Hi! I’m Dr. Erika Hoffner-Martin
I’m so glad you’re here!
Let me say first- I love my job. Even though physical therapy wasn’t my first choice in career (being a surgeon was), I am so thankful that the pieces fell where they did. Physical therapy is SO MUCH MORE than just fixing back pain and sprained ankles, and I love showing people how much PT can help. Now, as a result of my own health journey, I am a specialist in treating hypermobility dysfunction and many of the associated conditions that come with it.
I’ve known there was something “wrong” with me since I was a kid, but no one could give me answers.
My main issues have always been digestive, including extreme bloating, sharp abdominal pain, pressure around the lower abdomen and stomach, constipation, and other pelvic floor issues. I’ve been to several different GI doctors since I was about 13, but I never was provided any answers as to why I was in so much discomfort. I played softball for 15 years, including in college, and while I never had much joint or muscle pain, I did frequently roll my ankles, give myself a dead-arm from throwing, and had difficulty holding up my bat because my wrists always felt so weak. I’ve always been very clumsy, running into and tripping over things constantly, to the point where my family and friends would ignore me when I said “ow”. My belly has always stuck out unless I flex my abs, and I always got made fun of for my “see through skin”. Even though I’ve never gained or lost a significant amount of weight, I’ve always had stretch marks. Out of nowhere, I got low back pain, and it’s been there for 10 years. I also started to have episodes of near passing out and random allergic reactions to unknown things. Most of these things never affected my friends, so why was it just me? I always wondered if this is how everyone else felt all the time- feeling pain, bloated, tired, and like my brain couldn’t think straight. This was my “normal”, so this just must be life, right? I started treating people with hEDS, and I realized that all of their complaints were MY complaints. And that’s when I started searching for more answers.
Any of this sound like you? Well, you’re not alone.
“If you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras….unless it doesn’t look like a horse and it’s actually a zebra”
— Me
It took me until I was 28 to figure out that I likely had hEDS, and this explained EVERYTHING.
I I had a lot of difficulty finding the right providers to give me answers. Many physicians didn’t take my symptoms seriously, and I learned to downplay what I experienced so that they would listen to me. So, I took it upon myself to make myself feel better. And guess what? It worked.
After years of research and experimenting on myself, I’ve figured out many things that work for managing hEDS/HSD pain, POTS, and MCAS (even through pregnancy!), and I’ve been able to share these with my patients and clients who have struggled for years. This means that YOU can feel better too!
I have chronic health conditions, but I am more than just those conditions.
While I do have health conditions that I have to manage, I don’t allow this to be my identity. SO, here’s a little more about me!
I’m married to my best friend and am a mom to a human baby and a fur baby (named Tony Bark).
I played softball at Florida State University- GO NOLES!
I both love to travel and explore new places, but I also love to stay home and rot into my couch in sweats just as much.
Music is one of my favorite things. You can catch me and my family at concerts or music festivals frequently.
I am a body art/piercing/tattoo enthusiast.
Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday, and me and my husband are ALWAYS down for a costume/themed party.
Are you ready to start feeling like yourself again?