By Elizabeth Akincilar, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack Pelvic pain is a complex condition that can have various causes, including medical conditions, injuries, and certain behaviors. In this blog, we will discuss 10 common behaviors that can potentially lead to pelvic pain(and potentially chronic pelvic pain). It’s important to note that while these behaviors may contribute to pelvic pain, they …
The Right Way To Poop and Improve Bowel Movements
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, DPT, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles April is Irritable Bowel Syndrome Awareness Month, so we felt it was most appropriate to discuss bowel mechanisms and the ‘right way’ to poop. According to a study by Shahid (et al in 2012), “constipation affects up to 28% of Americans.” More Americans suffer from constipation than die …
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy can help with Low Anterior Resection Surgery?
By Lauren Opatrny, PT, DPT San Francisco, CA What is Low Anterior Resection Surgery? Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States (1), and low anterior resection (LAR) is the preferred surgical treatment for rectal cancer. During this procedure, the part of the rectum with cancer will be removed, and the remaining part …
SIBO Updates plus follow up Q&A
Let’s talk SIBO SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth; bacteria that is an overgrowth of the normal bacteria in your small intestine. How to test for it:⠀ A breath test is typically used either in the clinic or a take-home test is given. The test uses a solution, glucose or lactulose (but usually lactulose), that is consumed and …
Q&A Bowel Dysfunction
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, DPT, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles A few weeks ago we published a blog about How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Helps Bowel Dysfunction. In it we discussed how one might develop a bowel dysfunction, symptoms, associated diagnoses and how pelvic floor PT can help in recovery. This week, we asked our social media audience to submit …
Childhood Constipation and Bedwetting: The Pertinent Poop
By Melinda Fontaine, Clinic Director of PHRC Walnut Creek Child: “Ms. Melinda, why did you choose to do what you do?” Ms. Melinda: “Two reasons: I get to wear sneakers to work, and I get to laugh at potty humor forever!” Did you know that pelvic floor physical therapists also work with children?! I help all people pee and poop …
Pelvic Health Products We Love: Part One
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas Here at PHRC we regularly discover all sorts of new and cool products that are available for people’s pelvic health needs. I am amazed at some of the products available and that are being developed and am so thankful there are people that are creating these products because they are SOOO helpful! Pelvic …
Gotta Go Right Now: Urinary Urgency Explained
By: Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek You know that feeling when you just drank the equivalent to a big gulp and you haven’t had a bathroom break in over four hours. That sensation of your body telling you to get to the bathroom ASAP is called “urgency.” In case you wonder if urgency and the frequent need to urinate …
Michelle’s Postpartum Pelvic Health Struggles…and Success!
By: Rachel Gelman, DPT Michelle is a 30 year old female referred by her gynecologist to us for pelvic floor physical therapy following the birth of her first child. Michelle had her son via vaginal delivery and she was roughly five months postpartum at the time of her evaluation with me. She reports she had a second degree tear with …
Happy New Year!
By: Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder January is often the time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future. So, in that spirit, we thought it would be fun to dedicate this post to a few top Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center events of 2018….and a peak forward to 2019. In no particular order, here’s what happened …
Alternative Treatments for IBS: Can Hypnosis Help Heal Your Gut?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered a functional gastrointestinal disorder. The Rome Foundation defines IBS as when a person has chronic abdominal pain at least one day per week in the last three months combined with at least two of the following: abdominal pain related to having a bowel movement; abdominal pain onset is associated with change in stool frequency; …
Don’t hold your breath! What you do when you poo
By: Kim Buonomo, DPT, Lexington Don’t hold your breath! What do you do when you poo? It sounds like something from Dr. Seuss. It’s a strange question, and some of our patients don’t know how to answer it. Next time you have a bowel movement, try to think about the specifics. How are your feet positioned? Are they flat on …
Why Your Period Makes You Poop!
Ladies, have you ever felt bloated or backed up the week before your menstrual cycle? What about noticing diarrhea at the start of your menstrual cycle? I know I have. If you’ve been or are pregnant, have you noticed major changes in your digestive system and bathroom behaviors? Below I explore the connection between hormones and changes in your bowel …
The Connection Between SIBO and Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (and How to Relieve Both)
By Guest Blogger Jessica Drummond MPT, CCN, CHC One of the reasons that relieving pelvic pain is so challenging is that pain in different systems within the pelvis can overlap. For example, in rats where experimental colitis (colon irritation) was induced, many of the rats also experienced bladder and urethral pain (Yoshikawa et al., 2015). Thus, there is …
The Squattypottymus: could reducing childhood constipation help prevent adult pelvic pain?
By guest blogger Steve Hodges, MD with an introduction from Elizabeth Akincilar As pelvic floor physical therapists, we often notice a common denominator among our patients suffering with pelvic pain: CONSTIPATION. Probably more frequently than not, our patients with pelvic pain also struggle with constipation currently, or have at some point in their lives. Many of them will …
Autonomic Dysregulation in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, Walnut Creek At the 3rd World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain organized by the International Pelvic Pain Society, Professor Qasim Aziz spoke about Autonomic Dysregulation in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Qasim Aziz, MBBS, FRCP, PhD is Professor of Neurogastroenterology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University …
Autonomic Features of Chronic Pelvic Pain
By Elizabeth Akincilar Understanding and effectively treating chronic pain continues to challenge the medical community. Now more than ever, there is a sense of urgency to treat this disease. With the astounding reports of opiate addiction and opiate related deaths in this country, we now know that throwing drugs at chronic pain is not the answer. So what …
Understanding Pelvic Floor Movement
By Katie Hunter, DPT Drop, push, bulge, squeeze. These words are used regularly when talking about pelvic floor function but what do they actually mean? We often talk about how the pelvic floor muscles become dysfunctional and can cause daily symptoms of pelvic pain, bladder and bowel urgency and frequency, incontinence, prolapse, and sexual dysfunction. Today, I …
The Scoop on Poop: More than Constipation
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 is unfortunate because it can …
Diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic pain, peeing and pooping
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 therapy and/or exercise with strengthening, stretching or the need to get the heart rate up. However, with the pelvic floor muscles, especially for …
The Hemorrhoid: The World’s Biggest Pain In The Butt
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 has had one too. Americans …
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