Dr. Rylander grew up in a small town of 750 people in rural central Illinois.  After graduating as a valedictorian of his high school, he attended Augustana College in Rock Island, IL where he finished summa cum laude. Thereafter, he went on to medical school at the University of Illinois and orthopedic residency training at Southern Illinois University. This was followed by a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the University of Colorado where he helped care for collegiate athletes at the University of Colorado and Denver University. 

After completing his training, Dr. Rylander spent a year with a single specialty orthopedic group in Illinois prior to returning to Colorado in 2012 to work at the Denver Veteran's Hospital. While there, he was heavily involved in resident education, serving for several years as associate program director for the University of Colorado orthopedic residency program. He then joined Kaiser Permanente in 2017. In addition to clinical duties, he has also served as an orthopedic associate medical director from October 2022 to December 2024 followed by orthopedic service line medical director from January 2025 to present, where he is responsible for supervising a department of 50 physicians along with supporting staff in caring for ~500,000 members in Colorado. He has received multiple accolades including 5280 Top Doc, The Permanente Award, Outstanding Service Line Medical Director, and the Allan Bucknell Excellence in Resident Education award.

While he continues to enjoy working for a large organization and the advantages it gives, he eventually realized that he missed a simpler form of medical care that allowed more personal and direct interaction with his patients. He also realized that he missed small towns and the people that lived in them. He was fortunate to find an opportunity to travel to rural communities to provide orthopedic care to patients in those regions. He really just enjoys being able to care for normal everyday people and help improve their lives.

While not at work, Dr. Rylander enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, international travel, and spending time with his wife and two young sons.