Month: March 2020

Virtual Care & Pelvic Yoga at Home

~ jesspreale ~ Leave a comment

If you would have told me two weeks ago that I would have closed the doors to my clinic, Southern Pelvic Health, a week later, and shifted my practice to a virtual one, I would not have believed you. Maybe I was naive (yes, I probably was), but this change came quick to me. It almost happened overnight. And, here we are. I am moving into my second week of working with my patients online. While for many, that seems incredibly scary, I actually think that shifting to an online platform for a while is going to do a lot of good.

Last week, I worked with a few other colleagues to host a webinar on bringing pelvic health online– basically, how do pelvic floor PTs treat most effectively without actually touching their patients? It was a quick production–one built out of necessity–and it sold out in 24 hours because rehab professionals everywhere are trying to figure out how we can still be there for our patients and help them get better during this time. (For my colleagues out there, if you missed it, it’s still available as an on-demand purchase!) I brought together 5 experts from various corners of the country and the world, and we spoke for nearly 2 hours about how we assess the pelvic floor, evaluate patients, and actually help patients get better in a virtual setting. It was full of creative ideas, and also challenged some of the current practice patterns. As you know, I work hard to always question my own practice–learn more–do better– and I’m excited to see what this next period of time does for me as I learn to better and more effectively treat my patients, to be creative with self-care treatments and home strategies, and to use movement to help patients move when my hands are unable to. I will share what I learn with you here, of course.

Pelvic PTs are not the only professionals taking their skills online! Last week, my daughter and I joined a “Frozen Sing-A-long” through a local princess parties company. I have been thrilled to see some incredible resources for people with pelvic floor dysfunction hop online, and I am excited to share some of those with you today!

So, what can you join virtually this week? 

Yoga for Pelvic Health

My dear friend and colleague, Patty Schmidt with PLS Yoga, is incredible and specializes in therapeutic yoga for pelvic floor dysfunction. She is bringing several awesome classes online! AND, they are cheap– $15 per class (which honestly, is a HUGE value for the expertise she brings!) So, I do hope you’ll join in:

Patty also is teaching private sessions virtually at $30 for a 30-minute session. This is a steal, believe me!

I also need to share with you all of the FREE yoga resources through another friend and colleague, Shelly Prosko. Shelly has this incredible library of Yoga options for pelvic health, all available right here.

I hope you are able to partake of these awesome resources. Remember, we are in this together my friends! I’ll leave you with a quote from a much-loved movie in my house, Frozen II, “When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.” Let’s all try to do the next right thing amidst this craziness!

Much love,

Jessica

PS- If you are struggling with pelvic floor problems at home, we’d love to help!! Schedule a virtual session or a complimentary phone consultation with us at SPH!

For Pros: Expert Panel Discussion on Virtual Pelvic Health Tomorrow 3/20 at 9PM EST!

~ jesspreale ~ 9 Comments

Hello my friends,

Wow- what a few weeks it has been! I don’t know about you, but it has felt completely surreal to me. My practice, Southern Pelvic Health, which has been steadily growing and serving people around Atlanta was suddenly put on hold, and many of my patients shifted to working with me in a virtual setting. Now, I know you may be thinking– how can you help people without actually touching them? I hope to expand on this in some future posts, because, honestly, I believe this is where we are going to be for a while (SO, WASH YOUR HANDS, and SOCIALLY DISTANCE, my friends!). But, this is heavy on the minds of pelvic PTs across the country. Thinking– how can we, as a profession, still help the people who need it? Make a difference in their lives? Help people control their bowels & bladder, have better and pain-free sex, live their lives without pelvic pain?

So, this post is for all of you PTs out there asking yourselves that! Earlier this week, I partnered together with some of the smartest, most innovative PTs I know– who are leaders in our field, and ALREADY practicing pelvic health in a virtual setting– and we are hosting a webinar to teach all of you how to do just that! So, join us tomorrow for this important event:

TAKING PELVIC HEALTH ONLINE!

LIVE Webinar Event: FRIDAY 3/20 AT 9PM EST

Copy of Talking Pelvic Health

We are bringing an expert panel together to discuss how best to screen, examine, and treat patients with pelvic floor diagnoses—without actually being able to touch our patients! These experts have been ALREADY DOING THIS, with success, and we are so pleased to bring this to all of you!

