By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles
Last year was a year unlike any other, marked by uncertainty, loss, tragedy, stress and fear. I remember the feeling of shock and panic when I learned we needed to close most of our offices for three full weeks. As a business owner my mind was blown, that seemed like an eternity. I felt panic as other businesses were awarded the PPP loan and wondered when and if our time would come. Liz and I have been in business together since 2006, but like so many other business owners nothing could have prepared us for this. We have nine locations and each state, each city, each office building, each landlord, and each member of our team had different things happening and we scrambled to do our best to manage it all and support our team as best we could. We felt grateful to have each other to try to make sense of it all.
Challenging times bring change, sometimes long needed change and innovation that may not have happened without a crisis. As the result of the pandemic the current PHRC team banded together and out of the terrible events of the year we relied on each other and found inspiration. We saw strengths in each other we did not fully realize we had. We found exciting new ways to connect with the pelvic health community and we cannot wait to share our thoughts on how we can best serve our patients and colleagues in 2021! As we give 2020 a swift kick to the anal sphincter here are a few notable things that we are proud to share, and also what we are so excited for in 2021!
Last year…..
- Digital health and mentoring program launch
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- We were honored and shocked to help over 400 people from all over the world!
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- Improved Allyship to the Black Community
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- The deaths of George Floyd, Brionna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and too many others rattled us to the core about white privilege and complacency. We decided as a company to work together to be better allies to the Black community. We shared stories and resources and I was personally touched by the fact the news really hit home that we all need to do better. Karah Charette suggested hosting a fundraiser for the Black charity Sister Song. She taught a pelvic floor movement class on zoom to over 100 participants. She raised $1, 560 and PHRC happily matched that donation for a total of $3,120. We will set new Allyship goals for 2021 this month.
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- Social Media Expansion and Engagement
- Welcoming New Staff
- Jillian Giananni, DPT – Westlake Village and West Los Angeles, CA
- Tiffany Yuen, DPT – Los Gatos, CA
- Corrine Macchi, DPT – Los Angeles
- Karleigh Bryant – Encinitas, CA
- Kelsey Peterson – San Francisco, CA to the PHRC team
- New and Improved Website!
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- In the Classroom and Yoga Studio
- Jandra and I taught our first Zoom lecture at UCLA’s Sex Therapy Program, and are excited to be invited back to do it again this May!
- Jandra co-created Be a Warrior for the Warrior, a novel new course on endometriosis management. Pssst…spaces are still available and click here for more information.
- Karah Charette taught a yoga course for the IPPS virtual fundraiser!
- In the Classroom and Yoga Studio
- In Print and the Media
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- Liz and I were honored to coauthor the chapter Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Assessment for Vulvodynia in the textbook Female Sexual Pain Disorders, edited by Andrew Goldtsein, MD, Caroline Pukall, PhD, and Irwin Goldstein, MD
- Cofounder Stephanie Prendergast interviewed with Insider Magazine and was featured at the Women Who Pee Their Pants Summit, Lorraine Faehndrich’s Mind-Body Interview, and with Karah Charrette on Karen Holly’s platform, Menopause Life!
Rolling into 2021 with hopeful and humble optimism….
Project One:
PHRC Connections: Building a stronger community for YOU
One of the many things 2020 taught us is that there is strength in numbers. We are the largest multi-city pelvic floor physical therapy in the country, making us uniquely positioned to best help our patients. Our talented clinical team has a wide range of interests and specialties within the field of pelvic health. We meet weekly to collaborate, learn and grow. As we head into the year of the Ox we have new ideas on how to use our diversity to help all struggling patients. We are here for you and we have a plan!
Most of our readers know that effectively treating pelvic floor disorders takes a village. We work hard for our patients behind the scenes, talking to their medical providers, constantly making connections to people and resources that can help outside of our treatments, and supporting our patients and their families on their road to recovery.
