By Dr. Thalia Farshchian It can be both a beautiful and frustrating thing that the body is so interconnected. In some respects, it is fascinating and comforting and in other ways, it can feel so complicated. The more I study medicine, the more in awe I become of how it all works. As […]
Stress: I’m all too familiar with it. As I write this blog I feel the stress of the deadline rapidly approaching. Writing is not my forte, so I tend to start writing assignments at the last minute, which puts me under pressure and causes, well…stress. I can feel the heaviness in my chest, the adrenaline […]
Everybody poops! I hope that everyone reading this blog accepts this reality. At PHRC, we spend a lot of time talking to our patients about the importance of proper pooping. Often, this discussion is uncomfortable. I get it. No one is keen to bond with their bowel movements. Poop has a bad reputation, which […]
By Katie Hunter “In the wild, mother and young have a better chance of survival if the mother can regulate labor so that the young are born in safe, quiet surroundings.” –Niles Newton, behavioral scientist and professor at Northwestern University circa 1987 Before I explain what all of this means… let’s go over […]
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington Unfortunately, the majority of the men we see at PHRC have been through quite a journey with their pelvic pain, before finding pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy. I want to share a recent success story about one of my male patients, Ben (his name has been […]
By Iris Kerin Orbuch, MD Did you know that Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are as common as gynecological symptoms in women with endometriosis? Do you suffer from bloating and/or constipation? Endometriosis may be the cause of your bloating and/or constipation. Over 90% of women diagnosed with endometriosis actually present with GI symptoms as their initial symptoms. […]
By Melinda Fontaine Mary is an amazing story because in a matter of months, she went from not having any penetrative sex for many years to having unrestricted intercourse with her partner. When Mary was a young woman, she saw a gynecologist for a routine exam. Now, lying on the exam table with your […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Severe menstrual pain is not normal. If you experience severe pain during your period it is possible you are suffering from an underdiagnosed disease called Endometriosis. Endometrial tissue lines the uterus. In response to hormonal influences, the endometrium of a healthy uterus thickens and then […]
Diaphragmatic breathing aka deep belly breathing – how is that an exercise? Many of my patients are surprised when I prescribe and emphasize diaphragmatic breathing in their home exercise programs. Historically, they have associated physical and occupational therapy and/or exercise with strengthening, stretching or the need to get the heart rate up. However, […]
By: Admin If you’ve recently been to your physical and occupational therapists, massage therapist, personal trainer, or body worker and heard the words “fascia” and “manipulation” in the same sentence, you are not alone. Fascia has become quite the buzzword for treating everything from chronic neck pain, ACL repair surgery, plantar fasciitis, […]
By Elizabeth Akincilar-Rummer MEN!!! Are you ready?? Birth Control for men is here….almost. Contraception. For some of us, that word has been a saving grace in preventing unwanted pregnancies and diseases. For others, it is fraught with moral and ethical dilemmas. But, those who are the most concerned with and often the […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Recently I was asked to write an article about pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy for the treatment of vulvodynia, which will be published later this year as a tool for gynecologists. Since our blog readers are a combination of clinicians and people with pelvic pain […]
By Stephanie Prendergast and Elizabeth Akincilar-Rummer Tony is one of those people who seem superhuman. In his early 30s, he’s lean and athletic. When he isn’t chasing after one of his three young children or helping to run a successful family business, you can find him surfing, hunting, snowboarding, golfing, swimming, or playing […]
By Admin Art imitates life, though Hollywood’s imitation of sex is often a crude copy. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a good rom-com, and I may or may not be on my second viewing of True Blood, but sometimes I just don’t get it. The sex on TV is not […]
By Rhonda Kotarinos, PT, DPT In this week’s post, guest author and pelvic floor expert Rhonda Kotarinos shares a controversy from the 2016 International Pelvic Pain Society conference. In October I had the privilege of presenting at the International Pelvic Pain Society’s annual meeting. During one of the presentations, a discussion ensued regarding the term contracture. […]
By admin You hit your 40s or 50s and all of the sudden things start spiraling: Your period is out of whack, your undergarments are damp with urine after a one mile walk with your dog, and you can no longer wear your favorite jeans because they’re irritating to your lady parts. As if that […]
By Stephanie Prendergast After a fun holiday season the crew at PHRC is back at work and excited to start the new year. In this week’s post we take a grateful look back on 2016 as we start working on our goals for 2017. Last year, We published our book….. […]
Hemorrhoids. About 75% of us will have one at some point in our lives,1 and half of us will have had one before the age of 50.2 Surprised? It’s not the kind of thing we like to discuss with our friends – until you actually have one, that is. Then you find out your buddy […]
We live in a different time. I remember when chat rooms and meeting people from the internet was the plot line for a Lifetime movie. Now, we get in cars driven by strangers and fall in love via sophisticated algorithms and profile pictures. What a time to be alive! It is pretty apparent that technology […]
By Admin During pregnancy and the postpartum period, many women suffer from both functional and cosmetic issues caused from the widening of the abdominal wall from stretch and pressure generated from the growing uterus. This stretching can result in a separation of the rectus abdominis muscle, known as a diastasis recti (DR). Diastasis recti […]
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington The pelvic floor is a phrase used very frequently here on the blog as well as in our clinics, but to those unfamiliar with this area of the body, it may still be this illusive mystery. I want to break down the pelvic floor into each of the […]
