Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Frank.
Hi Lance, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began my clinical orthopedic and pelvic health therapy career after graduation from Emory in 2017 with my Doctorate of Physical Therapy. My clinical experience began in the outpatient orthopedic physical therapy setting, with specific interests in the clinical management of the fitness athlete, sports performance, as well as strength and conditioning programming. However, shortly after beginning my clinical practice, I was introduced to pelvic health by a mentor and quickly learned how little the general population, and arguably the entire medical community at large, knows about pelvic floor dysfunction and the musculoskeletal systems involvement in it — especially for people with penises, and even more-so for those within the queer community. After digging deeper into the health disparities of these two populations within the context of pelvic health physical therapy, I began taking clinical coursework early in my career to further my training in pelvic floor dysfunction and have since gained extra certifications to treat anyone with a pelvis and genitals (penises, vaginas, trans, intersex, etc.)
After working in several different clinics throughout the city, I now own and operate a small private practice, Flex PT ATL, in Midtown where I provide pelvic health physical therapy services to cisgender and transgender folks managing sexual health and intimacy concerns, pelvic pain, and urinary or bowel dysfunction.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Getting to this point was definitely not easy. On March 1st of 2020, I gave my 30 day notice to my full-time, salary therapist job, with the intent to go full time for myself at my own small, boutique, concierge pelvic health physical therapy practice on April 1st. Two weeks later, though, I was furloughed because of COVID and had to go on unemployment. Despite having all of my systems in place and patients ready and lined up to open up shop, the pandemic shut down literally shut down all in-person services, and because physical therapy is technically within the service industry, I took a huge hit. Financially, mentally, emotionally. It was rough. I went from having a both a doctorate and master’s degree on the brink of opening up my own business to being unemployed and surviving on government benefits. It was a very, very humbling experience to say the least.
Fortunately though, around early October, I felt safe enough to return to in-person visits and patients felt safe and comfortable enough to return as well. Slowly but surely, patients started to trickle back in, and by September of 2021 I had grown my practice to be fully booked and completely self-sustaining. Starting a practice in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t easy, and there were for sure lots of times when I wasn’t sure it would actually work, but I’m thankful I stuck it out and was able to make it out on the other side.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Flex PT ATL is a concierge physical therapy practice in Midtown, Atlanta that provides pelvic health physical therapy services to cisgender and transgender folx managing sexual health and intimacy concerns, pelvic pain, and urinary or bowel dysfunction. While at my practice, I treat all genders, a large portion of my caseload consists of people with penises. Even more specifically, people with penises who also identify as gay or any other identity under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. I treat pelvic pain conditions such as Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), Prostatitis, Peyronie’s disease, and Hard Flaccid, as well as symptoms like urinary urgency/frequency, painful penetration, erectile dysfunction, and constipation just to name a few.
One thing to know is that I am outwardly and openly gay and practice as an openly gay male clinician for several reasons. First, I believe in visibility and creating a safe space for other LGBTQIA+ members to feel safe disclosing very personal and intimate details about their genitalia and what they do with them. I don’t take this responsibility lightly and I understand the challenges a lot of other queer folx face in the medical community. I also believe that as someone with a penis, other people with penises may feel more comfortable sharing about their dysfunction and may relate more to myself or my practice clinically because of my anatomy. Having a penis or male identity can often include a significant amount of both implicit and explicit biases, like toxic masculinity, shame, and embarrassment that can make seeking help difficult, so I do a lot of work in my practice to reduce those emotions.
One distinguishing trait that I am actually very proud of is that I am one of a very small group of pelvic physical therapists who also identify as a man in the entire country that treats pelvic floor dysfunction; and one of an ever smaller group that identifies as gay. For this reason and for access in general, I treat all genders with pelvic floor dysfunction, regardless of genitalia or sexual orientation. Although most of the patients I see in the clinic have penises and are gay, I believe in allowing patients the option to choose their provider with who they align with best because of who they are as a person and their qualifications, instead of being based solely on their gender or genitalia. Another pride of my brand identity is that in my practice, I have tried very hard to create a safe space for all bodies and have developed a large network of referral sources of other like-minded medical professionals to reflect that within my healthcare sphere.
How do you think about luck?
I would be naive to say that luck hasn’t played a role in the development of my business so far. I very much live my life by affirmations and putting good vibes out into the universe. As cheesy as it sounds, the phrase “ask for it, and it shall come” is a daily affirmation I live by. My business survives on networking, referrals, and word of mouth relationships, so every time I get a new email or voicemail with a new patient inquiry, it feels like I’m reeling in my net from out into the universe.
Pricing:
- New Patient Evaluation: $249
- 3 Session Package: $675 ($225 / session)
- 6 Session Package: $1194 ($199 / session)
- 12 Session Package: $2220 ($185 / session)
Contact Info:
- Email: Lance@flexptatl.com
- Website: Flexptatl.com
- Instagram: @flexptatl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexptatl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLanceFrank
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lance_in_your_pants?lang=en
Image Credits:
Chandler Covert
