For our latest Meet A Mom, we spoke with Ronit Sukenick, PT, DPT, PRPC. This mom of two is a physical therapist and an expert in Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation. As moms most of us are aware of the pelvic floor, and know it’s very important to our health and wellness, but to many of us it can also be a mysterious and intimidating topic! Ronit had difficulty with her own pelvic floor during and after her pregnancies with both of her children. Through her own therapy experience, she realized there was an unmet need for expertise in this area. She decided to become the expert and focused her training on the pelvic floor. In 2016 she started RS Physical Therapy in Dobbs Ferry, where she treats women (and men!) with a wide variety of pelvic floor issues.
We spoke to Ronit about a wide range of topics from family and life in the Rivertowns, to her advice on pelvic floor health and her favorite go-to sources for wellness information!
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
I have two boys, ages 12 and 8
What do you love about living in the Rivertowns?
I love being near the river, the scenery, the proximity to New York City, and the fact that almost all of my family lives close by.
What is your favorite thing to do/place to shop and dine in the Rivertowns?
This question is tricky during the pandemic because it feels like I haven’t been going to many places at all! Some of my favorite places to shop are in Hastings-on-Hudson – I love In2Green for gifts and By the Way Bakery (especially their lemon poppy cake!) Over the past year we have spent a lot of time exploring the trails at Hillside Woods. We have had many great hikes as a family, and our puppy loves it too!
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I don’t have a perfect pelvic floor! I don’t have a lot of things that people don’t know because I am a very open person (sometimes to a fault!) but they may be surprised to know that I am good at drawing and sketching and I find them to be great stress relievers.
Tell us about your career and background, how did it bring you to RS Physical Therapy?
After completing my Bachelor’s and Doctorate degrees in Physical Therapy, I joined the PT department at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital. There I rotated through different clinical departments to find the area I wanted to specialize in. During this time I was pregnant with our older son, and I had significant issues with my own pelvic floor. Through my own experiences with complicated pregnancy and recovery with both of our children, I realized that there was an unmet need for pelvic floor PT. I decided that I would be the one to fill that need and I helped build the Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia. After seeing the success of that program, I decided to start my own private practice.
How has your job and your practice changed as a result of COVID?
I closed my practice for 3 months at the start of the pandemic so I could be home to help home school my boys. I reopened last June with all of the COVID precautions, but aside from those precautions, my practice really hasn’t changed.
Pelvic Floor health and wellness may not be the easiest topic for some people to discuss. Can you recommend any resources or websites you like?
Well, my first advice is to just start talking about it! You will be surprised to find that a lot of your friends and family have had symptoms similar to yours.
2 books I like are:
Heal Pelvic Pain by Amy Stein
Pelvic Pain Explained: What You Need to Know by Stephanie Prendergast
I also like these websites:
The American Physical Therapy Association Section on Pelvic Health
The International Pelvic Pain Society
How do you balance your career and family life? Any favorite tips you’ve received from a mentor or fellow mom?
Balancing the two is challenging! I am a big believer in advocating for better support for moms and working women in general. My favorite piece of advice is when you are asked to do something extra (volunteer, additional project, etc) answer in a way that gives you the opportunity to assess how it will fit in with everything else on your plate. Don’t commit too quickly!
Where can we go to get more information about your practice or to schedule a consult with you?
You can go to my website RS Physical Therapy or send me an email at [email protected]
RS Physical Therapy – 145 Palisade Street, Suite 200, Dobbs Ferry – 914.768.3802