Meet Blair H. Green, PT - This Week's Featured Practitioner!

Today we are happy to share an interview with Blair Green, PT! Blair brings her experience as both a practitioner and a clinic owner to the field of pelvic rehabilitation, and you can check out her insights below.

Tell us about your clinical practice

I am an owner of One on One Physical Therapy, in Atlanta, GA. My patient population is primarily patients with pelvic pain of varying degrees. I blend my skills and knowledge of pelvic health with orthopedic manual therapy and I am able to provide a comprehensive approach to treating these patients. I also work closely with postpartum women for rehabilitation following childbirth, primarily in an orthopedic sense. I like to work with women who experience diastasis recti following pregnancy and who want to return to an active lifestyle after having children. One other area that interests me is the relationship between autoimmune disorders / endocrine function / pelvic pain. I hope to expand on this in the future.

How did you get started doing pelvic rehab?

I started doing pelvic rehab after taking a course linking orthopedic manual therapy with pelvic floor dysfunction. At the time I was working with many pregnant and postpartum women and hoped to gain some insight into the role of the pelvic floor in this population. I was the only orthopedic PT in the course. At that point I realized I could not treat the hip / SIJ / lumbar spine in isolation and I needed to consider the role of the pelvic floor with this population. This opened many doors for me and I soon found myself fully entrenched in the world of pelvic floor rehabilitation.

How do you feel the addition of pelvic rehab provides a unique service to your community?

In Atlanta, many PTs address orthopedics but very few address the pelvic floor. I am able to treat patients from all over the state of Georgia. In addition, I have spent a great deal of time educating my colleagues and DPT students on the role of the pelvis and pelvic floor and why it cannot be ignored in many cases of low back, hip and pelvic pain. I also consult with different organizations in Atlanta who work with pregnant and post partum women. I am able to talk to their clients and staff members about the role of physical therapy in Obstetrics.

What skills have their therapists been trained in that they have found most helpful?

What skills do I find most helpful? I think they are all helpful. Every patient is different. Some require extensive hands-on manual therapy, others need continual supervised exercise instruction. For some, education is key. I have certifications in Pilates and Trigger Point Dry Needling. Both of these were “game changers” for me. More recently I am incorporating a lot of work by Paul Hodges, Diane Lee, Julie Wiebe and Lorimer Moseley. I am becoming very integrative and holistic in my approach and I enjoy this.

Do you find that medical providers and referral sources are still surprised at all the of conditions pelvic rehab providers can treat?

I think they are surprised that physical therapists can do so much to help women with pelvic pain. Most medical providers I meet are so thrilled to have a PT to work with. A few years ago, they never would have imagined that physical therapists would be so crucial in the plan of care for these patients.

What are challenges you face managing a clinic? What are some things that have helped you get over these challenges?

One of the biggest challenges I face is how to continue to treat patients and still have time to focus on growing my business, training new PTs and educating referral sources on what we do. There is just not enough time to do it all! It’s hard to prioritize.

What aspect of your program do you look forward to further developing?

Our pelvic floor team is growing. It was just me for a long time. Now we have 3 PTs that treat pelvic health and I hope we can continue to grow this team. I love to learn from my colleagues and I love that we can all work together to get the word out about One on One Physical Therapy and what we do.

How has H&W helped you reach your goals?

I am always impressed by the courses presented by H&W. I started in PF 2A and have worked my way through many classes. I love the instructors and have used them as mentors at times, always looking for their clinical pearls. In addition, one of my PTs I recently hired I met at a H&W course. We were lab partners. We stayed in touch for 5 years until the timing was right for her to come on board!

If you could get a message out to patients/ the community at large about pelvic rehab, what would it be?

I would want to get the message out there that incontinence, pain with intercourse, constipation, abdominal pain, post-pregnancy pain - none of these conditions are normal. Pelvic health PTs can help treat these problems and teach you many tools so that you do not have to live with these symptoms. I love to joke with friends and patients that I am a “vagina physical therapist.” It’s humorous but people definitely inquire more. I am able to get my message out there!