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BWH Rehabilitation Services is offering extensive women’s health physical therapy to care for needs unique to women.
“Therapy needs for women are not limited to the obvious diagnosis of breast cancer and pre and post-partum problems,” said Linda Arslanian, PT, DPT, MS, director of Rehabilitation Services. “There are discreet differences between genders. A woman with an ACL tear in her knee needs different therapy than a man with the same injury, for example.”
To begin to address these needs, Rebecca Stephenson, DPT, PT, MS, was hired last winter to coordinate the new women’s health physical therapy program. “Our first objective is to treat women with incontinence and other issues that directly affect the pelvic floor,” said Stephenson, who co-authored the textbook “Obstetric and Gynecologic Care in Physical Therapy 2nd edition” in 2000. “I also see women with acute pregnancy musculoskeletal dysfunctions and post-partum injuries.”
Stephenson plans to reach out to patients with osteoporosis and breast cancer, as well as obstetrics patients, noting that pregnant women can benefit from advice on posture and mechanics to decrease their likelihood of back and pelvic pain. She hopes to collaborate with many BWH departments that see patients with physical therapy needs.
“At BWH, there is a desire among so many leaders in different fields to have genuine collaboration with other practitioners to bring the best care to patients,” Arslanian said. “This isn’t so common at other tertiary care centers. Rebecca is here because surgeons realized there was a gap in care they wanted to address.”
The women’s health physical therapy program will expand in the coming years to offer a wide array of services. Another therapist was hired to focus on women’s health, and other physical therapy staff will be offered professional development so that they are able to treat women’s health needs. Stephenson also is a resource to staff in Rehabilitation Services, providing the expertise in identifying how gender diagnosis manifest differently in women needing physical therapy treatment.