle with their two boys and enjoy going on bike rides and hiking in their free time. “It’s better quality care, more personalized, and I can spend more time working with each patient. It’s all about getting the pain down, treating the root cause, and putting people in a position where they are stronger than ever before and don’t have to worry about being injured again.”
Ironically, creating a PT world of complete autonomy for herself and patients wasn’t an overnight thing.
Kristen started her career 11 years ago in a traditional outpatient orthopedic setting. She was just as passionate about helping people then as she is now, and her patients were equally as eager to get back to feeling like themselves again. The problem was that as she continued to pour her heart and bottomless bag of PT tricks into each session, she couldn’t help but feel like she was leaving her patients a few yards short of the proverbial finish line. Her patients weren’t reaching their full potential.
Those limitations weren’t Kristen’s fault, nor were they her colleagues’ fault. They stemmed from an insurance world that was suddenly dictating care on everything from the number of visits a patient could have to which body part could be treated on a given day. If that weren’t enough, Kristen often found herself running back and forth between two or three patient sessions at once.
No one was receiving personalized and comprehensive care, and the physical therapists were becoming burned out.
“I felt like my hands were tied by what they allowed me to do versus what I knew I was capable of,” she said. “It got so bad that I almost left the profession entirely. As much as I loved being a PT, I wasn’t helping people the way I wanted.”
Instead of giving up, Kristen pivoted. Two years ago, she found a way to build something of her own—something that allowed her to do what she does best: connect with patients, address the root of the problem, and guide them through a full recovery.
She started BASE Physical Therapy & Wellness in early 2023, initially operating out of a 10×10 corner at a local CrossFit gym. Her first patient came that April. By October, Kristen had quit her other job and committed to BASE full time. Since then, she’s grown into a new, 700-square-foot facility on Crawford Road in Argyle—a space that’s all hers and fully equipped with barbells, dumbbells, sleds, rowers, and the tools necessary to take people from injury to full strength.
She shares the building with Empower Chiropractic and Orion Holistic Care. Together, they’ve created what they now call the Argyle Wellness Center, a hub for whole-body healing for families who want to get healthy from the inside out.
What makes BASE different isn’t the space or equipment. It’s Kristen’s commitment to doing physical therapy the right way.
Instead of relying on insurance to dictate what can or can’t be done, she focuses on listening to her clients’ issues and building a personalized plan focused on balance, agility, strength, and endurance. And the success stories are everywhere. That includes a CrossFitter with an injured shoulder. Kristen not only kept him participating in CrossFit while he was in rehab, but she also helped him regain his ability to do ring muscle-ups and improve his hip mobility, allowing him to squat heavier weights than ever before.
“My goal has always been to keep active people active, and to make the most out of everything I’ve learned over the years,” Kristen said. “Starting this business has rejuvenated my passion for physical therapy and getting people back to a place where they can enjoy their lives without being in pain all the time.”
For more information, please visit baseptandwellness.com.
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