Not From NYC?! Come see us as an “Out of Town Patient”

Fiona McMahon PT, DPT So you’re reading the blog, you’ve seen us on Instagram and you keep thinking “ ughhh if only I could get to Beyond Basics Physical Therapy”. Well, if you have the ability to get to NYC, Beyond Basics Physical Therapy (BBPT) offers an intensive and comprehensive physical therapy program to help our patients living out of state or even out of the country to get started on their own individual path to healing. Why make the Trip to BBPT? Beyond Basics Physical Therapy has been pioneering pelvic floor physical therapy for the last 16 years. Founder Amy Stein has worked throughout her career to educate clinicians and patients alike about pelvic pain. She is the author of Heal Pelvic Pain and the co-author of Beating Endo with co- author, Dr. Iris Orbuch and creator of the video: Healing Pelvic and Abdominal Pain. The staff physical therapists have extensive training in the treatment of pelvic floor disorders in men and women. Many of the therapists at BBPT have contributed to medical textbooks on treatment of the pelvic floor and do educational seminars and talks on the subject. All of this is to say, we feel very passionately about pelvic floor treatment and education. What makes Beyond Basics stand out is that pelvic floor treatment is a high percentage of each physical therapists’ (PTs’) caseload. All of our therapists see men and women for pelvic floor treatment on a daily basis, which is an advantage over a clinic that may only see a few pelvic floor cases a week. That being said, we also treat orthopedic conditions like hip, back, and neck pain and often times, treatment of these areas are regularly addressed in pelvic floor dysfunction because it is all connected. Many of our clinicians also have additional certifications and training in the treatment of non pelvic conditions and they are experts in this field as well. What to Expect Everybody is different. But that said, there are a few things that are consistent across patients. For our out of towners, we usually schedule 2 hour appointment blocks multiple times a week while our you are in the city. What these long blocks do is allow us time to really get to know you and your history so we can really delve into making you feel better. During your exam, your physical therapist will address things like your strength, core stability and mobility, posture, and range of motion of the muscles, tissues and joints, much as you might experience in a typical physical therapy session. If you have pelvic floor complaints, with your permission, your therapist will examine your pelvic floor. She may do this by looking at the pelvic floor externally and asking you to contract and relax your pelvic floor. With your permission, she may place a gloved and lubricated finger in the vagina or rectum to assess for pain, mobility, and strength. Once your PT has completed her exam she will sit down with you and detail your findings to help you better understand why you may not be feeling so well. She then will go to work in session by performing a variety of techniques typically consisting of manual therapy, nervous system downtraining, exercise, behavioral and postural modifications and more. Every single treatment at BBPT is individualized to your needs, so there is no one uniform treatment across patients. Read more about a typical pelvic appointment here. Another super important element of our treatment is the home program. Your physical therapist will curate an individualized home plan to help you maintain what you have gained with us and continue to improve once you return to your home. It is super important that you try out you home program while you are in NYC so we know if we need to modify anything before you leave. During your course of treatment, we may find that additional help may be needed to jump start your healing. We may suggest you see our colleagues in medicine, mental health, or nutrition to help you improve faster and more completely. Beyond Basics has close relationships with top pelvic floor specialists in other disciplines and can facilitate connections between you and these experts. As PT winds down we will try our best to find some way for you to continue your care back home, whether that be helping you to find a qualified PT or other movement practitioner to help you continue healing. How to Set Up Your Visit Obviously, getting into NYC needs some pre-planning, on both our ends! Given the intensive nature of our program, we need to find time on our PT’s schedules to get you in, so the earlier you know you’ll be in NYC and schedule, the better. This will also give you more access to appointment times that will allow you to take some time to explore the Big Apple! When you call we will send you forms that will allow you to detail what you are experiencing so your PT can hit the ground running. You also will get a chance to speak to our billing manager who can help you figure out the ins and outs of insurance coverage. If you have been suffering, come visit us. We would love to meet you and help jump start your healing journey. For more information on becoming an out of town patient, click here. If you are ready to learn more about our out of town program, give the front desk a call at 212-354-2622