NSU Horizons Spring/Summer 2009

verbatim I n the late 1990s, while physical therapist Amy Stein was com- pleting her master’s degree at Nova Southeastern University, a friend began complaining of a mysterious discomfort following her hysterectomy. With Stein’s interest in pain management alter- natives to surgery and pharmaceuticals, she was immediately on the hunt for an accurate diagnosis and treatment for her friend and others suffering with pelvic pain. The diagnosis, a pelvic floor dysfunction, was difficult to pinpoint and seemed even harder to treat without surgery or medication. But, the challenge pointed Stein toward what she knew and believed in—physical therapy—for treatment solutions to this disorder and others like it. After graduating from NSU’s College of Allied Health and Nursing in 1999 with a Master’s in Physical Therapy degree, Stein moved to New York and worked for a rehabilitation center where she could treat her patients with pelvic floor dysfunction. Seeing more and more patients with this condition, Stein recognized the need for a facility that specialized in its treatment. In 2003, she opened her own practice. Her now thriving business, Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, is located in the heart of Times Square. And her book, Heal Pelvic Pain: The Proven Stretching, Strengthening and Nutrition Program for Relieving Pain, Incontinence, I.B.S. and Other Symptoms Without Surgery , was released in August 2008. With five physical therapists, including fellow NSU alumna Stacey Futterman, M.P.T. (1996), and additional muscle strengthening and pain management ser- vices like acupuncture and yoga, Stein’s practice helps about 100 patients each week. What originally drew you to physical therapy? I was interested in sports when I was younger. I also was inter- ested in the medical field, but I wanted that continuous one-on- one contact. Physical therapy gave me that. How did you help your friend with pelvic pain to get properly diagnosed? I initially went to a couple of my professors at NSU. They suggested pelvic floor dysfunction. At the time, there was not a lot of research on the topic. NSU had a problem-based learning system in which you diagnosed a problem based on symptoms. So, I took the problem to class, and I kept researching it. That’s how it helped me to help her. What led you to open your own practice? I realized that there was a huge need for this type of therapy. At the time, there was hardly anyone treating this disorder. Now, there are about 15 others in New York City, and maybe one in every major city, but not in the rural areas. I get a lot of calls nationally and internationally from people looking for pelvic floor specialists. How has your practice expanded? We treat men, women, and children with pelvic floor dysfunc- tion, orthopedic problems, and women’s issues. But, 95 percent of our patients have pelvic floor dysfunction. It’s a very specialized area of physical therapy. What led you to write a book on pelvic pain? I don’t consider myself a very good writer, but I had a patient with irritable bowel syndrome whose condition I was able to improve 100 percent through physical therapy and a nutrition plan. She was a literary agent, and she was so impressed with the results that she said I had to write a book. She helped me with a book proposal, and for the next year and a half, I wrote a book. Pelvic floor dysfunction is under-diagnosed by health care providers, and many patients are put on medications when they aren’t needed, or they have unnecessary surgeries. One of the main purposes of my book is to help get the word out there, for this patient population to know that there is hope and that A Friend in Pain Leads to a Career Treating Others in Need By Julie Landry Laviolette 22 horizons