Hidden Gems: Meet Amy Hoover of APHysio Physical Therapy and Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Hoover.

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I knew I wanted to be a physical therapist since I was in high school. In 2002, I finished grad school with my doctorate in physical therapy and started my career. My first professional job was in a large, level one trauma center health system in Chicago where I was living at the time. That experience really formed me as a clinician, and gave me so many valuable experiences and exposed me to so many different types of patients. I worked with trauma patients, burn victims, amputees, orthopedic surgery, joint replacement, pediatrics, and so many more. During that time, I also was exposed to pelvic health physical therapy. There was a large department of therapists doing exclusively pelvic health, and they had a very long waiting list. That peaked my interest, as obviously this was a very valuable service that many people needed and not many people were providing. That led me to enter a mentorship program with this group of therapists, and my journey in pelvic health began in 2004. I later took another job in the city working for a private practice, but continued to specialize in pelvic health and orthopedics. For a short time I was contracted into a OB/GYN practice as their in-house physical therapist. Also during that time, I got married and had both of my children. My plan was always to move back to Ohio to be closer to my family. In 2008 we bought our first house and moved to Ohio from Chicago. After settling in in Ohio, I interviewed and was offered a job at the Cleveland Clinic doing pelvic health. I worked there for almost 15 years, the last several of which overlapped with my “side hustle.” In 2018, I decided I wanted to have my own practice without any of the red tape or constraints of the health system. In June 2018 I formed my LLC, APHysio physical therapy and wellness. I began just seeing patients in their homes as a mobile concierge PT, primarily providing pelvic health. When Covid hit my practice picked up, and I continued to do some visits in home but also set up a treatment space in my own home. My practice got busier and I decided I needed my own space, so in January of 2023 I leased a space and moved near the Square in Medina. In a little under two years, I have outgrown that space. Next month I’m moving APHysio into a larger space, but still near the square in Medina.
My family and I moved to Medina in 2015, and I have completely fallen in love with this community and this city. I love the sense of community and all of the events that take place around the square year round. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to keep my practice close, because I just really enjoy being in downtown Medina. I’m excited to expand my practice and continue to serve Medina and surrounding communities with my expertise in pelvic health and orthopedic physical therapy.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My biggest struggle has been self-doubt. I researched for a whole year before I took the steps to go out on my own. It can be scary to be self-employed, but for me the risk was very much worth the reward. I have also struggled to learn and understand the nuances of running a business, and I am still learning every day.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The name APHysio came from my initials blended with the word physio. People in most other countries refer to my profession as physiotherapists or Physio for short. I like it because it feels very personal to me.
Since I primarily do pelvic health, I guess I should explain more about tjat. Pelvic health physical therapy is a specialty practice that includes evaluation and treatment of pelvic conditions including pelvic floor dysfunction, pre-postnatal, pelvic surgeries, abdominal surgeries, and lumbar/Pelvic/hip dysfunction and pain. This description only scratches the surface of what pelvic health physical therapist do. We are specially trained to do internal evaluation and treatment of the pelvic floor. I consider myself a manual therapist, and have developed many skills in manual therapy over the years. Most of my treatment is hands-on, as I believe that time spent with a patient should be prioritized to things that they cannot do themselves and the education that they need to get better. Besides using my hands, I also do dry needling, electrical stimulation, cupping, myofascial scraping and other modalities. Of course, I also do traditional physical therapy and treat all the joints and muscles from head to toe. But my passion is pelvic health and specifically women’s health. I spend an entire hour one on one with each patient and owning my own practice has allowed me the freedom to do that. It has been such a rewarding experience to be able to offer a higher standard of care.
I have been involved with horses my whole life, and have owned several since moving back to Ohio. I ride and compete in eventing, along with my daughter. I have a special interest in equestrian biomechanics, and specialize in equestrian athletes of all levels and ages. I can uniquely serve this population of athletes as a rider myself. It has been very rewarding to be able to blend my two passions.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I am a member of the Global Pelvic Health Alliance Membership, which is an excellent resource for anyone dealing with pelvic issues. They have many educational webinars, seminars, and countless support for my practice with educational materials etc. for patients and myself.
I’m a big supporter of meditation and mindfulness, so I love the app Insight Timer. I recommend this to many of my patients as well.
I am on the Clinical Advisory Board for a fitness company called Pvolve. It is a fitness brand and method with hundreds of workouts for on demand streaming, but they also have live virtual classes and several brick and mortar studio locations throughout the US and Canada. They are continuing to grow and expand, and I absolutely love this method. It’s based in functional movement, so it’s very symbiotic with my physical therapy practice. I recommend Pvolve to my patients as well, and they love it.

Pricing:

• Physical Therapy Evaluation $190 (first visit)
• Physical Therapy Treatment $165 (follow up visits)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aphysiollc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aphysiollc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aphysiollc
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-price-hoover-7365255/