Tia Ukpe-Wallace

Pronouns

she/her

Location

Oakland/Bay Area, CA (mobile visits);

Virtual

Education/Certification

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Yoga Tune Up Certified

Low Pressure Fitness Certified

IWHI Women’s Health Coaching Certified

Mercier Therapy and Fertility Specialist Certified

Visceral mobilization, myofascial release, manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, yoga based therapy

Words you live by

Be your own best advocate otherwise no one else will.

Specific Expertise

Coccyx/tailbone pain, pregnancy related issues, urinary incontinence, orthopedics (spine, hips, shoulder, knee, ankle), postpartum related issues, pelvic pain (male and female), mechanical infertility, constipation, gastrointestinal dysfunction.

How did you decide to become a pelvic floor therapist? How has your interest in this area evolved?

My inspiration to become a pelvic floor therapist did not come about until I was already in PT school and realized that was an option for me. However, much of that inspiration came from my experiences as a young adult to now. I grew up loving to learn about the human body, but did not have much awareness of my pelvis and all of the organs that resided there. I went through three years of going back and forth between yeast and bacterial infections and had a short period of time where sex was painful due to all of the irritated tissue but didn’t know that there was help and instead suffered in silence.

I was in my late 20s when I discovered that I had fibroids and didn’t think it would have any impact on me having children and was not provided with much guidance or education about it. I ended up miscarrying 20 weeks into my first pregnancy because of those fibroids and subsequently had surgery to have them removed. I have since had 2 other miscarriages but also one beautiful daughter and during it all, have had periods of pelvic pain and again not knowing that there was help for what I was experiencing.

My own experiences have shaped me as a therapist from just wanting to provide education and be a resource to now doing all that plus being a strong advocate for pregnancy loss sufferers. Overall, I want to be able to offer the same type of help that would have benefited me as a young adult, pregnant mom or miscarriage sufferer.

You focus much of your work on miscarriage support. What does that type of support look like?

The work of miscarriage or pregnancy loss support is multifaceted. When I went to seek out support after my own miscarriages, the only options for me were miscarriage support groups. I knew that I would find healing being in a community of other women, but I also didn’t want the constant reminder of what I lost, I know that I didn’t want to always be steeped in grief.

After my most recent loss, there were several revelations that came to me that really helped to guide me out of grief in a gradual way. I believe that being held, healed, nourished and prepared is a great recipe for making one’s way through processing the grief. It starts with being held and listened to in a community of other miscarriage sufferers. The healing part was huge for my process and inspires a lot of the work I do now.

Working on the womb and feeling into the various parts of the body that are holding both physical and emotional tensions to then nourishing the womb and the body is the next step and what was missing after my previous miscarriages. Lastly, is the preparation of both body and mind. How prepared is one for their pregnancy; to not take the anxiety, anger of previous losses or apprehension into the next pregnancy? Is their body physically strong to address all of the changes in the body? I feel that this is a necessary step to fully address before walking into another pregnancy carrying along the trauma from previous losses. 

Photo by @nicolemorrisonphoto

How is the style in which you practice particularly helpful for fertility?

Having studied from two wonderful teachers in the field of visceral mobilization and reproductive health, my work surrounding mechanical infertility is from a manual therapy based approach. On average, about 30-50% of infertility is caused by a mechanical factor (adhesions, scar, tissue, endometriosis). In many cases, infertility is based on some type of mechanical blockage, such as twisting of the ovarian tubes or a restriction such as scar tissue from an old surgery or inflammation that will impede blood flow, mobility of the uterus or the opportunity for sperm to make its voyage towards the cervix. My hands-on approach is helpful to address any restrictions of tissue and create better mobility of the organs so they can function more effectively. This type of work can be supported for those who are trying to conceive naturally or to help those who are preparing for IVF or IUI to increase their success rate of implantation.

What inspires your work?

My inspiration is definitely two fold. I see the experiences that I have had helped to shape me into the clinician that I am now. But I would say that it is the patients who I have the privilege of treating on a daily basis who inspire me on the daily. Many of them have endured some type of chronic pelvic pain or incontinence for years. So, the amount of vulnerability and strength it takes for them to come into the clinic and seek out help is inspiring. The pelvic patients are the ones who are usually ready to do the work since they want to get better and get back to leading a normal life. When treating these types of patients, you cannot be cookie cutter with them. Each condition is different as well as their circumstances, so it requires me to think outside the box and be creative with my treatment so that they can see the results and help them on their road to recovery. When I see them come in for their eval defeated and then transition into either pain free, symptom free or just more empowered and knowledgeable over the course of their treatment, I remind them how much of this work is because of them and that I was simply their guide. That is truly inspiring to know that I have assisted in helping them learn how to heal their body.    

What is your self-care ritual?

My self-care ritual is constantly in flux and is so dependent on what I need at the moment. In general, I will usually plan out and put in my calendar what I need to do or remind myself to do so that I know I get it done. Other times, it will be more spontaneous or based on what my internal self knows that it needs. My go-to self care routine is movement. When I go a day or two without having moved in an organic, fluid way, my body starts to feel it and the aches and pains I have tend to be more profound and louder. If I don’t have time in the morning because I chose to sleep in because I know that I need more sleep, then I will at least play two songs and dance to them. I really love being out in the sun, especially first thing in the morning. I will sun bathe and breathe in the fresh air either doing this while on a walk or while I sit outside and eat my breakfast. I have also been working really hard to limit the amount of time that I spend on social media and try to use that time to fuel my creativity, read or just do nothing.  

What are you watching/listening to/reading right now?

I don’t watch much TV or shows, but when I do, I am usually watching Lupin on Netflix as I try to finish up the series or a nature, travel or food show. I have several books that I am reading all at the same time. I am currently reading a book called Awakening Intuition by Mona Lisa Schulz which was inspired by the recent book I finished reading called Spiritual Fertility by Dr. Julie Von. The other book that I am reading is called Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende that I picked up at the library and found to be very good. The professional book that I am slowly making my way through is Visceral Manipulation by Jean Pierre Barral.