Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiley Kelly.
Hi Kiley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story started in middle school. I’ve always been drawn to health and wellness. Back then, I was convinced I’d be a personal trainer, just like Jillian Michaels. In high school, my interest shifted toward physical therapy, until I started seeing a chiropractor who specialized in rehab. I asked a million questions about what made chiropractic different, and the holistic approach sold me completely. I was all in.
In chiropractic school, I fell more in love with what I could offer as a chiropractor and learned far more than I expected. My school also happened to have an acupuncture program, so I enrolled and earned my master’s in acupuncture. It opened up an entirely new world. During my first year, I also became a certified yoga teacher. I never lost my love for fitness, because movement is such an integral part of tending to your body, and yoga fit beautifully into the holistic world, blending the structure of chiropractic with the flow of acupuncture. Today, that love lives on through the rehab I weave into my practice and the yoga classes I teach in the Austin community.
Traditional Chinese Medicine taught me that period cramps aren’t normal. As someone who has yet to experience a painless period, that blew my mind. And the bloating, acne, constipation, and pelvic pain I’d been living with? All connected. What seemed so separate and complicated through a modern medicine lens became simple and obvious through Eastern medicine. Chiropractic taught me that the perception of safety in your nervous system shapes how your body moves, functions, and performs. Together, these two perspectives showed me how beautifully they could work in harmony.
But I hit a gap: on the chiropractic side, there wasn’t nearly as much women’s health education as I wanted. So I spent my weekends at seminars, which is how I met my mentor, Lindsay Mumma, author of Your Pelvic Floor Sucks. I spent years learning from her, knowing this was the missing piece. I was amazed by how much I could offer as a chiropractor to support women through something as sacred as birth.
Since then, I’ve dedicated my practice to holistic women’s health, supporting women through the 6 P’s: periods, pelvic floor, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause. I spent most of my life being told, and believing, that things that aren’t normal were normal. Now I get to validate women who feel anything short of great, then actually educate and support them, rather than offering a band-aid.
I didn’t know this is the kind of care that I needed, so I thought other women would need it to. That’s why I created Common Ground Wellness Center.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
On paper, it looks pretty smooth: a bachelor’s in exercise science, chiropractic and acupuncture school completed in four and a half years, boards passed, a move to Texas, and a practice of my own.
The reality was a lot messier. I started chiropractic school in St. Louis right as COVID hit, and we weren’t allowed in the anatomy lab. For anatomy being the foundation of this profession, that wasn’t something I was willing to compromise on. After my first trimester, I transferred schools (back to my hometown, Lombard, IL) so I could learn real anatomy, in person. Even in the uncertainty of that time, I knew in-person care would come back. Human connection and human touch are too essential to the human experience to disappear.
Being enrolled in two graduate-level programs at once was intense, and it challenged me in every way. My own nervous system took a beating, and my relationship almost didn’t make it (you’ll be happy to know we’re still together and thriving). I’m still learning about my own body and navigating my own pelvic health journey. And now I’m learning to wear all the hats in a new business.
Of course there were moments I wanted to quit. I’m still challenged every day. But the purpose behind what I do makes it worth it a million times over.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Common Ground Wellness Center ?
Common Ground is a holistic women’s health practice in Austin, Texas, where chiropractic and acupuncture come together under one roof. We support women through every season of life, what we call the 6 P’s: periods, pelvic floor, preconception, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause.
What sets us apart is that we look at the whole picture. So much of healthcare sees the body in pieces: one appointment for your back, another for your cycle, another for your pelvic floor. But those things are almost always connected. Shoulder pain often shows up alongside tension in the same-side low back, hip, and glutes. Period pain, bloating, and pelvic discomfort tend to travel together. With training in both chiropractic and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dr. Kiley sees those patterns and addresses them together, rather than chasing symptoms one at a time.
Chiropractic care at Common Ground also looks different from what most people expect. A visit isn’t a quick adjustment and out the door. Depending on what your body needs, it can include adjustments, manual therapy, cupping, dry needling, instrument-assisted scraping, and DNS (Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization) rehab, so you leave with a body that moves better and the tools to keep it that way.
Dr. Kiley is also trained in Mercier Therapy, a gentle, hands-on pelvic and abdominal technique that supports mobility and circulation in the pelvic organs. It’s a beautiful complement for women navigating painful periods, pelvic discomfort, or the journey to conception.
We’re not afraid to challenge what women have been told is normal. Period pain isn’t normal. Peeing when you sneeze isn’t normal. Kegels aren’t the answer for everyone. Women deserve to understand their bodies, and education is woven into every visit.
What we’re most proud of is the experience women have when they walk in. So many arrive having been dismissed or told “that’s just part of being a woman.” At Common Ground, they’re heard, validated, and given real tools to feel at home in their bodies again. Dr. Kiley built the care she didn’t know she needed, knowing so many other women needed it too.
What we want readers to know: if you’re feeling anything short of great, you don’t have to just live with it. Common Ground offers chiropractic and acupuncture care for every phase of women’s health.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The work ethic carried me through four and a half years of chiropractic and acupuncture school at the same time, and it’s what keeps me going now as I wear every hat in my business. But work ethic alone wouldn’t have gotten me here. Moving to Texas, starting a practice from scratch, and building something that didn’t exist yet all required jumping before I felt completely ready.
If I’d let fear hold me back, Common Ground wouldn’t exist. I’ve learned that fear usually means I’m on the edge of something worth doing, I’d rather try & flop than not try at all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.commongroundwc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.kileykelly/ & https://www.instagram.com/commonground.wc/