We are humbled by the thousands of people that have trusted us with their bodies over the years. We are excited to launch a new program, PHRC Connections, that will be complimentary for ALL PHRC patients. When people choose one of us to be their PT they are also going to have access to all of our staff and our pelvic health village. We are going to provide more support and a community of people that are restoring their pelvic health, at all stages of the process. We know the process can be exhausting and tiring, we get it, and chances are someone else is going through the same thing you are. Our patients tell us often that knowing they are not alone makes the bumpy journey easier. Digital platforms will bring us together so we can all help one another live our best lives.
PHRC patients will be given access to a closed and private group where they remain anonymous in a HIPPA compliant platform. They can log in anytime and checkout resources in a number of areas that we have been creating! This includes:
- Bimonthly webinars on a wide range of pelvic floor symptoms, causes, and treatments
- Expert interviews with urologists, gynecologists, pain management doctors, surgeons, psychologists, integrative health providers, nutritionists and other experts
- Meditation, mindfulness, yoga, pilates, TRX and other fitness classes that are pelvic floor safe friendly, whether there is pelvic pain or other types of pelvic dysfunction (live and recorded!)
- Recipe and meal planning ideas for healthier living
- And much more! Stay tuned to our blog and social media for updates and details
Projects 2 – 6 in 2021:
- Be a Warrior for the Warrior, taught online in January by Jandra Mueller and Britt Gosse (January 2021), Register here!
- IPPS Seminar: Managing Endometriosis by Jandra Mueller, Amy Stein, and me (March 2021)
- Moving PHRC Berkeley (April 2021)
- Expansion to Pasadena (May 2021)
- Advanced Management of Pelvic Pain Syndromes will be taught online and in Berkeley by me and Liz (September 2021)
We look forward to serving you in the New Year and here is to a much better 2021!
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Are you unable to come see us in person? We offer virtual physical therapy appointments too!
Due to COVID-19, we understand people may prefer to utilize our services from their homes. We also understand that many people do not have access to pelvic floor physical therapy and we are here to help! The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is a multi-city company of highly trained and specialized pelvic floor physical therapists committed to helping people optimize their pelvic health and eliminate pelvic pain and dysfunction. We are here for you and ready to help, whether it is in-person or online.
Virtual sessions are available with PHRC pelvic floor physical therapists via our video platform, Zoom, or via phone. For more information and to schedule, please visit our digital healthcare page.
In addition to virtual consultation with our physical therapists, we also offer integrative health services with Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS. Jandra is a pelvic floor physical therapist who also has her Master’s degree in Integrative Health and Nutrition. She offers services such as hormone testing via the DUTCH test, comprehensive stool testing for gastrointestinal health concerns, and integrative health coaching and meal planning. For more information about her services and to schedule, please visit our Integrative Health website page.
PHRC is also offering individualized movement sessions, hosted by Karah Charette, DPT. Karah is a pelvic floor physical therapist at the Berkeley and San Francisco locations. She is certified in classical mat and reformer Pilates, as well as a registered 200 hour Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga teacher. There are 30 min and 60 min sessions options where you can: (1) Consult on what type of Pilates or yoga class would be appropriate to participate in (2) Review ways to modify poses to fit your individual needs and (3) Create a synthesis of your home exercise program into a movement flow. To schedule a 1-on-1 appointment call us at (510) 922-9836
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FAQ
What are pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that run from the coccyx to the pubic bone. They are part of the core, helping to support our entire body as well as providing support for the bowel, bladder and uterus. These muscles help us maintain bowel and bladder control and are involved in sexual pleasure and orgasm. The technical name of the pelvic floor muscles is the Levator Ani muscle group. The pudendal nerve, the levator ani nerve, and branches from the S2 – S4 nerve roots innervate the pelvic floor muscles. They are under voluntary and autonomic control, which is a unique feature only they possess compared to other muscle groups.
What is pelvic floor physical therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized area of physical therapy. Currently, physical therapists need advanced post-graduate education to be able to help people with pelvic floor dysfunction because pelvic floor disorders are not yet being taught in standard physical therapy curricula. The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center provides extensive training for our staff because we recognize the limitations of physical therapy education in this unique area.
