EVANSTON — October serves as an awareness month for several notable campaigns; perhaps less recognizable, it’s also National Physical Therapy Month. The Herald recently met with Dr. Kerian Duncan to discuss the services her practice Intuitive Parents Physical Therapy offers to women and children.

“I cater my business model to a more vulnerable population. I want to elevate the meaningfulness of women’s health because it affects children, too. We’re carrying the next generation. It’s important and sacred work,” Duncan said.

Born in Jamaica and raised in Texas, Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science, followed by a master’s degree in neuroscience that she earned in 2015, then a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2018. She relocated to Evanston in 2019, beginning her private practice the following year. She’s also since completed the Utah Regional Educational Training for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

“I love movement in general,” she said. “I think the standard physical therapy (PT) model is very orthopedic focused. I fell in love with the neurological aspect of rehab, how the body moves because of how the brain tells the body to move.”

Due to her neuroscience background, Duncan was primed to go into pediatric PT.  Considering cerebral palsy (CP) — a stroke at birth or while in utero — therapy as her specialty, Duncan published her master’s thesis “Parent Handling of Typically Developing Infants Varies Segmentally Across Development of Postural Control” about trunk control and inability to sit up. The article was featured in the scientific journal Experimental Brain Research.

“Early intervention for kids with cerebral palsy is so important,” she said. “Movement is so important, even in different degrees of development. When it comes to kids learning, we should be advocating for as much movement ability, but especially as they are developing.

“I named my business Intuitive Parents Physical Therapy because parents have more to do with their kids’ motor and muscular development than they’re led to believe,” she continued. “I think intuition is a big part of what I try to cultivate in families and the women I work with.”

Duncan’s treatment work with women began in 2022 after experiencing childbirth firsthand.

“Becoming a mother, I really started to see what women bear and hold. They bring life into this world, and that made me more serious, more passionate about it. It ushered me into this work. I had to lean into my feminine nature,” she said. “I had to learn what it means to work with the true feminine because it wasn’t straight forward treatment, it required more compassion.”

She said different people often require different treatment.

“I’m passionate about not generalizing treatment, especially when it comes to the female body — we’re just coming around to understanding the nuances of training the female body versus a male,” she said.

Duncan offers pelvic floor work for both women and children

“The pelvis is the foundation of postural stability in children with neurological impairment,” she said. “Strengthening the pelvis in children leads to more movement opportunities for them in the long run.”

Pediatric pelvic floor work can also address bedwetting and chronic constipation.

“It’s a very vulnerable therapy, as it is for women too, but you’ve got to get it right when they’re young because it can translate to trauma when they grow up.”

A comprehensive list of Duncan’s services include: certified prenatal and postnatal corrective exercise; pediatric orthopedic injury; early gross motor delay intervention, genetic disorders, torticollis/plagiocephaly; gas, bowel and/or bladder incontinence (urge or stress); any type of pelvic dysfunction such as birth trauma, pelvic organ prolapse, abuse-related trauma, pain with intercourse; any type of abdominal surgery including c-sections, hysterectomy, lapband; pregnancy-related back/sacroiliac (SI) joint pain, postpartum pelvic weakness and endometriosis.

Of the mastectomy services she provides, Duncan explained that “patients have a lot of upper extremity issues — from lymphatic drainage or weakness from chemo — that prevent them from functional use.”

Duncan also treats a wide range of genetic disorders — “anything that affects gross motor development,” she said. “I can treat sensory issues, or balance issues that are a result of having autism. I advocate for them when they’re starting school or transition to adult services.”

When not conducting therapy on clients, Duncan also teaches a course called “Early Intervention Assistive Technology” through the University of Wyoming’s Institute of Disabilities (WIND). She said she’s training other therapists and teachers through continuing education about the importance of devices that aid children with disabilities.

“I feel like I’ve arrived at this place as a therapist where I’m doing my most meaningful work,” Duncan said. “Clinician burnout is so real, but I love my work; it’s a sustainable practice, which is so important. I’m glad I get to do what I enjoy doing and doing what I’m good at.  I’m so glad I found my niche and that I can make a positive impact.”