Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Isola.
Hi Dr. Isola, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Dr. Monica Isola and I’m a Physical Therapist who specializes in women’s pelvic health. This means I treat people with pelvic pain, urinary/bowel issues, pain with sex, and pregnancy/postpartum-related conditions. I love helping women achieve their goals, whether it’s sneezing without leaking, running without pain, or enjoying intimacy without discomfort. My career path didn’t start in pelvic health, but now there’s nothing else I would rather be doing!
Growing up in Maitland, Florida, I went to Bishop Moore High School and then to the University of Florida for undergrad and my Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Following PT school, I completed a one-year residency in Orthopedics and became board certified in Orthopedics. General sports physical therapy was my jam and I loved it. It all changed after I had my first child. My eyes were opened to what happens to women’s bodies during pregnancy and postpartum.
There is so little guidance for new moms during the early postpartum period regarding their bodies. After the extreme physical demands of pregnancy, labor, and delivery, women have only one check-up at 6 weeks and then they are “good to go”. Conditions such as urinary leaking, pain with sex, prolapse, and abdominal separation can be dismissed as “normal” after having a baby.
This led me to specialize in pelvic health physical therapy and eventually to create my Instagram page called The Postpartum Resource. I wanted to educated the public about the taboo topics everyone deals with but no one talks about. Sure, leaking a little urine can be common, but it’s NOT normal and should be addressed if it hasn’t gone away after a couple of months. My Instagram page started bringing me more patients, which gave me the confidence to start my own practice early this year called Restore Her Physical Therapy.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
After working for AdventHealth for 5 years, I was ready for a change to private practice. Unfortunately, insurance companies dictated a lot of the treatment I could provide and I was frustrated by these constraints. I couldn’t give the one-on-one, quality care that I knew my patients needed. I left and started working for a wonderful private practice called Pursuit Physical Therapy that specialized in orthopedics. This helped me understand the cash-based physical therapy model and how beneficial it is for patients. Starting Restore Her Physical Therapy felt like a natural step for me. It was a learning curve figuring out the mobile aspect but overall, I have been loving every second of it. I’m still in the early stages of my business, but so far, my caseload has been building up quick!
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?
Restore Her Physical Therapy is a mobile women’s wellness practice that specializes in treating pelvic pain, urinary and bowel conditions, sexual dysfunction, and pre- and post-natal issues, servicing the Orlando area. I bring my table and all equipment necessary to patients’ homes. This allows for ultimate comfort and privacy during pelvic floor treatment sessions.
Restore Her is a cash-based practice – meaning I’m not limited by insurance companies in the way I treat my patients. My treatment sessions are an hour-long and hands-on every time. I don’t just hook people up to a machine or watch them exercise.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I will always put my patient’s needs first. That means having the best team around me so that I can co-treat or refer out when necessary. My patients dealing with chronic conditions will often need to work with other healthcare practitioners such as nutritionists, counselors, and physicians. My networking advice is to form as many relationships with other practitioners as possible, including other people in your field. I believe in an abundance mindset when it comes to patients. There are so many people in Orlando that need pelvic healths services and not enough trained practitioners to help treat them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.restoreherphysicaltherapy.com/
- Instagram: @thepostpartumresource
Image Credits
Gina Fig Photography
