By Karah Charette, DPT, PHRC Berkeley & San Francisco As a human being, you have a right to pleasure- safe, consensual, and sexual pleasure. We are fortunate to participate in a culture where conversations about sexuality and sexual function are becoming more mainstream and accepted. We are now having nuanced conversations about the myriad of factors that affect …
5 Ways to Relax Your Pelvic Floor!
By PHRC Admin Do you ever wonder why it is important to relax your pelvic floor? Even if you know you should, do you find yourself wondering how to do so? As a pelvic floor physical and occupational therapists, I often have patients who wonder what the value is in being able to relax the pelvic floor. In a culture …
Q&A Pelvic Floor Weakness Causes
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles and Admin In case you missed our latest Q&A about Pelvic Floor Pain/Tightness Causes, you can read it here. If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, your pelvic organs will not have the full support they need! But what is the cause of weakness? Back in October we presented you with numerous …
Goodbye 2020, helloooo 2021 – the year of the pelvis!
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Last year was a year unlike any other, marked by uncertainty, loss, tragedy, stress and fear. I remember the feeling of shock and panic when I learned we needed to close most of our offices for three full weeks. As a business owner my mind was blown, that seemed like an eternity. …
Lj Powerhouse and Jandra Mueller of PHRC: IG Live Endometriosis Q&A
By Lj Powerhouse & Jandra Mueller, DPT, PHRC Encinitas In December 2020, PHRC physical and occupational therapists, Jandra Mueller joined Lj Powerhouse on Instagram for a LIVE Q&A. It was awesome to answer all of the questions you asked and we were bummed we couldn’t get to all of them! Here is a re-cap as well as answers to many …
EmBODYment
By Maryssa Steffen, DPT, PHRC Berkeley Have you ever noticed the relationship between your feelings and your bodily sensations? For example, have you ever noticed that gut-wrenching feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you know something is wrong, or you just got bad news? Or your heart rate suddenly increases when you get scared or nervous? …
More on Mindfulness for Pelvic Pain Relief
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington What comes to your mind when you think about the word mindfulness? Perhaps a sense of calmness. Maybe serenity or focus or peacefulness. All of these would apply. Or maybe you have no idea what mindfulness is; if that is the case then check out this blog post first: What is Mindfulness and …
Treating the Whole Person: Trauma-Informed Care Part 2
By Jillian Giannini, DPT, PHRC Westlake Village Just like it was discussed in our previous post it is not within the scope of practice for a physical and occupational therapists to treat trauma; however, educating yourself on ways to implement trauma-informed care can help you to provide a safe and conducive environment for a patient’s path to healing. In …
Treating the Whole Person: Trauma-Informed Care Part 1
By Jillian Giannini, DPT, PHRC Westlake Village Whether you are a clinician, a patient, or someone who wants to learn more about the concept of trauma, learning more about trauma can be beneficial for your life and for others that you encounter in your life. Trauma often plays a role in our lives, even if we are not fully aware …
The 4th Trimester: Postpartum Pain is Common but not Normal, Part 2
By Courtney Edgecomb, DPT In Part 2 of my 2-part post I will cover different therapeutic strategies for postpartum pain. As a new mom, self-care and appropriate medical attention is critical to ensure you stay as healthy as possible for your little one. I am sure it is daunting to find time for yourself at the moment, but it will …
Moisturize My Vagina?! What you need to know
By: Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington If you are anything like me, you most likely have a plethora of moisturizers at home (hand lotion, face lotion, body lotion, etc.), but what you probably do not have is a vaginal moisturizer. You might ask, “What is a vaginal moisturizer?” A vaginal moisturizer rehydrates dry mucosal tissue, is absorbed into the skin …
Will a menstrual pad help when urine need?
By Morgan Conner, DPT, PHRC Los Gatos Let’s set the stage here, you just peed your pants. I’ll let you fill in the details of the backstory, but here are a few possibilities. Maybe you just gave birth last week or perhaps six months ago (or six years ago!) and whenever you pick up your little one or laugh when …
Pudendal Neuralgia Resource List
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, DPT, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month and at PHRC we want to do our part to help people better understand pelvic pain syndromes and more importantly, help people suffering with these diagnoses get the help they need to recover. Since knowledge is power we created 5 videos and blog posts …
Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome/Male Pelvic Pain/’Prostatitis’ Resource List
By Elizabeth Akincilar, Cofounder, PHRC Lexington May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month and at PHRC we want to do our part to help people better understand pelvic pain syndromes and more importantly, help people suffering with these diagnoses get the help they need to recover. Since knowledge is power we created 5 videos and blog posts that we hope people …
Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome Resource List
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PT, PHRC Walnut Creek May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month and at PHRC we want to do our part to help people better understand pelvic pain syndromes and more importantly, help people suffering with these diagnoses get the help they need to recover. Since knowledge is power we created 5 videos and blog posts that we …
Gotta Go: Anatomy and Physiology of the Poop Chute
By: Kim Buonomo, PT, DPT, PHRC Lexington Everyone’s had that moment…You don’t have to go to the bathroom AT ALL and then suddenly you’re running to the toilet like there’s no tomorrow. How do things change so quickly? I’m going to teach you about the Rectoanal Inhibitory Reflex (RAIR) and what that means for fecal urgency and incontinence. In order …
EVERYTHING Is Connected: What is Visceral Manipulation and How Does it Relate to the Pelvic Floor?
Remember our earlier post on fascia? Simply put, fascia is a continuous sheath of connective tissues that lines everything in our body – the organs, bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves etc. Healthy fascia is fluid and mobile. It allows everything in the body to slide and glide promoting healthy and balanced movement. Restrictions in fascia can impact the mobility of …
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 …
Good Vibes Coming At You
May is a great month. Summer is starting to creep in, which in San Francisco means more fog, but if you are a sex nerd like me then you know that May is Masturbation Month. An entire month dedicated to self-love and pleasure. In a prior post, I talked about masturbation in general, including the benefits and a basic “how …
The Blunt Truth About Medicinal Marijuana and Pelvic Pain: Part 2
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington First things first: if you haven’t already read the Part 1 to this post, please do so first! There are a few updates since my first post regarding laws and legislature for marijuana (cannabis) use throughout the United States. Updates Currently, 29 states plus Washington, D.C. have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana, …
The Most Proven IC Treatment: Pelvic Floor Physical and Occupational Therapy
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. But patients often wonder how …