What happens at pelvic floor therapy?
During an evaluation for pelvic floor dysfunction the physical therapist will take a detailed history. Following the history the physical therapist will leave the room to allow the patient to change and drape themselves. The physical therapist will return to the room and using gloved hands will perform an external and internal manual assessment of the pelvic floor and girdle muscles. The physical therapist will once again leave the room and allow the patient to dress. Following the manual examination there may also be an examination of strength, motor control, and overall biomechanics and neuromuscular control. The physical therapist will then communicate the findings to the patient and together with their patient they establish an assessment, short term and long term goals and a treatment plan. Typically people with pelvic floor dysfunction are seen one time per week for one hour for varying amounts of time based on the severity and chronicity of the disease. A home exercise program will be established and the physical therapist will help coordinate other providers on the treatment team. Typically patients are seen for 3 months to a year.
What is pudendal neuralgia and how is it treated?
Pudendal Neuralgia is a clinical diagnosis that means pain in the sensory distribution of the pudendal nerve. The pudendal nerve is a mixed nerve that exits the S2 – S4 sacral nerve roots, we have a right and left pudendal nerve and each side has three main trunks: the dorsal branch, the perineal branch, and the inferior rectal branch. The branches supply sensation to the clitoris/penis, labia/scrotum, perineum, anus, the distal ⅓ of the urethra and rectum, and the vulva and vestibule. The nerve branches also control the pelvic floor muscles. The pudendal nerve follows a tortuous path through the pelvic floor and girdle, leaving it vulnerable to compression and tension injuries at various points along its path.
Pudendal Neuralgia occurs when the nerve is unable to slide, glide and move normally and as a result, people experience pain in some or all of the above-mentioned areas. Pelvic floor physical therapy plays a crucial role in identifying the mechanical impairments that are affecting the nerve. The physical therapy treatment plan is designed to restore normal neural function. Patients with pudendal neuralgia require pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from medical management that includes pharmaceuticals and procedures such as pudendal nerve blocks or botox injections.
What is interstitial cystitis and how is it treated?
Interstitial Cystitis is a clinical diagnosis characterized by irritative bladder symptoms such as urinary urgency, frequency, and hesitancy in the absence of infection. Research has shown the majority of patients who meet the clinical definition have pelvic floor dysfunction and myalgia. Therefore, the American Urologic Association recommends pelvic floor physical therapy as first-line treatment for Interstitial Cystitis. Patients will benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from pharmacologic management or medical procedures such as bladder instillations.
Who is the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Team?
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center was founded by Elizabeth Akincilar and Stephanie Prendergast in 2006, they have been treating people with pelvic floor disorders since 2001. They were trained and mentored by a medical doctor and quickly became experts in treating pelvic floor disorders. They began creating courses and sharing their knowledge around the world. They expanded to 11 locations in the United States and developed a residency style training program for their employees with ongoing weekly mentoring. The physical therapists who work at PHRC have undergone more training than the majority of pelvic floor physical therapists and as a result offer efficient and high quality care.
How many years of experience do we have?
Stephanie and Liz have 24 years of experience and help each and every team member become an expert in the field through their training and mentoring program.
Why PHRC versus anyone else?
PHRC is unique because of the specific focus on pelvic floor disorders and the leadership at our company. We are constantly lecturing, teaching, and staying ahead of the curve with our connections to medical experts and emerging experts. As a result, we are able to efficiently and effectively help our patients restore their pelvic health.
Do we treat men for pelvic floor therapy?
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is unique in that the Cofounders have always treated people of all genders and therefore have trained the team members and staff the same way. Many pelvic floor physical therapists focus solely on people with vulvas, this is not the case here.
Do I need pelvic floor therapy forever?
The majority of people with pelvic floor dysfunction will undergo pelvic floor physical therapy for a set amount of time based on their goals. Every 6 -8 weeks goals will be re-established based on the physical improvements and remaining physical impairments. Most patients will achieve their goals in 3 – 6 months. If there are complicating medical or untreated comorbidities some patients will be in therapy longer.