Leave embarrassment at the door

Often times, I hear from patients that it took them awhile to come into the clinic because they were embarrassed to talk about their problems with someone. It makes me wonder how many people have never made it in to see a physical therapist because of this fear.

If you are embarrassed or nervous to see a physical therapist, it's completely normal. In our society, talking about things like pain in your pelvic area is often considered a private matter – which makes it difficult to even talk to doctors about it, even if you are in agony.

The truth of the matter? There will be a point in your life where you will have to see a doctor for what you may think is an embarrassing issue.

For instance, most women will need pelvic rehab at some point in their lives, most often after delivery. Women's pelvic floors are designed to be flexible, for obvious reasons. However, when you have flexibility, it means less stability. This can mean that things get off balance quite quickly.

When it comes to feeling pain or just feeling off, you can trust that a physical therapist can give you the help and support that you need. In your first appointment, we will listen to your story, including your hesitations about therapy. By knowing what you are scared of or why you are nervous, we can do a better job of providing you treatment and helping you live a pain-free life.

It's also important to remember that we are doctors – your body or medical history will not surprise us. Throughout our years of schooling, we learn everything we can about the body and associated health issues.

We learn about the body so that we know how to provide the best treatment to you and all of our patients. While it may be nerve-wracking to answer some of the questions that we ask in our first visit, know that it's important to your treatment – and the physical therapist's office is a judgment-free zone.

By asking those questions, we can do our jobs the best – by giving you a treatment plan to help you get back to great health. For physical therapists, we thrive on creating a program specific to you and your unique body and goals.

After all, ask any physical therapist. The greatest thing about our job is seeing you get better.