Primal Strength - With the Primal Strength Doc, Dr. Meghan Helwig
Dr. Meghan Helwign, DPT - Owner/Physical Therapist at Primal Strength Physical Therapy
Originally on track to become a lawyer, Meghan realized that she wanted to help people recover from their injuries and move better. She changed her career trajectory to attend Physical Therapy school and is a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapist in California and New Jersey. She began practicing in an outpatient orthopedic clinic on the East Coast, but shifted her practice into a more performance-based, private practice setting.
She eventually made the move to San Diego in 2016 after taking a TPI course in Oceanside. Since then, she has practiced out of a CrossFit gym in Carlsbad and began teaching for RockTape shortly thereafter. With a background in field hockey, triathlons, and CrossFit, Meghan has personal experience with a variety of sports and movements. Her goals are to educate her patients, help them continue to do what they love in a safe manner, and unlock their full potential.
Meghan was actually the instructor for RockTape’s Cupping and Flossing course that I attended last year - which is how we met.
Dr. Meghan Helwig performing breathing cues as part of her holistic approach to health and fitness.
Meghan is a well-learned clinician, with advanced certifications such as RockTape Functional Movement Techniques, RockTape RockBlades, Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS), Neurokinetic Therapy (NKT), Titleist Performance Institute (TPI), Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA), Spinal Manipulation, and Clinical Athlete Weightlifting.
Being an instructor for RockTape, a brand that I incorporate into my daily practice, Meghan spoke on how her instructing has changed with the shift to virtual education, “The company has been looking to implement virtual courses for some time now, current events have kind of forced that change. We’re still teaching the same exact stuff, attendees get shipped the materials ahead of time, and I think we’re almost tapping into a different demographic because the company has cut all the prices in half. Classes are still intimate, too. I think the cap is at 25 attendees. So you’re still getting the same content, the same materials, the same intimate experience, for half the price. So people who may not have been able to afford it, who couldn’t take time off from work, or didn’t want to travel, can now take these courses. It’s really shown me that a lot can be done virtually! I’m actually writing my own course that will be featured at the end of May hosted by RockTape.”
Dr. Meghan Helwig applying RockTape cups and bands to augment a squat test.
Meghan’s experience with virtual education has branched out into her private practice. She offers virtual consultations, as well as maintaining her brick-and-mortar practice. “Like I said before, there’s a lot we can do with virtual. Movement and pattern screens, breathing and exercise cues, form checking, it goes on.”
Much of our conversation came back to the COVID-19 situation, as the interview itself took place less than a month into California’s stay-at-home orders.
A lifelong avid golfer, Dr. Meghan Helwig is pictured here working on the course and assessing swinging patterns.
Aside from teaching and practicing implications, the topic of productivity and mental health came up. “I feel like the days are flying by and I’m beating myself up for not being productive enough. I had to give myself a break! We have to do whatever we can to keep our stress levels low in these super stressful times.
“The first two weeks, I was basically stressed out of my mind with figuring out how to run virtual courses and maintain my practice. I had to find a webcam that was a million dollars because everyone and their mother was buying one. The lighting in my office was a challenge! I was on Zoom every day trying to figure out how to host group meetings. I actually had all these grand ideas but I never got to explore them because I was on Zoom all day trying to figure out Zoom! After about two weeks of being super stressed out and anxious, I took some time for myself and blocked out ‘me time’ in my schedule.”
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned myself, that I also bring up with patients, is the idea of cutting yourself some slack during these times. With the unprecedented health, economical, and societal stressors being imposed on everyone (now and into the foreseeable future) we need to make more of an effort to combat and balance that input. Similar to physical input (like exercise or trauma), these unseen stressors take a toll on our being - we need to implement more de-stressors and recovery techniques to support our mental health.
You can contact Meghan with the info below!
Email - meghan.helwig@gmail.com
Website - primalstrengthpt.com
Instagram - Primal Strength Doc
Meghan’s Virtual Course - Assessment and Screening/Strategies for Gold Performance with Meghan Helwig, DPT