SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: I'm currently in the process of moving from Chicago, IL to Charleston, SC. For now, I'll continue to see patients who are located in IL via telehealth, so please contact me directly if you would like to schedule. I'll also continue to do online health consults/coaching, which you can book through this site or contact me directly at [email protected] Thank you for your patience and I look forward to providing further updates soon!
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Welcome! You are likely here because you are looking for solutions. You are motivated and ready to take steps to improve your situation… because where you are now is uncomfortable.
Let’s face it-- discomfort is a part of this human experience. Whether you are in pain or something just isn’t working right, your experience is letting you know a change is needed. My job is to help you figure out what change is needed so that you can take steps to reach your goals. Or if you are a healthcare/wellness professional, to provide resources that help your clients reach their goals.
It might be helpful to think of symptoms as the body’s primitive way of saying “something needs to change.” When it is not clear what changes are needed, it’s time to call in an expert. Sometimes it’s a bit like detective work in that I help to look, listen, and feel for clues that indicate what is needed for the body to restore optimal health. While I’m happy to help with simple orthopedic or pelvic floor cases, my unique specialties make me an expert in chronic pain, connective tissue disorders, dysautonomia, hypermobility-related chronic pain/instability, and abdomino-pelvic pain.
I’ve been managing injuries and conditions since the age of 12, when I first encountered physical therapy as a patient. My physical therapists identified that hypermobility was contributing to my recurrent injuries and aches. Many years and misdiagnoses later, it was determined that my orthopedic, neurological, and GI symptoms were all signs of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic connective tissue disorder that predisposes me to dysautonomia (a dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system) and other chronic conditions. Between my personal and professional experiences as a doctor of physical therapy and yoga therapist, I’ve learned a lot about caring for injuries and medical conditions.
I'm well-versed in a variety of techniques and approaches and am willing to explore a lot of options to find what works best for my clients. Current evidence indicates that the techniques we use don't matter nearly as much as the process of feeling heard, understood, and supported as you learn about your body's ability to intelligently adapt to challenges and restore health and wellness.
My approach to rehabilitation and wellness honors the complexity of the human experience, often called a biopsychosocial approach. Essentially, we are so much more than mechanical physical bodies and our health and healing is influenced by all aspects of our selves, not just the biomechanical bits. Our thoughts, emotions, relationships, habits and behaviors all have the potential to shift our physiology. An integrative, holistic approach offers many different ways to influence our own physiology! By changing up the inputs and even how the nervous system processes data, we can get a different output. For a quick and accessible resource that helps the user reframe pain as a complex output of the brain, I recommend The Protectometer: a guidebook to Explain Pain by Lorimer Moseley and David Butler, or Greg Lehman's free e-book on pain recovery strategies (a bit longer, but either is worth the investment in your health!)
You’ll find I offer a variety of services to support your journey toward health and resiliency. From in-person physical therapy or therapeutic yoga to online health coaching and educational courses, I look forward to connecting with you and supporting your growth.
Stay Inspired,
Dr. Catherine Lewan
Testimonials
Dr. Catherine Lewan is very knowledgeable about EDS/POTS, and is always furthering her education on the subject. This makes her a wonderful physical therapist and an excellent problem solver for patients like myself. She teaches me so much about being hypermobile, no other physician has been able to help me like she has. I am better able to manage my symptoms now. I am so thankful for Dr. Catherine.
EDS/POTS
I took a course from you a couple years ago about using pilates/yoga with geriatric patients. You presented the material in a smooth, understandable, and engaging way. I was just getting into yoga at the time, and you helped spur me onward into that wonderful realm. I am currently going over, again, the workbook from that course. Just wanted you to know that you helped to re-energize an old physical therapist’s practice of his profession, and continue to influence in a very positive way the outcomes of all my patient interactions. I offer you my sincere gratitude.
– Stan
Catherine is an energetic, bright, and passionate facilitator. She makes class fun and enjoyable!
Catherine is very approachable, friendly and is there to help you on your path. With her background in dance, Pilates, yoga, and the fact that she is a physical therapist, you really could not get a more knowledgeable teacher. I have been her student for years and absolutely love her! And I know you will too.
Catherine is very engaging, passionate about getting her message across, and has a good sense of humor. Her course was fun and useful.
-MR
This instructor is great! I will be taking more courses with her. She has the ability to communicate information in an interesting manner. I think this is the best instructor I have ever taken a (continuing education) class with!
– Janet L
Catherine tailors her classes to the needs of participants of all ages and conditions. She uses props to enhance each movement, and modifications that offer me the opportunity to take care of my body using weekly Pilates and Yoga group classes. I also see her in the clinic for treatment of my arthritis, and I have found her expertise, respect for the human body and her personal centeredness to be an extraordinary resource.
“Dr. Catherine – the breathing techniques have literally ALREADY assisted with my bathroom habits. I am committed to continuing on this treatment path.
“Dr. Catherine – Thank you so much for your incredible patience, kindness, and expertise. I know that I am in good hands.
I worked with Catherine when I broke my collar bone. She treated me for the muscles and movement around the break, but also helped me recover areas of strength that I had neglected because I was protecting the area around my collar bone. She helped me discover that I wasn’t using my back muscles properly to carry my baby. Her method incorporated pilates, yoga asana and strengthening exercises in addition to manual therapy. I was very worried about returning to yoga and never thought I would be able to do down-dog again. She helped me feel confident in my body again.
-JJ
Catherine and her class (the environment she creates) are great examples of warmth and competence in action. Catherine is open, kind, gracious, generous, smart and very good at what she does.
-MaryPat
Catherine has literally changed my life. I was very limited physically, dealing with chronic pain in multiple parts of my body– I felt stuck, lost, weak, and powerless. Catherine introduced me to pain science, which has opened the door for me to a completely new world– one in which I’m strong and capable, where I understand what is happening in my body and the amazing ways in which our bodies can change and adapt.
Catherine always listens to everything I have to say and works as a “detective” trying to find clues that will help inform my treatment and what my body needs. She has empowered me by giving me multiple sources of information to understand chronic pain and tools to self-manage my symptoms and be independent. She encourages me to work towards specific goals-which keeps me super motivated- and I love how she is very dedicated to making sure I achieve them.
Catherine is extremely smart, committed, and compassionate. I feel so very grateful I found her, and wish every person dealing with chronic pain had access to her gentle, wise, and empowering approach!
