LEVEL4 PT & Wellness helps people over 40 live more active, happy lives

With LEVEL 4 PT & Wellness, husband and wife team Oscar and Dawn Andalon are working to add value to the lives of others by helping people get back to doing the things they love.

The physical therapy experts opened the Encinitas clinic four years ago, using effective and quality services to help people over 40 become more active and mobile. The big areas they target are back, knee and shoulder pain as well as sports injury rehabilitation. LEVEL4 also specializes in women’s health physical therapy, particularly pelvic floor rehab—they are one of the few clinics in North County San Diego with specialists in that area.

“We’re all about helping people avoid unnecessary surgeries and painkillers and keeping people active for the rest of their lives,” Dawn said.

The couple met at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences where they both pursued doctorates of physical therapy.

A former dancer and gymnast, Dawn has always enjoyed fitness and specializes in treating spine, hip and pelvic issues. She has a passion for postnatal care, helping women return to exercise.

Oscar was a collegiate soccer player at the University of San Francisco and played at the professional level playing for the California Jaguars. As an orthopedic and sports performance specialist, he is dedicated to helping athletes and fitness fanatics of all ages and skill levels bounce back from injuries.

Before moving to Carlsbad, the Andalons lived in Portland where Dawn worked for Nike World Headquarters as a physical therapist and consultant, and Oscar was the clinic director for for a sports physical therapy and performance center. They were looking to escape the rain with their two daughters.

“We wanted the lifestyle of living in a warmer climate, living by the beach and being active all year long,” Dawn said. With their 9 and 11-year-old daughters, the family loves being outside or at the beach and on the weekends you can find them playing soccer, surfing or hiking.

San Diego also appealed because it was a place where people are health-conscious and seeking holistic, natural solutions. They picked the lifestyle first and built their business up around it, opening up an overall wellness center that offers not just physical therapy but therapeutic massage, pilates, fitness and yoga classes, acupuncture—all under one roof. On the fitness side, they offer both personal and group training sessions with clinical precision, helping people to move better and get stronger.

LEVEL4 adjusted during the pandemic by offering virtual appointments and online classes and they have embraced the opportunity to be able to help more people, living in rural communities or as far away as Bakersfield and San Francisco.

They also grew—bringing on six more staff members.

In addition to helping people achieve their goals, Dawn also hosts a weekly podcast, “Dr. Dawn’s Women’s Health Haps Hour”, in which she provides information and insights from a network of health practitioners to help women live their best lives. The Andalons have also published two books, the most recent being “Thriving Not Surviving Over 40”. They are currently working on a book about shoulders.

At LEVEL4, the first question their team asks the clients is: “How do you want us to help you?” Free from the constraints of the health insurance model, Oscar said they are able to treat patients how they want to be treated in order to achieve the individual outcomes each individual is looking for, without just masking the pain with a pill or going in for a risky surgery.

He said too many people are just surviving day to day and not living the life that they really want. Their job is to give people their lives back.

“For us treating the pain is the least we can do with somebody,” Oscar said, noting the magic comes when they can help empower people to overcome their own limitations. “Our motto is ‘We deliver happiness in any way possible’. It’s gratifying to see people achieve their goal that they never thought they would get back again.”

LEVEL4 PT & Wellness is located at 171 Saxony Road, Suite 105 in Encinitas. For more information, visit level4pt.com/

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