Dr. Rylander grew up in a small town of about 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 followed by orthopedic residency training at Southern Illinois University. This was followed by a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery with the University of Colorado where he helped take care of 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 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 the orthopedic surgery associate program director for the University of Colorado residency program. He then joined Kaiser Permanente in 2017. In addition to clinic duties there, he also served as an associate medical director from October 2022 to December 2024 followed by service line medical director from January 2025 to present where he was responsible for supervising a department of 50 physicians along with their supporting staff. He has received multiple accolades including 5280 Top Doc, the Permanente Award, and Outstanding Service Line Medical Director.

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 was both smaller and more intimate. 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 areas. He really just loves being able to care for normal everyday people to hopefully help improve their lives.

While not at work, Dr. Rylander enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, and international travel. More importantly, he spends time with his family including his wife and two young sons.