Laura Panzarella is a physical therapist who has been a women’s health advocate for over 10 years, which includes pelvic health, prenatal/ postpartum and breast cancer rehabilitation. She has been the lead pelvic floor and lymphedema therapist in several clinical settings. Her advanced training and focus on the shoulder girdle has been very useful for helping overall function of the arm, which can be a problem for some women undergoing treatments. She also has strong sports medicine skills, with an interest in protecting pelvic health for runners. She has a special interest in integrating the principles of the Pilates method and yoga into her rehabilitation programs.
Education
Transitional Doctorate of Physical Therapy SUNY Upstate Medical University 2008
Master of Physical Therapy/BS Health Science SUNY Upstate Medical University 2002
BS in Biology, Loyola College in Maryland 1999
Combined Honors Program: University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom 1999
Wellness education and health promotion
Laura has been treating the women’s health population including incontinence, pain and breast cancer-related conditions. Her special interest is in pre and post-natal care and ways to prevent long term problems from pregnancy and delivery. She loves working with the spine and alignment for both women and men, to learn how to take care of themselves, while taking care of their infants and family needs. She is sensitive to the experiences of moms who are at home or in other work environments.
Experience and Training
Laura has worked in a variety of settings, including private practice and outpatient hospital clinics. She has also worked as a seasonal therapist for the players of a semi-professional rugby organization in Queensland, Australia. In addition to her work with women’s related conditions, she received specialized training in Long Beach, CA for the rehabilitation of post-surgical conditions of the extremities including complex shoulder injuries. Laura’s experience includes treating sports injuries of any level from the weekend warrior to the professional athlete.
Continuing education courses/ training include:
International Pelvic Pain Society From Biology to Behavior: Integrating Current Biology and Biopsychosocial Principles in the Management of Pelvic Pain, Paul Hodges, Lorimer Mosley. The Abdominal Wall and Diastasis Recti Abdominis: Should We Open or Close the Gap?, Diane Lee. The Female Athlete (Lower Half) Antony Lo- The Physio Detective. Post Natal Nutrition, Burrell Education. Yoga as Medicine for Pregnancy, Ginger Garner. Safe Yoga Prescription in Medicine and Wellness: An Evidence Based Model for Improving Health Care & Expanding Your Practice. The “3 P’s of Practice”: Yoga for Preventing Practitioner Burnout, Promoting Professional Growth, and Improving Patient Outcomes through Psychoneuorphysiological & Neuromuscular Awareness. Introduction to the Pilates Principles for Rehabilitation. Running Injuries: Examination, Differential Diagnosis and Treatment Interventions. De-Mystifying Pudendal Neuralgia: A Physical Therapist’s Approach. Oncology Rehabilitation: Living Well With Cancer. Female Pelvic Floor Function, Dysfunction and Treatment I & II. CranioSacral Therapy I & II. Visceral Manipulation: Abdomen. Lymphedema Management – Leduc Method – Basic and Advanced. Strain and Counterstrain I; For the Spine.
Other
Lab Assistant with Herman & Wallace: Pelvic Floor I
Teaching Assistant for lymphedema management.
Personal:
Laura is married and has 2 young sons . She enjoys reading, being outdoors and travelling.