By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Our muscles are hormonally sensitive structures and weaken over time as we experience hormonal decline. In addition, the prevalence of pelvic floor dysfunction rises and the combination of these two scenarios can cause people a fair amount of grief. A recent study showed 95.3% of people with lumbopelvic pain also had …
Embracing Sexual Health Awareness: Chronic Pain & Intimacy
By Emily Tran, PHRC Westlake Village September marks Sexual Health Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of sexual health and well-being. One often overlooked aspect of sexual health is the impact of chronic pain on intimacy. Millions of people worldwide suffer from chronic pain, and it can significantly affect their relationships and sex lives. In …
Success Story: How Stacey Recovered from Leaking and UTIs at PHRC
By Emily Eckmann, DPT, PHRC West Los Angeles Stacy’s History Stacy is a woman in her 60s who came to PHRC seeking help for her urinary incontinence that had progressively gotten worse over the last five years. She was eight years into menopause and had seen several gynecologists who did not find ‘anything wrong with her bladder.’ She …
Trauma-Informed Care Approaches for a Pelvic Floor PT
By admin According to the Center for Health Care Strategies, “a trauma-informed approach to care acknowledges that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation — past and present — in order to provide effective health care services with a healing orientation.” In the image we have listed a few …
Fusobacterium and Endometriosis: New Insights or Media Frenzy?
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas The recent study titled “Fusobacterium infection facilitates the development of endometriosis through the phenotypic transition of endometrial fibroblasts” by Muraoka et al. has generated significant attention and frenzy in the media. The media coverage of this article has been intense, with headlines highlighting the potential breakthrough in understanding the pathogenesis of endometriosis, …
Biomechanical Evaluation for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction & PF Functions
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles To start, there are various functions we can thank our pelvic floor, but let’s get into the MAIN functions: Part of core muscles The pelvic floor supports your core muscles: transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, and the external oblique muscles. The PFM tends to act reflexively when we’re using our core …
What to Expect at a Prepartum/Postpartum Evaluation
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles During prepartum/postpartum evaluations, a physical and occupational therapists will take an extensive medical history. Following the history, the PT will perform a thorough external and internal musculoskeletal exam. Your evaluation should include: Musculoskeletal: An assessment of structure, muscles, tissue, joints and manual evaluation of the pelvic floor muscles. We can …
A Kenyan Pelvic Health Physical and Occupational Therapy School Scholarship
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack The Jackson Clinics Foundation was formed in 2012 to fund educational efforts in East Africa. To date the foundation has sent over 100 faculty members from their clinics and from around the country to teach in east and central Africa. Some of the best and brightest physical and occupational therapistss in the United …
Hormonal Prepartum Changes and Postpartum Complaints
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Hormones play a vital role in day-to-day function. They allow for the organs to communicate with each other so that we can filter toxic waste, grow muscle, sleep well . . . . and even grow a human! Let’s take a look at what happens during pregnancy: Estrogen goes up, elevating …
Iliopsoas Dysfunction: Anatomy, Symptoms and Treatments
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles and Elizabeth Akincilar, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack Optimal pelvic health and biomechanics involves the iliopsoas muscle. When this muscle is not functioning properly pelvic, hip and and back pain can become a problem. The psoas muscle portion originates from T12/L1. It is a powerful hip flexor and it helps to …
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 …
March is Endometriosis Month; Current News and Updates
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas March is the month where we get to talk about all things Endometriosis. Endometriosis (‘endo’) is an estrogen mediated, inflammatory disease characterized by endometrial-like tissue found outside of the uterus. Most commonly it is found in the abdominal and pelvic cavity, but can be found elsewhere in the body as well. Endo …
What is Ischial Bursitis and How Can Pelvic Floor PT Help?
By Lauren Opatrny, PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco, CA Ischial bursitis, or ischiogluteal bursitis, is a condition where the bursa that lies between the ischial tuberosity and the gluteus maximus muscle becomes inflamed.(1) Ischial tuberosities are the bones that we sit on and are commonly referred to as your “sits bones.” They provide support for the body while sitting …
What is Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD/GPD)? Part 2
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles In 2021, a panel of experts published a consensus and management of care paper on Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder/Genito-Pelvic Dysesthesia (PGAD/GPD) in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The paper describes a treatment algorithm involving five different therapeutic targets for PGAD/PGD! The paper describes how clinicians newer to treating this diagnosis can …
Myofascial Trigger Point: What They Cause + Treatments
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Trigger points can cause local pain at the site of the trigger point and/or they can cause referred pain in a location distant from the trigger point itself. Trigger points in each muscle have common referral patterns that have been well documented in the medical literature. Trigger points can …
Sleep Hygiene: The Do’s and Don’ts to Maximize Your Rest
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Getting enough restful sleep is paramount for a healthy body. The benefits are too many to name here. It can be a challenge to get a good night’s rest for many people. Here are some basic tips to improve the quality of your sleep! Stay away from screens before …
Ilioinguinal Neuralgia: Causes and Treatment
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Ilioinguinal neuralgia is typically caused by a surgical procedure or an inguinal hernia. A hernia is when tissue pooches through the abdominal wall due to a weak point in the abdomen. An inguinal hernia, which is a hernia in the inguinal canal, can put pressure on the ilioinguinal nerve, …
2023: Year of the Rabbit, A (2022) Year in Review
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Welcome 2023, goodbye 2022! It’s been another year full of changes for Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center. With the start of the new year, we would like to acknowledge all of the changes that have occurred both virtually and in person. Last year….. PHRC Pasadena opened in January 2022, …
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center’s 2022 Return to Kenya!
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MSPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack, Kim Buonomo, DPT, PHRC Lexington, Molly Bachmann, DPT, PHRC San Francisco The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center recently returned from their second trip to Nairobi, Kenya to teach a pelvic health course to a second cohort of physical and occupational therapistss. We taught the first cohort of physical and occupational therapistss in February …
Pain Interventions for Labor and Birth With a Partner
By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, Birth Doula When it comes to pain management during labor, most of us think of medical interventions such as an epidural or pain medication. Did you know that there are things that your doula, support person, midwife, partner or even OB can do to decrease pain? When I’m working with patients to help them prepare …
Performing Artists and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
By Alexa Savitz, DPT, PHRC Pasadena Reflecting on my previous years as a former professional dancer, I too often heard dressing room conversations with cast members sharing stories of accidents or urinary leakage happening over a few laughs, during partnering, while lifting, or jumping. At that time there was little to no education around what our pelvic floor muscles even …