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EK Physical Therapy offers seldom-discussed health care

Kalen McCain

Oct. 24, 2024 11:57 pm

Physical Therapist Erin Kaufman check's a patient's hip mobility at her practice in Washington. While Kaufman has a passion for maternally oriented PT, her services cover the whole field. (Kalen McCain/The Union)
Physical Therapist Erin Kaufman check's a patient's hip mobility at her practice in Washington. While Kaufman has a passion for maternally oriented PT, her services cover the whole field. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

Erin Kaufman is a physical therapist with a passion for women’s health. Since opening over the summer, she’s quickly filled a niche that many providers struggle to fill, offering PT of all kinds, especially when its geared toward current and expecting mothers.

She loves what she does. The trouble is, nobody talks about it.

Maternal health issues can be, for many women, embarrassing and hard to discuss. That makes it not only hard to find care, but hard to know that help even exists in the first place.

Erin Kaufman guides a physical therapy patient through a core stability exercise. She said she strived to help women realize that their health problems weren't inevitable, even when they're common, or hard to talk about. (Kalen McCain/The Union)
Erin Kaufman guides a physical therapy patient through a core stability exercise. She said she strove to help women realize that their health problems weren't inevitable, even when they're common, or hard to talk about. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

“People are not comfortable admitting, always, that they are having episodes of incontinence. Women — in particular moms — we tend to make light of these issues,” Kaufman said. “I think it’s a way of knowing if other moms experience those things … it affects a lot of women, and I think that we as a society are not comfortable seeking help for these issues.”

The taboo makes marketing tricky.

Kaufman has given talks on her field of expertise at Dodici’s, run a booth at the farmers market, and posted flyers around town. She hopes to spread the message that just because certain issues are common, that doesn’t make them inevitable, or unsolvable.

Beyond public unawareness, she said health care options in the field are sometimes a mystery even to other providers.

“If you have a shoulder injury, you will be quick to be referred to physical therapy,” she said. “If I report pain in my pelvis, that is not always something that you’re as quickly referred to PT for.”

Once they’re in the door, clients are usually ready to broach those sometimes uncomfortable topics. It helps that her setup is toward the back of a salon-suite, meaning anyone who stops by gets the anonymity of a building that also hosts a nail stylist and hair salon.

The physical therapist said she took immense pride in her work.

Although maternal health is hardly a new frontier of physical therapy — some providers have specialized in the area for 20-30 years — it’s been slow growing. A lack of providers means that many in Washington don’t have many options when it comes to women’s health, and must either carve out the time to get care in Iowa City or, all too often, forego it altogether.

Erin Kaufman opened EK Physical Therapy in July. She said the experience of starting her own practice was exciting, even if it made her anxious at the time. (Kalen McCain/The Union)
Erin Kaufman opened EK Physical Therapy in July. She said the experience of starting her own practice was exciting, even if it made her anxious at the time. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Kaufman hopes her service can help fill some of the local need, reaching people who otherwise wouldn’t seek the help. She said many women see their health troubles as an inconvenience that’s not worth repeated trips out of town to address, even if problems persist every day for months or years.

“I want women to know that they don’t have to wait until there’s an issue, or there’s pain, they don’t have to wait until they’re done having babies or even until they get pregnant,” she said. “There are a lot of things that women deal with because they don’t want to talk about it, and it is a disruption to women’s lives. It is a disruption to anyone’s life that is dealing with pain.”

The specifics of EK Physical Therapy’s services vary from one patient to the next.

Kaufman said many clients had a prominent neurological component to their treatment. Others simply need a regimen of daily exercises to reduce muscle tension and improve their strength. Some have to rethink their daily habits like nutrition and stress management.

“When people think of pelvic PT, they think of what used to be described as Kegels and clam shells, and that’s really not the big picture anymore,” she said. “We’re treating more complex conditions, we’re not just looking at the strength of someone’s pelvic floor, but very complex cases.”

EK Physical Therapy opened in July. Kaufman previously worked at UP Home, where she continues to offer her services part-time. While launching her own practice was certainly a daunting prospect, she said she sincerely enjoyed the work.

“This has been on my mind for years,” she said. “I was excited, honestly. It’s a good, nervous feeling to have something of your own. But again, I’m excited to be able to bring this kind of care to Washington, and the surrounding areas.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com

Article Tags Washington County, Iowa, Washington, Iowa
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