Did you know that almost any physical therapist can call themselves a pelvic floor physical therapist, but not all are equally equipped?
In this short bonus episode, Mary interviewed Dr. Jenny Porter, a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor, to learn what qualifies physical therapists to treat different pelvic floor issues. How can you know whether or not your PT is equipped to help you? *We apologize for the audio issues during this episode on our end! Dr. Jenny's audio sounds good.
1. Physical Therapy is a doctoral degree that takes 6-7 years to complete. Less than two hours is spent on the pelvic floor during that entire time.
2. Specific continuing ed courses are required to gain expertise in treating the pelvic floor.
3. Herman and Wallace and APTA are companies that offer the best/standard training courses for physical therapists who plan to treat the pelvic floor.
4. Level 2 training is required to treat sexual dysfunction, and postpartum, bowel, and male issues. Level 3 is required for the complicated neurological and congenital issues.
5. Your pelvic floor physical therapist (PFPT) that is equipped to treat you for sexual dysfunction is not necessarily qualified to treat you during pregnancy/postpartum, and visa versa.
6. Almost any physical therapist can claim that they are a pelvic floor physical therapist. There is no regulating body for PFPT yet - only physical therapy.
Listen to the episode to hear the questions Dr. Jenny Porter asks other pelvic floor PT offices to figure out if they are qualified to treat specific issues and for Jenny's tips on how to find help if you don't have the right kind of PT near you.
You can find Dr. Jenny Porter at Pivotal PT & Wellness in Mandeville, Louisiana.
Previous podcast episode interviews with pelvic floor physical therapists:
