Karie marsh, slpd, ccc-slp

For years, Karie experienced exactly what her patients describe — exercise-induced breathlessness at peak effort that was hard to explain and even harder to treat. That personal journey became the foundation of Functional Airway Lab, and it shapes everything she does.

Karie didn't just study EILO. She lived it, treated it, and resolved it — using the same integrated methods she now brings to every athlete she works with. That combination of lived experience and advanced clinical training is rare. 

About karie

"I had eilo before i knew what it was."

The beginning

An athlete who couldn't understand her symptoms

Karie's experience with exercise-induced breathlessness began in adolescence. At peak effort, she'd feel throat tightness, noisy breathing, and the unsettling sense of not being able to get air in — symptoms that would resolve quickly after stopping activity. Sound familiar?

Like many athletes, she had a hard time putting words to what she was feeling, and providers she saw didn't yet have a clear explanation for it. She kept training. The questions kept coming. She held on to the belief that answers existed — she just hadn't found them yet.

"My symptoms were difficult to identify and often dismissed as 'normal' — leaving me without clear answers or effective solutions. I knew something was wrong. I just didn't know what."

the discovery

Finding the answer in clinical training

When Karie pursued speech-language pathology, she was introduced to exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (then more commonly called vocal cord dysfunction or paradoxical vocal fold motion). She recognized it immediately — this was what she had been experiencing throughout her athletic career.

She began applying the respiratory retraining techniques central to SLP practice for EILO. They made a real difference. And they deepened her curiosity: what would it look like to go even further, to address not just the mechanics but the full picture of how breathing works as a system?

the doctorate

returning to research what she had experienced

Karie completed her clinical doctorate in speech-language pathology at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, focusing her research specifically on EILO in adolescent and young adult athletes. Her clinical background gave her a strong foundation. She left with new questions, a deeper evidence base, and a drive to keep building on what SLP practice had already given her.

the story

the resolution

While completing her doctorate, Karie pursued advanced training in functional breathing retraining — becoming a Certified Buteyko Breathing Practitioner and an Advanced Oxygen Advantage Instructor, and completing the P.I.E. Approach for EILO Level 1.

This work expanded her clinical toolkit, adding breathing mechanics, respiratory chemistry, and nervous system regulation to the laryngeal retraining techniques at the heart of SLP-based EILO care. Together, these approaches form an integrated system — one that goes beyond managing symptoms toward lasting resolution.

That's what she works toward with every athlete at Functional Airway Lab.

AN Integrated Approach