Dr. Hilary Obert

Dr. Hilary Obert is a sports physical therapy and rehabilitation specialist working in elite football environments, with a career shaped by high-performance clinical practice, return-to-play leadership, and performance training. Educated at Saint Louis University, she has built a profile that bridges medical care and performance readiness—helping athletes recover efficiently while reducing risk and improving availability.

Hilary is currently Head of Physical Therapy at Seattle Sounders FC (since January 2024), having previously served as a Physical Therapist with the club (January 2023–January 2024) and earlier as a Physical Therapist at Seattle Sounders FC (January 2018–February 2021). Across her Sounders roles, she has been responsible for key pillars of high-performance rehabilitation: implementing individualised prehab and pre-activation strategies, providing day-to-day maintenance and manual therapy to prepare players for training, building short- and long-term rehab plans, and using baseline testing and objective tracking to guide evidence-informed return-to-play decisions. She was part of the club environment during the 2019 MLS Cup-winning season, reflecting experience inside a championship-level programme.

Between her Sounders appointments, Hilary expanded her leadership experience as Director of Sports Medicine at Minnesota United FC (February 2021–January 2022) and later as Director of Performance at Pura Vida Elite (April 2022–January 2023), further strengthening her capability across both clinical governance and performance delivery. Alongside full-time roles, she also operates in private practice as Physical Therapist and Performance Training through Fuerza Elite: Rehab and Sports Performance (since October 2023), extending her support beyond a single organisation.

Earlier in her pathway, Hilary worked at Mvp Physical Therapy (June 2015–December 2017), progressing into clinic management while focusing on athletic populations and the transition from rehab to performance training. She also gained team-sport experience as a Volunteer Physical Therapist with Tacoma Stars (October 2015–March 2016), delivering treatment, rehabilitation, and preventative exercise planning.

Fluent in English, Dr. Obert’s expertise is centred on sports physical therapy and rehabilitation, with a clear emphasis on high-performance return-to-play systems, post-surgical rehabilitation, and the daily medical-performance integration required to keep elite players healthy, resilient, and ready to compete.

Area:
Rehabilitation