Meet Amanda Townsend

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Townsend a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I have been a physical therapist for 14 years. I have a background in orthopedics and sports medicine. I began to specialize in pelvic floor, obstetrical, and women’s health space 8 years ago after the birth of my first son. My love for this growing field of medicine was born from my own personal journey into motherhood, where I was able to personally see the gaps in the medical system for those suffering with pelvic related symptoms and needing more support during their obstetrical journey. Since then, my passion has grown to include supporting all women through the lifespan who are dealing with pelvic related symptoms. Some of those conditions can include: pelvic pain, urinary leakage, pelvic organ prolapse, and pain with sexual activities / intimacy. I feel very passionate about helping women during their pregnancies, preparing them for labor and delivery, and helping with postpartum recovery. This includes those with fertility difficulties. I feel strongly about raising awareness and advocating for individuals with these conditions. Truly being apart of changing the landscape for medical care for these individuals. I co-founded a business, Misama – Pelvic Wellness Pros, with my colleague Missy Gallow in Nov 2023.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Misama is a specialized Physical Therapy practice with a blend of orthopedic, pelvic, obstetrical and sports medicine care. We are trained to evaluate and treat pelvic floor conditions such as pelvic pain, urinary leakage, pelvic organ prolapse, and pain with sexual activities / intimacy. We also work with women during pregnancy and postpartum as well as those with fertility issues. Our orthopedic and sports background also makes us experts with treating low back pain, hip pain, sports hernias, muscle and tendon issues like adductor, hip flexor or hamstring strains. When people are suffering from 2 conditions listed above, they are often related. For example, someone with a hip labral tear might have hip pain, but also urinary leakage. Because we have the blended training, we are able to see how these two conditions are connected and contributing to each other. Often times, these individuals will go see one physical therapist for their hip and another physical therapist for their urine leaking. This involves more time, money and often they don’t get better. When you work with us we can see how those conditions are related, treat both, and get to resolution of symptoms saving you time, money and suffering. There is so much interconnection between the spine, pelvis, hips and the muscles surrounding these areas. Our blended training in orthopedics, pelvic, obstetrical, and sports medicine really sets us apart from others.

What makes us different?
– We offer a blend of orthopedic, pelvic, obstetrical and sports medicine worlds
– We perform internal and external Pelvic Floor assessment and treatments. The internal assessment and treatment can be a vital part in a person understanding the function of her pelvic floor muscles.
– We believe exercise is a very integral part of getting to resolution of symptoms. Pelvic floor is just one part of a bigger system of bones, joints, nerves, and other muscles. We pride ourselves on being able to evaluate NOT only the pelvic floor, but also see how it fits into the larger body system so we can fit all the pieces of together and create a comprehensive program
– We focus on function.
– We offer a variety of strength training equipment and are able to develop customized programs that ensure our patients are strong enough to manage the physical demands of their day to day lives.
– We specialize in working with higher level athletes

We offer 1:1 with a physical therapist services, in person or virtual, helping to address any back, hip, pelvic, pelvic floor, and obstetrical conditions.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Personal experience with conditions that I treat. Allows me to really understand what my clients are going through. The relatability contributes to a deeper connection with my clients.
2. Having training in orthopedics, pelvic floor, pregnancy/postpartum, sports and women’s health allows me to see relationships that other physical therapist in my field can not see. The blend is a really unique and valuable skill set in my field.
3. I am a constant learner. Always curious about new information and research. Medical research on women didn’t start to happen until the 90s, and it takes 20 years to work its way into clinical practice. Staying up to date on the newer information thats coming out is super valuable with keeping care current.

For other clinicians, find a mentor who does what you want to do and learn as much as you can from them.
For patients, you know your body better than any one else. If you see a provider who doesn’t believe you or isn’t listening, fire them and find a new one who is a better fit for you. Provider to patient gaslighting is so common in the medical community. If you feel like you are not being believed or listened to, you are likely not the problem. They are!

How would you describe your ideal client?

My ideal client is women who are suffering from any pelvic related conditions which can include pelvic pain, urine leakage, pelvic organ prolapse, pain with sexual activities / intimacy, especially when there is a history of other orthopedic conditions like back pain, hip pain, muscle or tendon issues around the trunk and pelvis.

While you don’t have to have children to have pelvic floor dysfunction, times you can be more vulnerable to developing issues is around pregnancy, postpartum, and peri/menopause. Individuals looking for support during these times in their life are also ideal clients.

I am a strong believer in preventative medicine, so women who want to invest in preventative care are ideal clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://misamawellness.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/dramanda_orthopelvicpt

Image Credits

Brian Peterson