By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas September is Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) Awareness Month! This diagnosis deserves attention! Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS), is a chronic pelvic pain condition affecting an estimated 12 million people in the United States, and a diagnosis that we see all too often. Despite its prevalence, the causes […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC Los Angeles A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rachel Rubin on Instagram Live. I wanted to interview Rachel because of her unique background as a board-certified female urologist who completed a sexual medicine fellowship with Dr. Irwin Goldstein. Dr. Rubin is a clinician, a […]
By Jason J. Kutch, PhD and Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC West Los Angeles Interstitial Cystitis/ Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS) is a pelvic pain syndrome that is characterized by urgency/frequency and pelvic pain, affecting up to 7.9 million vagina owners and roughly 10% of penis owners in the United States. It is a clinical diagnosis, meaning […]
Recently, I decided to look into the confusion surrounding Interstitial Cystitis. A couple searches down a Pubmed rabbithole, I realized there was much more to it than I initially realized. In order to really make sense of what might be going on, I decided to go back to the basics and to the beginning. This […]
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas I’m Jandra, and I am a pelvic floor physical and occupational therapists here at PHRC, and the Director of PHRC Encinitas. I am very excited to announce that I have just completed my Master of Science degree in Integrative Health and Nutrition from Maryland University of Integrative Health. […]
By: Stephanie Prendergast, MPT After a five year break from traveling, lecturing, and teaching courses Liz and I are excited to announce that we are re-entering the classrooms! Many people who know us or follow us on social media know our work promoting pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy at medical conferences, my leadership […]
By: Rachel Daof, DPT “Imagine the following: You feel a sudden new, surprising and sharp pain in your thumb while you’re at the office. You look at it and inspect the thumb. You touch it and feel around to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. You move it around. You discuss it […]
Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is proud to announce that we now have eight locations across the country. Our newest locations include Walnut Creek, CA, Bedford, NH and Westlake Village, CA. We pride ourselves on our constant commitment to give the best possible care for our patients. Patients suffering from long-standing pelvic conditions are often […]
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 […]
By Guest Blogger Nicole Cozean, PT, DPT, WCS and author of The Interstitial Cystitis Solution Pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy is the most proven treatment for interstitial cystitis. It’s the only therapy given an evidence grade of ‘A’ by the American Urological Association and recommended in the first line of medical treatment. […]
By Katie Hunter I had the pleasure of attending Dr. Kenneth Peters’ lecture on the role of the Peripheral Nervous System(PNS) in the development and management of pelvic pain. Kenneth Peters, MD is a urologist practicing at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oaks, MI, who specializes in treating complex pelvic pain including interstitial cystitis. […]
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 […]
By Stephanie Prendergast Last month, pelvic pain enthusiasts traveled from all over the globe to attend the 3rd World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain in Washington, DC. The World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain is joint scientific meeting between the International Association for the Study of Pain Special Interest Group on […]
By Lorraine Faehndrich If you’re suffering with pelvic pain it’s very likely that you’ve spent a lot of time worrying and obsessing about your symptoms. Maybe you’ve spent hours online searching for answers, reading stories of others’ experiences with pelvic pain, or participating in “support” groups that leave you even more stressed, worried […]
By Jessica Newman, LMHC Living with persistent pelvic pain is, by definition, painful physically. What can be hard to talk about (especially for folks with pelvic pain) is just how emotionally distressing the pain is. And because the mind and body are a functional whole (think: a Mobius strip) emotional distress can trigger or […]
“Share the load” – Samwise Gamgee “It’s all about the base ” – Meghan Trainor “Drop it like it’s hot” – Snoop Dogg Some different quotes from last time, but after reading today’s post you’ll understand how Samwise, Ms. Trainor and Dr. Dogg are all talking about posture and the pelvis, and they […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Urinary tract infections hurt. It hurts as your bladder fills, you constantly feel the need to pee and when you do it feels like knives are coming out of your body. You do not experience post-void relief and immediately feel like you need to pee […]
By Elizabeth Akincilar-Rummer, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles When is the last time you heard a little voice inside you that tried to give you advice or warn you of danger? Some describe it as ‘butterflies,’ others a ‘gut feeling.’ That feeling can be attributed to the extremely extensive network of over 100 […]
By Stephanie Prendergast Vaginal pain. Burning with urination. Post-ejaculatory pain. Constipation. Genital pain following bowel movements. Pelvic pain that prevents sitting, exercising, wearing pants and having pleasurable intercourse. When a person develops these symptoms, physical and occupational therapy is not the first avenue of treatment they turn to for help. In fact, physical and […]
It’s National Bladder Health Week and we want to dedicate this blog post to our favorite (and only) urine collecting organ! The bladder is a vessel that sits on the pelvic floor and its primary function is to collect and hold our urine. It is made out of a hollow muscle called the detrusor which […]
By Stephanie Prendergast Last week, Gwyneth Paltrow’s popular newsletter featured an article on pelvic floor muscles, which prompted numerous emails and tweets in my direction. Apparently this is a topic that makes my friends and colleagues think of me. While pondering why everyone, except for me, seems to be reading Goop, I took a look. […]
