CHAMBER News:
Dr. Desiree Cassell, PT, DPT wanted to change the way women’s health was perceived. During her first pregnancy, she experienced many symptoms that impacted her quality of life and wellbeing during pregnancy, such as urinary incontinence, diastasis recti, discomfort/pain with intercourse, lower back pain, sciatica and pelvic organ prolapse. She was told these symptoms were “normal”- both by her provider and by other moms in her life. So, she accepted it. Even as she was cleared postpartum to return to exercise “as usual” by her healthcare provider, many of her symptoms only worsened. It wasn’t until she was in school for physical therapy that she learned that while many of these symptoms (and others) were common, they were not normal.
During her second pregnancy, while still attending physical therapy school, she tested the knowledge she had gained in her classes and was able to completely heal the pain and incontinence she had been experiencing. Armed with this knowledge, she was able to drastically improve her activity, energy levels, and quality of life while also significantly reducing her delivery/pushing time in her second and third pregnancies. Her postpartum recoveries have been intentional and holistic, enabling her to now be able to laugh and sneeze and even jump on the trampoline again with her children without leaking, to lift heavy weight without feelings of pelvic heaviness or bulging into her abdomen/diastasis recti, and to not have her pelvic symptoms control her life.
Dr. Cassell wanted to bring this wealth of information to all women. She initially accepted a job starting a women’s health program at an outpatient clinic in Albuquerque. There she was able to bridge her love for general orthopedics and her newfound passion for women’s health in order to create a new, holistic, full-body approach. After encountering some restraints the insurance industry placed on her treatments, limiting the care her patients would receive, she decided to go out on her own to create a small, cash-based private practice. That’s when The Balanced Momtality Women’s Health and Wellness business was born.In 2022, after 12 years away from Los Alamos, Dr. Cassell moved her family and her practice back to her hometown. She is passionate about improving the standard of care for women’s health in the Los Alamos community and making women’s healthcare available to all women.
She encourages every woman, mom or not, young or old, newly postpartum or years postpartum, to see a pelvic floor therapist even if they don’t have any pelvic floor symptoms. Issues such as back pain, hip pain, tailbone pain, knee or foot pain, or even neck pain can all be connected to a possible pelvic floor issue.
“My goal in this community is to change the way we view and treat our health by bringing a more preventive/wellness approach to not just the pelvic floor, but the entire body,” she said. “I want to make sure women everywhere know that, while these symptoms are common, they are NOT normal and you don’t have to suffer!”
Dr. Cassell received a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as her Doctorate of Physical Therapy, from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She invites everyone to join her 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, April 19, in her space at 190 Central Park Square to meet, ask questions, and learn more about how she can help with every woman’s wellbeing.