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

Michelle, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As a physical therapy practice, we stand out for several reasons among other practices. We offer in-home visits for pregnant and postpartum women. Most in-home physical therapy is reserved for those who are considered medically home-bound. We meet moms where they are at to offer convenience at a time in their lives when it is hard to leave the house! It takes a lot of extra time, planning, and effort to leave the house with a baby, so we take that barrier out of the equation. Moms can receive care right in the comfort of their own homes. Our sessions are an hour long, which is also unique, as most physical therapy appointments are 30-45 minutes these days. The whole appointment time is one-on-one with a physical therapist, not shared with other patients, and not supervised by a technician or an aide. We do not follow any protocols, but individualize every session for each patient. No two sessions ever look the same!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been a physical therapist for 5 1/2 years. It was not in my plans to ever start or own a practice myself. In July 2020, I was laid off from my job in downtown Minneapolis. I had just had my first baby in March and was experiencing firsthand the difficulties of motherhood as well as navigating the medical system as a patient. I realized it wasn’t as easy as it sounds to put the baby in the car seat and go about your business. There are nap schedules, feeding schedules, diaper changes, blow outs, spit ups, and more. If you’ve ever been in a hurry to get somewhere with a baby, you know exactly what I mean! Pelvic floor physical therapy is a crucial part of the puzzle for postpartum recovery, but it doesn’t get talked about as much as it should. Pelvic floor PT is gaining more traction and more people are hearing about it as an option for pregnancy and postpartum. As I rehabbed my way back into running and weightlifting after having my first baby, I knew as a physical therapist I had way more knowledge than most women, and I still didn’t have a clear path to follow. I wanted to create a convenient solution to this problem, so I created Moms in Motion PT. We travel to our patients’ homes for appointments, making it comfortable for them to be in their own environments, especially when babies are around! No extra time spent packing up the car, driving, or trying to feed your baby while out and about. Moms in Motion PT is the go-to solution for moms who want to keep up with their kids, have smoother pregnancies and deliveries, and eliminate leaking, pressure, and pain. We pride ourselves on the high level care we provide with convenient in-home sessions. We help pregnant women overcome aches and pains that are common with pregnancy such as low back pain, pubic symphysis dysfunction, sciatica, incontinence, tailbone pain, and pelvic heaviness or pain. We also help women prepare for birth with specific pelvic floor considerations with our birth preparation sessions, where we cover very different material than traditional childbirth education classes. Lastly, we work with postpartum women to help them get back to the activities they love without symptoms.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

At Moms in Motion PT, we provide high quality care for each of our patients. We individualize each patient’s care according to her abilities, symptoms, and goals. We want our patients to feel heard, understood, and encouraged. Many patients come to us feeling discouraged and frustrated with their symptoms, with the way they have been treated in the traditional medical system, or with the way their birth unfolded. Pregnancy and postpartum are vulnerable times, and patients need care providers they can trust. We meet our patients where they are at physically, mentally, and emotionally. We travel to their homes to take any transportation and time barriers out of the equation. We spend a lot of time with our patients and continually build trust over the course of their care.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Postpartum is already an isolating time of life, but the pandemic amplified this isolation for many moms, especially first time moms. I was one of these moms. I felt like I had no one to ask for help because I was scared to invite anyone into my home at the beginning of the pandemic, not knowing much about the virus at the time or how it would affect my newborn baby. This was a fuel for starting Moms in Motion. Many clinics had to shut down due to government mandates, so people were not receiving the care they desperately needed. I had a small amount of business experience when I first started out. I taught swim lessons out of my parents’ pool over the summers in high school and college, but that was in small town Iowa and a very different market! I was scared to start my own physical therapy practice, but with the support of my husband, other family, and friends, I persevered through the fear and hit the ground running. It took awhile and some coaching to find patients consistently, but it was worth the perseverance for all the women I have been able to help over the past couple of years. I am committed to doing what it takes to help pregnant and postpartum women receive the care they deserve!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.momsinmotionpt.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/moms.in.motion.pt
• Facebook: Facebook.com/momsinmotionpt