Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Michelle Martin.
Dr. Martin, before we jump into specific questions about your practice, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m Dr. Juan Michelle Martin, also affectionately known by my patients, colleagues and friends as Dr. J. I have been a physical therapist now for 13 years. Initially, as an international athlete, playing for my national team (Barbados), I wanted to work solely with athletes mostly professional. Throughout graduate school, I worked as an athletic trainer, but the rigors of travel with various sports teams had me reconsidering to some extent. I started in an outpatient orthopedic clinic, seeing a variety of client cases, including youth and adult athletes, including professional runners as I was two blocks away from Central Park at that time and end of summer and early fall I treated several athletes training for the NYC Marathon. I also had the privilege of working with professional ballet dancers and musicians and dancers from Juliard.
On moving to the Atlanta metro area, I continued to work in orthopedics but also had experiences in the hospital setting and working with the State for early intervention. Over the last eight years, I determined that I wanted to do work in women’s health as I realized that there was a need for significant education regarding many issues that our society counts as taboo, but this was confirmed by my own experiences of pregnancy, delivery and motherhood. When I decided to start my practice, I wanted to focus on pelvic health and increase knowledge and awareness of all things related to bowel, bladder and sexual function. Because of the makeup of the pelvis, I still get to see orthopedic cases, primarily those individuals with hip, low back, SI joint and pelvic girdle issues and these may also include my athletes. So it is definitely a WIN-WIN.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh, goodness no! One of the reasons that I decided to forego working with athletic teams is initially I was a bit down. I made a decision to remain in the US after graduate school and pass up an opportunity to work on the medical staff of a professional volleyball team due to fear revolving around immigration at that time as we had just entered the recession and I figured if I left, I might not be able to return or would have great difficulty. So I opted to stay. I went back and forth between different career paths and specialties. I love kids. I love sports. I love pelvic health. Early on, I had many people tell me that I had to choose. I later learned, if what you want does not exist you might need to create it!
The other challenging part of the journey was the fact that when I decided to start my business my kids were 4 and 2. Many days I thought to myself “You must be crazy!” I felt a ton of guilt the nights that I had to work on the business which took time away from them. When opportunities came including speaking engagements and I had to travel, I felt even more guilty. It made the hugs and cuddles that much better when I got them.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the JMM Health Solutions story. Tell us more about your practice.
JMM Health Solutions is my baby! It is a concierge practice that offers care to men, women and children who are dealing with issues affecting bowel, bladder and sexual function. These conditions are not limited to leaking (urine or feces), pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, erectile dysfunction, pelvic prolapse, diastasis recti, bedwetting, SI joint dysfunction, back and hip pain as well as working with the pregnant and postpartum client. I have always wanted to meet my patients where they were at. We initially offered virtual and home/gym visits then sometime later opened our office location. Due to COVID-19 we have not had to shift too much as we were already offering telehealth/virtual services to our clients and many find this method of delivery convenient and just as effective.
I am mostly proud of how far I have come. Outside of clinical services, I also have spoken at various functions, serve as a clinical mentor and I am a consultant for other practices and clinicians regarding business and telehealth. I initially was so fearful of starting my own practice due to having two small kids, who were 4 and 2 at the time and now I couldn’t have been happier that I started. I think the thing that sets JMM Health Solutions apart is we truly are in the business of offering you solutions. I don’t want you to be in therapy longer than you need to be. We arm our clients with the tools that they need so that they are not only symptom-free but they can have the quality of life that they desire.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t know about luck because I have worked pretty hard, but I believe that the many prayers that have been sent ‘up’ for me have been and continue to be manifested in my life. I was an athlete. I remember being cut once from the senior national team and it was devastating, but I continued to work. I gained an athletic scholarship and graduate scholarship. While I do feel that there were opportunities that I missed out on, I do feel that God placed me where he needed me to be and put the people in my life who needed to be there that would guide me in both my life and my business.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3160 Main Street,
Suite 102,
Duluth GA 30096
(Inside the offices of Petrichor Counseling across from City Hall) - Website: www.jmmhealthsolutions.com
- Phone: 770-569-3572
- Email: info@jmmhealthsolutions.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thepelvicperspective
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/JMMHealthSolutions
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKNEkVefn_wLgrqlf4wyXHw
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