By Riva Preil It is with great pleasure and excitement that I introduce you to Stephanie Stamas, the newest member of our BBPT family! You may remember Stephanie from her time here as a student physical therapist last spring. You may also remember her from her previous blog post contributions (April 12 and April 17, 2013) on the connection between pelvic floor dysfunction and connective tissue disorders (see links below). In addition, she made a guest appearance in my blog (February 14, 2014) after I attended CSM and enjoyed her research presentation. We are all thrilled that Stephanie has returned! Please enjoy the following interview that I conducted with Stephanie:

• What made you decide to specialize in pelvic floor physical therapy?

Growing up my mom had a lot of medical issues. She always seemed to be dealing with a new disease and with it came more physical and emotional pain. She dealt with her pain with grace, but it was still hard to see her always feeling bad. It left a deep impression on me and gave me a huge heart toward women dealing with chronic pain. When I first went to PT school I didn’t know that pelvic floor therapy existed. When I first learned about it, my initial impression was – “well, that’s weird, who would ever want to do that?†But slowly the desire to pursue the field grew in me and led me to take a Herman & Wallace course and do an internship at Beyond Basics PT. I LOVED IT! Not only was I able to help women, but men and children as well. The field is so rewarding and it gives me hope for so many individuals, especially my mom.

• What are you most excited about in joining the Beyond Basics family?

There are so many things that I am looking forward to, where do I start? First off, studying and learning under Amy Stein is such an incredible opportunity. She’s a guru in the field and a highly respected clinician. It is an honor to be at her clinic. She is very invested in the clinical growth and development of her physical therapists. Not only is she excellent, but she wants her PTs to be excellent as well and I’m excited to both rise to the challenge and grow this year clinically and experientially. The company culture at BBPT is also another reason I’m excited to join the family. The entire staff is very supportive and values helping each other out. I also haven’t worked for a clinic that has company outings and I’m really looking forward to our beach day in August!

• Can you tell us a little more about your background?

I am originally from Orlando, Florida and moved to New York City in 2010 to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons. While in Florida I got my BS in Athletic Training at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). I worked as an athletic trainer at a local high school for a year prior to moving to the city. It was as an athletic trainer that I started to build my evaluative and manual skills, as well as gaining exposure working with a pediatric population. While a doctoral student at Columbia, I began participating in research focused on the relationship between a diastasis recti in pregnant women and pelvic girdle/low back pain. I have continued with the research, and we were selected to present at APTA CSM (American Physical Therapy Association - Combined Sections Meeting) in Las Vegas last February! It was a great time of meeting others in the Women’s Health section and learning what other research is being done to further our field. My research team is currently in the process of writing up our findings, so keep an eye out!

• What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I love community and bringing people together, especially when it involves good food and wine! In my free time I love to cook with friends, have people around my dinner table and enjoy good conversations until late at night. I also enjoy reading, picnics in the summer, ramen, traveling with my husband and snuggling up with my two cats (Pickles & Bella) at the end of the day.