I want to introduce Jill Hoefs, an amazing physical therapist, who happens to be right down the street from my office! All the clients I have sent to her and come back to me with rave reviews! She has successfully done the Tupler Technique® during both pregnancies. She is now teaching the Tupler Technique® in both New York City and New Jersey. Here is her story. Julie
“I’ve been a physical therapist in Manhattan since 2002, after going to college and graduate school in Madison, Wisconsin. I was predominantly an orthopedic physical therapist until I realized how much I enjoy treating women for different pelvic floor and pregnancy-related problems. This began when I personally discovered the difficulties in getting good care “down there”. While running marathons in my late twenties, my weak pelvic floor made it difficult to keep my shorts dry. It was embarrassing and upsetting to pee on myself! When doctors weren’t helpful, I self-treated and fixed the problem. I just needed to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles. Easy! Then it was on to that nagging IT band…
While treating the post-partum population, I saw the same problem presenting itself. Women would complain about their protruding abdomen despite losing all their baby weight. They looked pregnant when they weren’t and were insulted when good-intentioned people offered them seats on the subway. A tummy tuck was the solution for many. In hindsight, they just needed the right tools to close their diastasis. I met Julie Tupler while I was pregnant in 2010 and decided to do the Tupler Technique® myself to see if it would work. And it did! My strong abdominal muscles allowed me to carry well throughout my pregnancy, have an easy delivery, and wear my pre-pregnancy jeans just a couple weeks after delivering. I was sold on the program. I have since treated hundreds of patients with diastasis and love seeing their similar success. I had another baby this summer and needed to prove to my patients that you don’t show sooner just because it is a second pregnancy (or 3rd or 4th…) This is something many OBs tell their patients to expect, but I disagree. If their abdominal muscles and connective tissue are strong, they won’t protrude sooner. To practice what I preach, I made sure to do my transverse abdominal exercises religiously, never developed a diastasis, and didn’t show sooner than I did during my first pregnancy. I was grateful for my strong abdominals during labor when my contractions mysteriously stopped. I had an epidural and couldn’t feel my muscles but my strong core enabled me to deliver my baby quickly. Phew !
I love taking women’s health physical therapy courses so I can effectively help women with various pelvic floor problems such as pain, weakness, urinary frequency, incontinence, and prenatal or post-partum conditions. I think women with these problems fall through the cracks in our medical system. They don’t always get the help they need and suffer unnecessarily. I’m so happy I can help this population. I am currently writing a book on physical therapy and pregnancy, which should be in stores in the fall, 2014.
Jill can be contacted through her website at: www.BodyAlignPT.com