By Jennifer Keesee, PT, DPT, PHRC Westlake Village Michelle is a 39 year old patient who was referred to PHRC by her pain management specialist for evaluation and treatment of tailbone pain, known as Coccydynia. Her symptoms started one year after giving birth to her second child, and had continued off and on for […]
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Let’s talk Myofascial Trigger Point (MTrPs) Facts: MTrPs are contracted fibers with a muscle. MTrPs are painful when compressed. Active MTrPs cause pain and/or dysfunction whereas latent MTrPs do not currently cause pain and/or dysfunction but have the potential to. MTrPs can cause pain locally […]
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Over the last few week’s, we have received various inquiries about Myofascial Trigger Points. Why do they occur? What are they? How can we fix them? This week we do a deep dive and answer our most frequently asked questions! Q: Never heard of […]
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack Although still out of reach for many, gender affirming surgical procedures are becoming more accessible as more surgeons are offering these services and more insurance providers are covering some of the costs associated with these procedures. As more people undergo these surgical procedures the need for rehabilitative […]
By Peter and Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Pelvic Physical and Occupational Therapy (PPT) has been a wonderfully life changing experience for me following prostate cancer treatment. It has been a nearly three year journey, and I cannot speak highly enough of the benefits of my kind, caring, and immensely skilled PPT therapist. What […]
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Peter was a 63 year old experiencing urinary urgency and leakage three months after having his prostate surgically removed for prostate cancer. Luckily, his surgeon referred him to a pelvic floor physical and occupational therapists. He was using at least two incontinence pads per day, but was mostly […]
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack Over the last couple of years PHRC has shared many YouTube videos and educational material on Instagram educating our viewers and readers about pelvic health. We have received an overwhelming response to several of our posts discussing male pelvic pain, in particular penile pain. Listed below are […]
By Lauren Opatrny, PT, DPT, PHRC Berkeley & San Francisco *all names have been changed to maintain patient privacy Background Rachel* is a 32 year old experiencing urinary incontinence after giving birth to her baby in December 2020. When she was eight months postpartum and still experiencing incontinence, her doctor referred her to […]
By Jillian Cerda Ramos, PT, DPT, MFDc *all names have been changed to maintain patient privacy Introduction Pregnancy is truly a life-changing event in more ways than one: bringing a baby into this world is no easy feat, and neither is the recovery process! Just like how each pregnancy is so different, each […]
By Kim Buonomo, DPT, PHRC Lexington Introduction Megan (mid-50 year old cisgender female) started seeing me in September 2021. She had a history of bowel dysfunction since giving birth to her daughter in the late 1990’s. She described her symptoms as a pattern of alternating constipation and diarrhea, associated with bloating, hemorrhoids and abdominal […]
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas This past month was Endometriosis Awareness Month. It was very exciting to see how many more individuals and providers were sharing amazing information about this disease that affects such a large percentage of our population. This was not always the case, and it is a sign we […]
By Jennifer Keesee, DPT, PHRC Westlake Village & Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas Congratulations on taking the next step in your healing journey! You’ve found a great doctor and decided to proceed with endometriosis excision surgery. If you’re like me, after many years of managing endo symptoms, you’re probably excited to address the […]
By Jennifer Keesee, DPT, PHRC Westlake Village March is endometriosis awareness month, and here at PHRC we want to help spread the word about this complex disease that is often hidden in plain sight. Endometriosis is a condition that affects approximately 10% of women, which also includes trans-men, and those who do not identify as […]
By Melissa Patrick, PT, DPT and Jennifer Keesee, DPT The Basics Breathing may seem like a very simple task, but many of us breathe incorrectly. Poor breathing mechanics can affect us physically, mentally, and emotionally. Research has shown that breathing exercises can positively impact our nervous, cardiac, and musculoskeletal systems. When we pay […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Connective tissue (CT) restrictions are defined as a dense thickening of subcutaneous tissue that’s painful upon pinch-rolling examination. Connective tissue restrictions can contribute to urinary and bowel symptoms and pelvic pain. As this post will explain, CT restrictions can be a cause and consequence of multiple […]
By Emily Schwerdtfeger, PHRC Westlake Village Admin Assistant A patient submitted this letter following their personal experience with patient care An open letter to any doctor who’s ever seen a patient. To patients who have experienced something similar, I’m sorry and you didn’t deserve it. “I understand that doctors have limited time with […]
By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco “Penile numbness, perineum pain, post void dribble . . . oh my!” *All names and other identifying information has been changed. Symptom Presentation: Frank began to have pain in his perineum seemingly out of the blue. The only connection he could make was an […]
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 […]
September 8th is World Physical and Occupational Therapy Day! To celebrate, we wanted to do a little Q&A about pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy and what it’s like to be a pelvic floor physical and occupational therapists! What is pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy? In a nutshell pelvic floor physical […]
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Symptoms Many families struggle with constipation in children. Maya is a 10 year old who likes to swim, camp, and play with her little brother. She had suffered with constipation and fecal incontinence most of her life. A year ago, an x-ray showed that she had an enlarged […]
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 […]
