We recently connected with Heather Gibson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I actually had the idea to start my business during the chaos of the covid pandemic. I was still working in a very busy corporate insurance based setting but wasn’t sure where the regulations were going, and if we would even be keeping our doors open. I knew I didn’t want to stay home during the pandemic and wanted to keep working. I wanted to continue to pursue my passion for building my niche in treating women’s pelvic floor conditions. I also very much so wanted to keep working to be able to offer care to all these women who needed and deserved quality medical care, that many at that time were not receiving.

At this time we were all very scared of coming into the clinic due to the spread of the virus pandemic. At this time the PT community through insurance based care didn’t offer any telehealth or remote services, so I thought that would atleast be a good start so people could have an option for care even if it’s not totally ideal to have physical therapy services be fully remote. Our profession definitely is more of a hands on profession, it’s truly hard to give the full quality of care without being able to put your hands on someone, but I figured it was better than not having any guidance at all. I have been pregnant myself and suffered with a great deal of back pain and pelvic pain during pregnancy so my heart went out to all of the pregnant mommies out there that I knew were suffering at home but had limited access to care.

More time went and with patients more comfortable with in person care with the use of mask, I decided then to add at home mobile visit options for those comfortable with in person sessions. This atleast would reduce the amount of contact with others and allow them to be treated with hands on care outside the model of a busy orthopedic setting with many people in a gym setting. A big push for this as well was to offer more convenient services for patients who had trouble finding child care. Many mom’s were stuck at home and now having to provide full time childcare, school and often times mom’s were still working remotely frome home! Talk about making it tough to get out and get to any appointments for yourself.

The beauty of it is I would show up with everything you needed ,my treatment table, bands, weights. It was fun really I would treat my patients and oftentimes we would involve the kiddos and have them exercising with us as well!
I only started with offering evening and weekend appointments but soon realized that I could make a full-time business out of this idea.

I am a mother myself and at this time was starting to feel exhausted and burnt out. I was perpetually trying to find a work life balance with trying to care for my own son part time during the covid pandemic as well. I was watching my son three times a week, as well as working my other corporate job and then running this business on the side. It was for sure exhausting, but I had an end goal insight. I knew if I continued to build my reputation and networks that I could eventually leave the corporate setting and fully dive into my own business more full time.

I unfortunately ended up getting sick and dealing with some health issues of my own, and that was sort of the catalyst for me taking the leap of faith and leaving my other job!
I envisioned building a business that I felt would fit my lifestyle and schedule needs more , where I could have more flexibility in my schedule and time with my son, and no longer work 9 to 11 hour days if I didn’t want to!
My other driving factor to start my business was to offer more one on one quality care, in a world of reducing satisfaction with medical providers that were burnt out and only able to offer 5-10 min at a time sometimes for Dr or PT appointment check ins.
I wanted to build something that was mine and where I could really be proud of the quality of care I offered, and build lasting relationships with the patients I severd.

So I made the leap and in August last year officially started Gibson Body Wellness Physical therapy and fitness and I couldn’t be happier. Some of the biggest obstacles in the beginning of course was financial fear. Always the thought of can I actually
do this!!?? Can I make a full-time living doing this without the steady paycheck and ongoing referrals sources from an insurance based setting. But it turns out ,yes I can!
I was motivated and started working hard on making connections around the city with other womens health providers that wanted to work in a more integrative holistic approach.
The stars aligned in just right timing and I ended up meeting Dr Ashley Debour who is a chiropractor that also treats prenatal and postpartum populations. We started co treating patients and found it a great blend to merge both chiropractic and physical therapy care.
I am now blessed to work in a setting with her still at Kokua wellness, in a integrated care model. There is a naturopathic Dr as well as a massage therapist and birth doula in our space. We allow full family care, so mommies can come in with their kiddos if needed in a relaxed and inviting atmosphere.

Heather , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an Ortho trained physical therapist who has specialized training also in treating pregnancy and postpartum populations and pelvic floor dysfunctions. I have been treating women’s health pelvic floor conditions for the last 4 years now and love it!

My business is a cash based more concierge style care and it’s been awesome being able to treat without the restraints of insurance base regulations. I am able to offer more preventative and wellness services and get way more time with my patients. I really take pride in not being in the busy outpatient model where you often times get 15 minutes with your patients and then they are handed off to your assistant.

I offer physical therapy services, and provide care for women’s health pelvic floor conditions such as addressing bladder leakage issues during and after pregnancy, stubborn back or pelvic pain, labor injuries such as perineal/ vaginal tearing and c section scars as well as diastasis recti. I also offer labor preparation for those who are trying to work towards a more natural labor experience. I help teach them how to connect with their pelvic floor, and give guidance and instruction on appropriate exercises to perform both during pregnancy and after.
I do so offer traditional Physical therapy care for joint pain, muscle injuries and such a variety of hands on care including dry needling, massage/cupping / myofascial work an individualized exercise programs.

I do still offer home visits occasionally, especially for those who are having a hard time getting out of the house due to scheduling conflicts or just feeling overwhelmed at running around with a new infant at home to care for. Mommies need love and better prenatal and postpartum care. I couldn’t be happier to be part of the community that is slowly inching us forward in the US to be able to better provide support for our new mother’s and mommies to be. It truly takes village!

I am truly passionate about helping people become the strongest healthiest version of their self. From living more pain free, improved self esteem and quality of life, whether that be no longer peeing your pants when you sneeze, better sex life satisfaction, or just feeling more energized when chasing your kiddos around, or getting back into exercising and accomplishing those fitness goals!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly the patients I treat are always my greatest referral sources. Just offering quality care and truly helping my patients succeed is always the best way to get new referrals. Most of the people I see are referred from a friend, someone who has been treated by me or they were referred from a healthcare practitioner in the valley who knows of the specialty services I provide. The other big thing is having amazing connections with other care providers. I am blessed to work in the integrative setting I do because we often co treat and cross refer to one another.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Absolutely a hundred times over. I can’t imagine another career that would be better for what I want to do. I have always known I wanted to do something to help heal inspire and motivate others. I wanted to have a career that I thought I could make lasting connections with people and truly help to change their lives for better . I love getting people moving better, movement and exercising is my passion and it’s the way I connect with the world. I have always been adventurous I love hiking ,biking ,trying new sports and love to help others get back to doing the activities they truly love too.

And as for the women’s health side of things, I never actually thought I would be doing pelvic floor care but after becoming a mother and having issues of my own I knew there was such a need for it. Now after working with all the amazing woman I have , I can’t imagine not going into the specialty.

Contact Info:

• Website: GibsonBodyWellness.com
• Instagram: Drgibson_womenshealthpt

Image Credits
Rivkah Leah doula and birth photographer ( first 2 photos)