Meet Your Greater DC Area Pelvic Pain Specialist: Dr. Monica Zirolli
Dr. Monica Zirolli, DO is a compassionate provider who believes in listening to and advocating for her patients. As an expert in women’s and men’s health and sexual health, she validates her patients' stories and symptoms, and partners with them in their treatment to restore overall health and function in their lives.
GET TO KNOW YOUR DOCTOR
WHY DID YOU BECOME A DOCTOR?
The foundation of medicine in all regards is to help people. I enjoy getting to know my patients, educating them, and I always strive to be kind and empathetic – it's something I’ve always felt strongly about. I also love being able to work with patients to facilitate the natural processes that allow the body to heal itself.
Over time, I’ve honed how I want to participate in the practice of medicine, and I like to take the time and get to know people, their story, how they got to me, and how I can help them.
WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO TREATMENT?
It’s all a story, it’s never just one thing and it's not just one piece of a puzzle. I want the whole background from my patients, including how they got here, what's happened, and what treatments they have tried. It's important to paint a whole picture of the person, as it's all connected and all related. I find that building a strong relationship and educating is the most important part of what I do. I want all of my patients to feel like they have an active role to play in their own process of healing. I aim to build a relationship of trust, education, and communication with all of my patients.
WHAT MAKES YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT HELPING PRM'S COMMUNITY OF PATIENTS?
It’s a population that has been through it. They need doctors that care for them and want to listen to them – I have the time and I want to take the time for my patients. It’s something I am very suited to, letting my patients know I am here to listen and advocate for them. They need to know they have doctors who aren’t going to write them off, dismiss them, and push them out the door.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE PATIENT CARE?
The key word is empathy. I think it’s really important to listen to my patients and understand what has been happening with their health and what they’ve tried in the past.
In terms of a new patient visit, the first part is always the history, the full thing, from the beginning. I want to hear it all from my patients: where they’ve been and what they’ve been through. I do a thorough external exam that includes the back, hips, and pelvis, along with an internal exam to check the pelvic floor muscles and nerves.
Everything is consensual, I want them to know that I am listening and won’t perform any exam that they are not comfortable with.
I provide my patients with a lot of education, explaining to them why they are experiencing pain, how it happens, and how the treatments are intended to work. Education is so important because when patients understand what is going on with their body, they also understand the active role they play in their journey of healing.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
I love my patients! I have the absolute best patients, my office staff is phenomenal, and we have a lot of fun while working with people to get the help they so desperately deserve. I try to find ways to relate to my patients from start to finish, and we do our very best to make them feel comfortable from the second they walk in the door.
WHAT DOES PRM’S MISSION OF “DECREASING THE TIME PATIENTS ARE SUFFERING WITH PELVIC PAIN” MEAN TO YOU?
I would say that our mission is exactly what it says it is: to help our patients get better faster. I always focus on function because I feel that’s a stronger predictor of quality of life as opposed to just focusing on pain. It’s more about asking the question of “What aren’t you able to do that you want to do?” and focusing my treatment around that.
We also want to help our patients understand that they’ve finally found a place where they will be listened to and treated with respect, care, and thoughtfulness, and that they won’t be rushed through their appointment and sent away without answers or explanations.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HELPING THE POPULATION OF WOMEN SUFFERING WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS?
It’s super important to help these women. Endometriosis can be challenging to treat because it’s a chronic disease with no cure, so letting them know we are here to help and that the symptoms they’re experiencing aren’t just in their head is important.
It’s necessary to have more endometriosis experts in the field, along with more education, knowledge, and accessibility for patients.
WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT PELVIC HEALTH?
Everybody has a pelvic floor and it’s really important to take care of it! Pelvic health isn’t just for women or women postpartum. Pelvic pain is prevalent but not normal and you should never ignore it. It can also involve so many things including bowel and bladder function, sexual function, and mental health, so it’s crucial to be aware of everything going on in and around the entire pelvis.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
A graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Dr. Zirolli went on to receive her doctorate from the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. After a preliminary year in internal medicine at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pennsylvania, she completed her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rutgers NJMS/Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. She joined the team at Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine’s Bethesda, Maryland location in 2022.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Dr. Zirolli is a diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is also a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS), and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH).
