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 …
Managing Life on or after “The Pill”
By: Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas If you are a female reader of our blog, have experienced painful intercourse, and happened to have come to the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center (PHRC) for treatment, then you are probably familiar with our talk about how systemic birth control like oral contraceptives (OCPs) or “The Pill,” may be the underlying culprit. …
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Serve the Transgender/Gender Non-conforming Population: Part 2
By: Elizabeth Akincilar Last week, Shannon Pacella, DPT, taught us how physical therapy can benefit transgender individuals prior to gender affirming surgery and for those who choose not to undergo gender affirming surgery. You can read her blog here. This week, I present Part two, where I will explain why physical therapy for transgender individuals after gender affirming surgery should …
Mindfulness Meditation: Is it actually effective for treating chronic pain?
By Elizabeth Akincilar Mindfulness meditation. Even if you’re not exactly sure what it is, I’m going to bet you’ve heard of it. It has gotten a lot of attention recently. It’s everywhere. It’s not like the mediation of 20 years ago. Back then meditation was considered “alternative” or “fringe” that few people practiced, especially in western countries. Now, mindfulness has …
Sex Therapy and CBT for Pain with Sex
In 2012, The Journal of Sexual Medicine published an article, What we don’t talk about when we don’t talk about sex: results of a national survey of U.S. obstetrician/gynecologists. The results from the survey revealed that though Ob/gyns routinely (63%) assess their patients’ sexual activities, only 40% of them ask their female patients about sexual problems. Sexual problems may include …
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: what everyone needs to know
Do you know what the most common cause of female infertility is? Polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as PCOS. It is estimated that 15-20% of women will be diagnosed with PCOS at some point in their lives.1 It is the most common endocrine (hormone) disorder for women of reproductive age.2 Approximately 90-95% of women with anovulation (not ovulating) who attend …
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center Turns 12!
By: Stephanie Prendergast On July 17th, 2006, Liz and Stephanie opened the doors to the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco. Their mission was to improve the quality of life of their patients and to contribute to the dynamic growth of their employees and students. They aspired to educate the community and medical professionals about pelvic …
Antenatal and Postpartum Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy as Standard of Care
By Dr. Ann Croghan, PT, DPT, CLC, and CAPP-OB trained with introduction by Stephanie Prendergast, MPT A few months ago I shared a link to an article I was interviewed for in Men’s Health Magazine about postpartum sex on our PHRC Facebook Page. I was disappointed there was not better coverage about postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy in …
Vulvodynia, Vestibulodynia, and Vaginismus: what’s the difference and why does it matter?
By Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder As many as 28% of women experience painful sex at some point during their reproductive years and that sucks. Knowledge is power and May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month so we want to provide women with useful information about the three most common diagnoses associated with painful sex: vulvodynia, vaginismus, and vesitbulodynia. Differentiating …
Hormones: Your Body’s Frenemies
Hormones drive me crazy. As a woman, my biological clock seems to be more like an overactive alarm clock lately. For example, on a certain day I may see a baby and feel an intense urge to procreate. It is as if my uterus wants nothing more than for me to have 18 babies right now and then star in …