I'm Ingrid Pailthorp Ratz, DPT, a physical therapist, Pilates instructor, and postpartum exercise specialist based in Annapolis, Maryland, USA.

I help women who are dealing with pain, leaking, core weakness, and unstable joints, whether that started after having kids or has been with them their whole lives.

For years I treated pain the way most physical therapists do: find the restriction, treat it, strengthen it. But I kept seeing women whose pain moved around, whose adjustments only held for a few hours, whose bodies were compensating in ways no one had looked at.

Then I had my two children, and it got personal. Even with all my training, my own postpartum recovery didn't go the way I expected. Motherhood made me a better practitioner because I finally understood what it feels like to be told "this is just normal now." And that is not what I am going to tell you!

When I'm not working, I spend time with my family enjoying outdoor activities.

Keep moving.

Dr. Ingrid Ratz, DPT