Meet Krystal Couture of The Pelvic Acu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Krystal Couture.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always knew I was going to go into healthcare. My mom was a women’s health nurse in a rural, conservative community. She had a passion for helping young women to take care of their bodies, receive support, and have a voice. She standing up for rights she believed in even though they weren’t popular. She inspired me every single day, even when I was too cool to admit it (think sophomore year through senior year of high school). I decided to go to school for PT. There was something that really fascinated me about helping someone feel, understand and support their body. After I opened my clinic, I had clients that were getting better from whatever ailment it was that they came in for, but they wanted to keep booking. I kept treating them and eventually got both curious enough and brave enough to ask. As it turned out the story I kept hearing was that they hoped I could help with other conditions too. They didn’t voice these “other conditions” without me asking deeper questions. Finally it came to light that they have overactive bladder, dyspareunia, leakage, pelvic pain, reduced sensation, atrophy associated with menopause… The thing that surprised me most was the recurring sentiment that what we did for their back, hip or ribs seemed to create change in the “other conditions”. They wanted to keep that momentum and change going. There were very few resources for pelvic health at the time, but the way these clients trusted me and shared so vulnerably, made me feel like I had to do everything I could to support them through the discomfort they were feeling. Concomitantly, I felt like clients living with this kind of discomfort, this reduced quality of life and this level of embarrassment, deserved a voice. The deserved to be seen, heard and helped. While, the pelvis was coming to light, so was my own evolution. I felt like the work I was doing resonated more with acupuncture, than with PT. I went back to acupuncture school AND I set out on a mission to serve the pelvic health population. Over the last 19 years, I’ve learned, I’ve researched, I’ve served and my clients are no longer suffering in silence and they’re reclaiming their lives. And in the last two years, I had a revelation and moved it into action. On my own, inside the walls of my clinic, I’m only one provider, but teaching this medicine to other acupuncturists help more patients, more humans. In the last 2 years, I’ve had the amazing gift of teaching nearly 200 acupuncturists to integrate pelvic care into their practices. It’s been a truly great journey!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always struggles with entrepreneurship. As a NCBAHM (that’s the acupuncture and herbal medicine board) credentialed continuing education provider, there is a lot of work behind the scenes to make sure that we’re not only sharing a great product, but that our providers are receiving their PDAs. I am really great at teaching techniques, instilling confidence in practitioners, and fielding questions. I am not a systems organized person. Since this business was in its inception, that has challenged me immensely. Fortunately, as we’ve grown, I’ve been able to pass the torch of organization to my Operations Manager. I refer to her as an angel, because what she does on the back end is truly what makes us successful.

Another challenge I faced super vulnerably was being isolated. As a business owner and solo-practitioner, I didn’t realize how alone I was until I was accidentally adopted into a mentorship group. These women have become my rock, my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on and I’ve been theirs. We lift each other up, remind each other to celebrate the wins and push each other to be the best we can be.

We’ve been impressed with The Pelvic Acu, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Pelvic Acu is a pelvic health continuing education company for acupuncturists. We train licensed acupuncturists to confidently and competently treat the pelvis, the conditions that live there, and the people who carry them. About 120 acupuncturists move through our programs each year, and our reach extends into every client they touch when they go home.

I started this company because I kept meeting women in pain who had been told nothing more could be done. Women with vulvodynia, dyspareunia, interstitial cystitis, pelvic floor dysfunction, endometriosis, post surgical scar pain, prolapse, incontinence. Women three months postpartum still afraid to sneeze. Women who had stopped having sex with their partners and stopped telling anyone why. And on the other side of the room, brilliant acupuncturists who wanted to help but had never been taught the pelvis with any real depth in school.

That is the gap I set out to close.

We specialize in pelvic care for women’s health, men’s health and transgender health, taught with clinical precision and reverence for the body. We are known for going where most CE will not. Urinary leakage. Vulvar pain. Erectile concerns. Pelvic floor work for top surgery and bottom surgery clients. Trauma informed touch. The conversations practitioners are scared to have until they have been taught how to have them.

Three pillars set The Pelvic Acu apart. Everything I teach lives inside this framework, and it is what makes a Pelvic Acu graduate recognizable in a room.
Biomedicine – We have detailed knowledge of the physical body including the musculotendinous sinews and the fascia.
TCM / Organ Systems – We have an understanding the interplay of the organs, their functions and roles from a TCM perspective.
Spirit of the Points – We hold a deep knowing of the body’s reverence and ability to connect to the spirit and the emotions via the points.

What I’m most proud of: The energy in the room. Seasoned acupuncturists sitting next to new graduates. OB nurses turned acupuncturists next to oncology specialists next to sports medicine acupuncturists. All of them showing up curious enough and brave enough to learn this work. I’m watching the moments when this medicine clicks. And then watching them go back to their clinics and change what is available to clients all over the US and Canada.

A graduate pulled me aside at the end of a recent practical with tears in her eyes. She said, “I have women on my schedule next week who have been waiting their whole lives for this.” That is what I am proud of. Not the curriculum. Not the company. The fact that there are now acupuncturists in their communities who know how.

Acupuncture can do this. Acupuncture shifts pelvic pain and dysfunction. Acupuncture supports postpartum recovery. Acupuncture helps with erectile concerns, with menopausal genitourinary symptoms, with the long quiet aftermath of pelvic surgery and birth trauma. Research backs this up. The gap has never been the medicine. The gap has been training and willingness.

The Pelvic Acu exists to close that gap. One acupuncturist, one client, one community at a time.

What’s next?
In the future, I want to continue to elevate pelvic health awareness. I want to train more practitioners. I want to help more people! Since we are such a new company, we don’t have major changes coming. But everyday I wake up wanting to find new or revitalized ways to share, serve and support both patients and practitioners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thepelvicacu.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepelvicacu/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drkrystal/

Image Credits
Lauren Bodwell Photography