Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Simmons.
Hi Katie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Katie Moise Simmons and I am a pelvic floor physical therapist. I am also the owner of ATL Pelvic Health, a boutique, private practice physical therapy clinic that focuses on addressing bladder, bowel and sexual function in both women and men. My personal journey into pelvic health began well before opening my clinic: after a hip injury sidelined her from running, I saw an orthopedic PT who referred me to a pelvic PT. From there, my eyes were opened to how many women of all ages likely experience similar symptoms without knowing where to turn. With ATL Pelvic Health, my goal is to educate, provide resources and guide women through caring for their bodies. There is still a large stigma around talking about peeing, pooping or sex, but I want to normalize these topics.
For many women, pelvic floor dysfunction can stem from pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum recovery. Although we treat clients (including men!) across all stages of life, I am proud that ATL Pelvic Health is changing the care available to new moms. My hope is that you can return to the activities you love without pain or peeing your pants.
ATL Pelvic Health is dedicated to supporting women throughout every stage of life. We will listen to your concerns—and trust us when we say no subject is taboo. From there, we will work together to help you reach your goals. ATL Pelvic Health is dedicated to supporting women throughout every stage of life. We will listen to your concerns—and trust us when we say no subject is taboo. From there, we will work together to help you reach your goals. We treat a variety of pelvic floor issues, including pain, incontinence, prolapse and more. What truly defines our approach, however, is the care and attention that we offer every client. We believe that women’s health has been a neglected area of our healthcare system for too long—and ATL Pelvic Health aims to change that by offering physical therapy, Pilates and more programs tailored to women through every season of life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest blessings and challenges in the past year of business ownership is growing and maintaining a team. . One of the primary difficulties in growing a team is maintaining the company’s culture and values. As the team expands, it’s essential to ensure that new members align with our business ethos. This has required me to streamline our onboarding process and ensure that my communication is clear with all team members. I have also had to make hard but necessary decisions in restructuring some of our administration support based on the direction of our business growth and vision.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I opened ATL Pelvic Health in January 2021. I wanted to open a pelvic health clinic that focuses on empowering women during their pregnancy and postpartum journey. Unfortunately, there is a lot of information on Google or social media and it can either be misleading or overwhelming for someone as they are preparing for birth or recovering after birth. I wanted to open this space to be able to guide women through these exciting life changes. Postpartum is also for life so whether you are 10 weeks, 10 months postpartum or 10 years postpartum, if you are experiencing any problems, it is never too late to get help. In my opinion, pelvic floor PT should be the standard of care for all women after having a baby and I hope to have a small impact on changing the standards in our healthcare system.
Our clinic treats all pelvic floor dysfunction related to bladder, bowel or sexual dysfunction. This may include frequent urination, peeing your pants a little when you workout or sneeze, waking multiple times per night to go to the bathroom, difficulty with bowel movements, or any pain in your abdomen, low back, hips or pelvis that may interfere with your ability to participate in sexual activity or day to day activities.
At ATL Pelvic Health, I aim to give my patients the best quality of care while treating each person as an individual. My goal is to identify the “why” and root cause of their symptoms so they can return to the activities they love. All patients will receive an hour of one-on-one care. This allows for time to assess movement patterns, check their strength and mobility as well as look at their walking pattern. I also spend a lot of time educating women because these topics have been normalized for so long and no one is talking about their pelvic health! My hope is that by continuing the conversation, women no longer feel like “this is the way it has to be because that’s what people told me will happen after having a baby.”
ATL Pelvic Health is also unique in that we offer private Pilates sessions. I am comprehensively certified in Pilates; therefore, I am able to incorporate a lot of Pilates based movements either on the Reformer or mat to improve my patient’s movement patterns, strength and stability. I usually include these within my treatments but also offer the option for someone to come in for an hour Pilates private session to focus more on core control and strength.
Any big plans?
We moved our office location in November 2023. This allowed us to have more treatment rooms to serve more people with pelvic floor symptoms. Right now, I am looking forward to settling into our space and being in a steady state without too many big changes. However, I am always looking to grow our reach and impact our community in a big way, so we may have a few things coming in the future. Stay tuned!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.atlpelvichealth.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/atlpelvichealth
Image Credits
XXIII Photo Studio
