My introduction to the World of Pelvic Floor

Reema Thakkar, PT, DPT has been a practicing Physical Therapist in Manhattan since 2011, specializing in orthopedics and vestibular rehabilitation. Reema has offered to share insights about her journey into pelvic rehabilitation.

Working as a physical therapist for 4+ years in Manhattan, I soon realized the need for pelvic floor rehabilitation within the pre- and post- natal community, as well as the geriatric community. Much of our population did not even know that this type of rehabilitation was effective or even available. Others, were simply embarrassed by the topic altogether. I decided - a complete novice in this field - to attend a Herman & Wallace PF course and see what was available as a resource for me, and my patients.

"I can happily report that as more and more patients catch wind of what I’m working on, their interest spurs."

My first course was definitely overwhelming. I had studied beforehand, like any eager student would, but I still felt as though it was my first day of PT school and I was scared I would “break” the patient. The candor and wit, in which each topic was presented to us that weekend, completely eased my mind. The pelvic floor, like any other daunting body part we had studied through our careers as PTs, was equally as influenced by the pulls and strains of our daily lives…and the muscles and joints needed our help.

I returned from my course full steam ahead. I felt equipped to at least begin this journey with my patients, and decided to further pursue my pelvic floor education, already registering for a follow up course in a few months. One thing that was imperative to my pelvic floor pursuit, was understanding the confines of an outpatient clinic. Even with having curtains around, patients were far less inclined to open up about their dysfunctions despite this assumed level of privacy. I had to ensure to schedule in times where one on one care with a closed door was possible. Another imperative factor was studying ahead of time. Being new to this care, I had to have a prescription from the MD or an intake form from the patient beforehand in order to research the night before.

I am still in the process of mastering this flow of practice. However I can happily report that as more and more patients catch wind of what I’m working on, their interest spurs. I can’t say they have all come in for a pelvic floor evaluation, especially the older generation, but they are certainly opening up a dialogue and asking some questions – which is all I can hope for.

That being said, I am even more confident in my ability to help the patients in question. Since returning from my first class, my greatest successes have been working with an elderly woman with severe uterine prolapse and a middle aged gentleman suffering from urinary incontinence s/p inguinal hernia repair. I can gladly report that their quality of life has greatly improved since beginning this care and I can only hope to guide them further in this process, with further success.

Reema has been a practicing Physical Therapist in Manhattan since 2011, specializing in orthopedics and vestibular rehabilitation. Reema is currently pursuing further training in order to become a certified Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner.