How Can You Prepare for an Initial Evaluation?
What Can You Expect At Your Initial Evaluation?
- You should expect, and deserve to have, a highly personalized one on one session with a consistent skilled practitioner. We will go through the relevant parts of your history and discuss your symptoms. This is a chance for you to elaborate on anything that you would like, as well as for me to delve into any information that I think might be helpful to your goals.
-
Based on your symptoms and history, we will complete an exam. This may involve a postural and alignment assessment, a diastasis recti check, an abdominal visceral and scar assessment, and/or an external and internal pelvic floor exam, among other assessments. An internal pelvic floor exam would involve me leaving the room, you undressing from the waist down, laying down on a comfy heated table, draping for modesty, and me letting you know the plan every step of the way. Our goal is to do an external assessment of your skin integrity, coordination, and reflexes, and then an internal assessment (one gloved and lubricated finger, no speculum or stirrups, yahoo!) of pelvic floor muscle coordination, tone, strength, and endurance.
Traditionally, for female, the internal pelvic floor exam would be completed vaginally, and the male pelvic floor exam would be completed rectally. Necessity of an internal exam will be determined based on your symptoms and goals, and will be completed with your consent.
This information in combination with your history allows me to come up with a very educated idea as to what is going on, why you are experiencing the symptoms that you are, and how best to go about a treatment plan. This is a team effort, so please continue to communicate your comfort level and keep those lines open – I will always ask for consent prior to doing any part of the physical therapy exam and you are always the boss of our session, I’ll be the guide.
- You get dressed, I come back in, and we will discuss my findings and how I believe that they relate to your symptoms. We come up with a very organized and sequenced plan of action to abolish. those. symptoms. We come up with goals together, to make sure that your needs are being met – whether that’s lifting your child without pain, making it to the bathroom without an accident, excelling at that workout that you’d love to get back to, or jumping on the trampoline with the kids without having to run to the bathroom – we’ve got this!
- You will get homework. Depending on your needs and goals, you may only attend an in clinic session once a week, so changing behavior, posture, strengthening/stretching in the days outside of the session really solidify the work done in the session. My goal is efficiency – i’d like to have you do the least amount of work to get the best outcome, which is a return to doing all of the things that you want and love to do, without restrictions.
Please complete the forms below prior to your appointment, to ensure that I am able to prepare for our session ahead of time and leave our session uninterrupted by paperwork. I can’t wait to meet you and start the journey to thriving again!