Claire is a Pelvic Health Physical Therapist specializing in care of pregnant and postpartum women, as well as those with bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction.

Claire earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of St Augustine for Health Sciences in 2014 and then went on to earn her certification as a Manual Therapist in 2015. Claire began her career practicing in outpatient orthopedics in Boston and Southern California before turning her focus toward a specialty in Pelvic Health.

“I was drawn to Pelvic Health for two big reasons. First, there is a huge need. There are a lot of people out there experiencing bowel, bladder, and sexual issues and not a lot of clinicians who are trained to treat these impairments. And second, I was struck by the huge improvements that you can make in a person’s quality of life with the appropriate physical therapy interventions.”

Claire spent the next two years at the Hoag Pelvic Health Program, exclusively treating pelvic health patients as well teaching prenatal and postpartum classes to mothers and couples in Orange County. She obtained her Pelvic Health Practitioner certification through the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute in 2017.

Claire has always been passionate about caring for pregnant and postpartum women, but it wasn’t until she gave birth to her own son that she realized how life-changing it is to become a mother.

“I wanted to better serve mothers through the whole process from maintaining pain-free exercise and mobility during their pregnancy, to preparedness for their labor, to guidance and support through postpartum recovery, and all of the new physical, emotional and psychological challenges of motherhood.”

Transforming her passion to vocation, Claire founded Merriman Pelvic Health to treat the myriad Physical Therapy needs of women, both as they approach childbirth and in their effort to restore physical fitness after giving birth.

Claire is dedicated to caring for women through all stages of life. She believes that education leads to empowerment and wants women to know that so many of the pelvic health issues they experience can be treated and resolved, they are not something that anyone has to “live with.” Whether it’s treating pain or urinary leakage during pregnancy, to rehabbing the postpartum body for return to fitness, or addressing bladder or intimacy issues in the post-menopausal woman, Claire wants women to know that there is hope and there is treatment.

Claire is an avid beach runner and loves working with clients wanting to get back to running postpartum or maintain while pregnant. She is also a huge advocate of yoga, believing in its benefits for both the body and the soul.

Claire is a Pelvic Health Physical Therapist specializing in care of pregnant and postpartum wom... Read More