Can you give us any tips on effective documentation in this area? Have you had any trouble with insurance reimbursement?
Answer
That is a great question. I would absolutely focus on the positive tests for pelvic girdle pain as evidence that there is pelvic joint dysfunction, and the root impairment is a problem with load transfer across the pelvis. We have had no trouble with insurance reimbursement whatsoever. Going back to the tips, I would focus on the function. The patient is having pelvic girdle pain that is interfering with her ability to perform her job as a waitress. Pain is impairing her ability to care for her children at home. She is having difficulty traveling to and from work because of pelvic girdle pain. When we focus on function, most often the insurance carriers really understand that it is not just pain. We are saying this pelvic girdle pain is leading to a functional impairment and here is what it is and here is why we are seeing it. We are seeing these positive tests and our plan of care is going to be restore the ability of these joints to transfer load, to restore the normal motor control of those important muscles, and to restore those specific functions.
Continued and its subsidiaries provide professional education authored by qualified Subject Matter Experts for continuing education purposes. These materials are intended for educational purposes and do not constitute medical advice or a substitute for individual clinical judgment. Continued is not a clinical healthcare provider; the licensed professional is solely responsible for ensuring that the application of any techniques or information presented is within their legal scope of practice and jurisdictional requirements.
Cynthia Neville, PT, DPT, WCS, BCB-PMD
Dr. Neville is a board-certified Women’s’ Health Clinical Specialist (WCS) and President of her consulting and education firm, Neville Know-How, Inc. She is currently providing clinical patient care as a pelvic health physical therapist and is an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. A highlight of her career was developing the first credentialled Women’s Health Physical Therapy Residency Program in the state of Florida at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville. She has published several peer-reviewed research articles and textbook chapters. She has been practicing and teaching pelvic health physical therapy courses for over 30 years.
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Abdominal scars, adhesions, and nerve entrapments are a source of abdominal and pelvic musculoskeletal pain symptoms. This course will examine and discuss physical and occupational therapist examination and treatment of musculoskeletal symptoms that may be caused by or associated with abdominal scars, adhesions, and abdominal cutaneous nerve entrapments.
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