We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Laging. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.

Michelle , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I suppose the biggest risk that I have taken was to start my own practice. I have a unique skill set as a physical therapist that works in the field of eating disorders – there aren’t many of us out here! I used to work in an inpatient setting and I had the opportunity to build a mobility program for patients admitted to the unit for eating disorder treatment. I really enjoyed working with those patients and beginning those conversations on how to reintegrate movement and exercise in a sustainable and enjoyable way. My frustration was that those conversations often were not continued along the continuum of care in the treatment world. I feel called to do this work and, therefore, it made sense for me to build my own practice filling the gap that was so apparent to me. Additionally, while working on the inpatient unit, I became interested in pelvic health as it was commonly identified in the medical charts when I did a chart review. I began to explore the integration of pelvic health into my practice within the first year of opening. It has been so extremely helpful for my clients – it is empowering and validating. It provides them ownership and ways to manage their symptoms.

I have now been in practice for about 5 years and I am continuing to grow. There have definitely been challenges along the way – losing a loved one and closing up the practice for several weeks, changing business names, moving the clinic several times, transferring to a different medical record system, and balancing a full schedule with clients that are eager to learn. The work that I do helps to fill a gap and I am honored to be able to provide this unique perspective within the pelvic health realm of care.

Michelle , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an eating disorder informed & sensitive pelvic health physical therapist – quite a mouthful! 15 years ago, I became a physical therapist after working for several years as a landscape architect and a group exercise instructor. I wanted to “make a difference” and really felt that physical therapy was the route for me. When I started working as a new physical therapist, I began treating at Denver Health and I eventually transferred over to the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders. There was a need for physical therapy care on this unique unit serving patient with eating disorders I like to say that the rest is history because this is where my passion for working in the eating disorder field was ignited. It was definitely NOT something that I learned about in school and I had to learn most things in practice at the hospital – I loved it! As I mentioned before, it was this passion that led me to build my own practice.

I offer my clients 1:1 sessions that are 1 hour in length. Together with my client, we build programs tailored to their specific needs. Most of my work involves movement reintegration in a safe, sustainable, and fun way for those in recovery from an eating disorder. Additionally, because of my pelvic health background, I often weave this in with any and all of my clients if appropriate and with permission. It is amazing how helpful a little inquiry about pelvic health can be for my clients! Lastly, I also love to work with pregnant and postpartum people on sustainable movement reintegration with a rehabilitation/injury prevention focus. I remember being postpartum myself and really struggling to understand how to move again in a safe way – I like to provide insight to help people that feel lost just like I did.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I started my business in January of 2019 and left my job at the hospital in February of 2019. Just a few short days after I made this leap, we found out that my father had gastroesophageal cancer. My parents live in Indiana and I am here in Colorado. My brother, who lives in Texas and has his own business, and I took turns traveling back home to help our parents while my dad went through treatment. My father passed in June of 2022 and, as a solo practitioner, I shut down my clinic for a period of 2 weeks. Shortly after returning back to Colorado and work, another business owner threatened legal action toward my business because of a similarity in our business names. This resulted in a complete overhaul in not only my business name, but my website and all of the technical side of my business. Truthfully, I felt like I had hit rock bottom and wanted to quit. I scaled back on my direct patient care, took the time to create a new business name that truly resonated with me, completely redid my website, and begin to slowly rebuild my practice and my energy.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I did not learn about eating disorders when I was in physical therapy school and I think my openness and vulnerability to NOT knowing was helpful to me as I began working within the field. I saw an opportunity and knew that I could be beneficial to the patients that I worked with at the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders – this faith in myself paved the path to the mobility program that I developed there and continues to lead me in my practice today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://strengthwithinpt.com/
• Instagram: @strengthwithinpt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Strength-Within-Physical-Therapy-Wellness/100088430621821/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strength-within-physical-therapy-wellness
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7wtRUeCC214x4pppr0peYA

Image Credits
ELC Photography for headshot