Join me, Jessica Reale, PT, DPT, WCS, as I lead a discussion with Antony Lo of the Physio Detective and the Women’s Health Podcast, Sara Reardon- the Vagina Whisperer, Juan Michelle Martin- founder of the Zero to Telehealth Program, Julie Granger- virtual health and biz coach, and Susie Gronski- author and educator. We will discuss:

✅ How to get your ideal clients to see the value in virtual Pelvic PT care and convert in-person clients to virtual clients

✅ How to evaluate, screen, and provide pelvic health treatments without being able to physically touch or be present with clients.

✅ How to effectively help your virtual clients without manual therapy or internal examinations

✅ How to market your services in a growing and busy online market and build a practice that is sustainable in the long run.

Plus, Antony Lo has graciously allowed all participants to receive a BONUS link to a recorded virtual session of one of his clients with diastasis recti!

JOIN US FRIDAY 3/20 at 9p.m. EST! Registration is $49.

Register today! 

Do you have topics you are hoping we discuss? Please let me know and I’ll be happy to bring them into the conversation?

Stay healthy and stay safe my friends. We are all in this together!

~ Jessica

Virtual Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

~ jesspreale ~ 2 Comments

We are in an unusual time. Like many of you, I have been reading way too many articles and watched way too many news stories. COVID-19 is sweeping the world, and all of us have this immense responsibility to act, where we are, to do what we can to prevent the spread of this virus. Everyone is impacted, and everyone (hopefully) is trying to make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and society at large.

Healthcare is also seeing a shift—away from in-person care and toward virtual platforms. Right now, this is essential for so many reasons. The interesting thing is that at Southern Pelvic Health, virtual sessions have always been a part of what we do. And now, more than ever, we are working to be sure this service is available for anyone who needs it. Because, the reality is, pelvic floor problems don’t stop during a pandemic. In fact, for many, they can be exacerbated. Social distancing also offers the opportunity to stop and care for yourself, your health (along with your family & the community by flattening that curve!).

So, what is virtual pelvic floor physical therapy and what can it do for you?

The initial visit starts the same as an in-person session. We spend time discussing what is bothering you, in likely more detail than you thought we’d be discussing. We talk about your history, what happened when all of this started, what changed along the way, what is happening now. We discuss any pain or orthopedic problems you are having, your bladder health, bowel movements and sexual function. And most importantly, we discuss your goals—what you want to achieve how you hope to feel.

Next, we provide an exam. Now, here’s the difference in the virtual session. The components of the exam during which your PT would palpate your muscles or feel you move—we can’t do that. So, the exam takes on a different flare. We still watch you move from head to toe to identify how your body is working for or against itself. We may ask you to do different self-tests, feel different areas and see if you have soreness/sensitivity. We will give you additional information to see if you can activate certain muscles. And, from here, we can actually glean quite a bit of information. You see, the pelvic floor does not work in isolation. So, watching a person move alone can give us so much information about your function. I’ve written about this before, and here are a few that address this:

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Pelvic Floor!

6 Reasons Why the Diaphragm May Be the Coolest Muscle in the Body

Pelvic Floor Problems in the Adult Athlete

Next, just like in-person sessions, we start you on a plan to address the problem areas we have identified. This likely includes specific exercises for you to get started on, and some educational pieces to start improving your habits. We will also make a plan for the future—which could include virtual sessions only, recommendations for in-person consultations, or perhaps a hybrid! At our practice, we already have much of our content and exercises in a digital format. Any exercises we recommend will be given to you via video instruction in your patient portal. Behavioral education and other pieces like that will be provided for you both in our virtual session, but also via handouts e-mailed to you after.

Already an established patient?

This is even better. We have already done a comprehensive exam (or perhaps, another PT has already done this exam!), so we will have a complete picture of your situation.  We will be able to discuss your progress, modify and progress your exercises, continue providing specific education, and help you continue to move forward to improve your function.

Live out of state?

This one is a little tricky. Technically, we are not able to see patients for physical therapy services if they do not live in Georgia. BUT, that does not mean we are not able to help you. We regularly offer virtual consultations and coaching services for people all around the country. This has been an amazing service to provide to play a critical role in helping to guide people to the services they need to get better. Our virtual consultations offer a similar format as our initial telehealth sessions. The difference here is that we would not be able to examine you and progress you in a program. We can offer some general guidance based on your symptoms, and very importantly, we can help you connect with more local practitioners to be on your healing team. We do the legwork for you—we find you resources, skilled practitioners (yes, we help you decide who your best options are!), and coach you along the way.

Are you ready to take the virtual leap? E-mail us today to arrange your first session at Jessica@southernpelvichealth.com!  

Stay healthy my friends! And please, wash your hands!

~Jessica