Get to know the brilliant mind behind your pelvic floor strength, Danyell Russell! She’s the owner of Strong Foundation Pelvic Floor Therapy and loaded with tons of knowledge.
To be entirely honest, I had no idea what to expect when I met with Danyell. I got to talk to her about Strong Foundation Pelvic Floor Therapy and her history behind it. She is incredibly passionate about what she does! She’s knowledgeable, enthusiastic and very clearly loves what she’s doing. Her entire focus is the health and well-being of her patients. Her field of work is so undervalued when it’s a service that so many can benefit from. This isn’t just something to help mothers, every gender at every age could potentially use pelvic floor therapy to help their ailments.
I was amazed to learn that Danyell is completely mobile! She packs up her office and brings it all to you in your home. Imagine just having your baby and being told that you need to go see a specialist at two weeks postpartum. After having kids myself, I can vouch that leaving the house within the first month is a major challenge. To have specialized care come to you is a huge blessing! Danyell with Strong Foundation Pelvic Floor Therapy takes care of absolutely everything you need.
I had the pleasure of asking Danyell a few more questions about her specialty and business:
How long have you been a physical therapist? How did you know that the specific field of pelvic floor therapy was your calling?
I have been a physical therapist since 2014, so going on 8 years now. The majority of my career I have worked in traditional outpatient orthopedic clinics, where I treated anything from low back pain, to total knee replacements, to headaches, to athletes rehabbing from an ACL repair.
My journey to pelvic floor therapy has been an interesting one! I had my first son 4 1/2 years ago and had a pretty traumatic delivery where forceps had to be used to help deliver him. I knew I wanted to see a pelvic floor PT following the birth, but it became a higher necessity because I was having pretty significant tailbone pain. When I started to do my research on finding a PFPT, I had a really hard time finding one in my area and I had to drive over 30 minutes to get to the one I finally was able to find. I became curious about venturing into the pelvic floor world at that point, but wasn’t ready to commit to looking at vaginas all day every day.
Fast forward to 2 years later and I was pregnant with my second son. I had started doing CrossFit between my pregnancies and knew that I wanted to stay active during my pregnancy, so I took a course that focused on the management of pregnant and postpartum athletes. I grew in passion for helping this population of women know how to safely continue exercise during pregnancy and return to exercise postpartum. So began my journey to become a pelvic floor physical therapist. I took my first pelvic floor course when I was about 8 weeks postpartum with my second son, and the rest is history.
I “opened the doors” on Strong Foundation Physical Therapy in April of 2020 when I was furloughed from my full time job due to COVID. And I just recently left that job to go full time with Strong Foundation! With SFPT, I do in-home or virtual visits for my clients. I offer physical therapy services including pelvic floor rehabilitation, wellness services, recovery services, and performance services for athletes.
How would a patient know if they needed pelvic floor therapy?
There are multiple reasons someone should see a pelvic floor therapist, and here are some (although not all) of the reasons to see a pelvic floor therapist:- leaking of urine, feces, or gas- pelvic pain
– endometriosis
– vaginismus
– constipation
– pain with penetration (sex, pelvic exam, use of tampon/menstrual cup)
– pelvic organ prolapse
– vulvodynia- diastasis recti
– if you have ever been pregnant or are currently pregnant
Explain the process of a typical first appointment with a postpartum mama.
The first thing we will do is go over your medical history, reproductive history, and any symptoms that you are experiencing. Then we will do a physical exam where I take a look at how you move, how strong you are, and watch you do some functional movements. Then, depending on your comfort level and what we find during our discussion of your symptoms, we may do an internal pelvic exam. This exam involves me using one lubricated finger to assess your vaginal canal for any tenderness, tension, or symptoms. I can also assess your strength, coordination, and endurance of your pelvic floor musculature using the internal pelvic exam.
Once we have completed the examination, we will discuss what I found on your physical exam and develop a treatment plan together. This may involve hands-on treatment to improve any muscular tension or coordination deficits and will also likely involve me giving you exercises and “homework” to do. We will then discuss how often to follow up with one another and what to do between sessions. I do a lot of education in my sessions, so you should feel confident with what we’re working with after the session is over.
Is an internal exam necessary? What if a mama is afraid or uncomfortable with that kind of assessment?
An internal exam is not absolutely necessary, but it can help us to determine the root cause of your symptoms.
If a mama is afraid to do a pelvic exam or is uncomfortable for whatever reason, we don’t do a pelvic exam! There are a ton of things that we can do without a pelvic exam to help with pelvic dysfunction! I would rather my mamas be comfortable with the assessment and treatment we’re doing than making them uncomfortable to get “more information.”
Ultimately you need to know that YOU are in control of your care. Your consent absolutely matters. I ask for consent throughout our session, not just at the beginning. And if you’re ever uncomfortable, I need to know immediately!
What’s a surprising benefit to pelvic floor therapy? Give us your fun facts!
Oh where do I even start?!- You don’t have to live with peeing on yourself! – You don’t have to live with pain with sex!- Your constipation could be why you have pelvic pain or low back pain.- You don’t have to just deal with pain during your period.- Pelvic floor PT can help you prepare for labor and delivery.- Pelvic floor PT can improve your sex life!
Do you have children? Tell us about them! Did you need pelvic floor therapy yourself?
I have 2 kiddos as I mentioned before. I have 2 boys who are 4 years old and 1 1/2 years old. Jeremiah (4 years old) loves super heroes, Disney, going to the park, and riding his bike. Jordan (1 1/2 year old) likes going behind big brother and destroying everything he touches.
I DID receive pelvic floor therapy after both of my babies. With Jeremiah, I had some pretty significant tailbone pain postpartum which was very much improved following pelvic floor PT. With Jordan, I didn’t have any issues with pain, but I did have some issues with both diastasis recti and stress incontinence, which I have been able to work through. I am back to my CrossFit workouts 100% now, although I do have to do some maintenance work on my diastasis and pelvic floor to prevent my symptoms.
Danyell lives and breathes the work she does. Let her help you before, during and after pregnancy too!
I had a great conversation with Danyell about just how much we’ve shifted focus on “just baby” to the well-being and support of the mama too. We have to remember that with a healthy mama will also come a healthy baby! It’s so important to remember your self-care during a tumultuous time in your life. Make sure you advocate for yourself, not just your child.
And remember, these days go by so fast. Don’t forget to book your Maternity and Newborn pictures with me!
Danyell can be found on her website, Facebook and Instagram. She also answers her emails at danyell@strongfoundationpttx.com and will pick up her phone at 940-268-4365. Go give her pages some follows and see what she’s all about! You won’t be disappointed.
Until next time, may your day be happy and your coffee be strong!
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