By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas Jennifer was referred to PHRC by her urogynecologist who diagnosed her with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). For more information on this condition, check out Melinda’s webinar on IC/PBS. She was diagnosed with IC in 2012/2013 because she had been experiencing significant cramping in her bladder, as well as urinary urgency and frequency. …
Early Trauma and Its Effect on Chronic Urogenital Pain
By: Elizabeth Akincilar, PHRC Cofounder Another October, another International Pelvic Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting has come and gone. This year, we gathered in Toronto, Canada to learn about the latest and greatest in the world of pelvic pain. It seemed fitting that the first lecture of the general meeting would discuss possible early contributors to chronic urogenital pain. Dr. …
Pelvic Pain Explained: Endometriosis + Resource List
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, PHRC Encinitas 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 6 videos and blog posts that we hope people find useful. This week, in our sixth …
Pain Free After Thirty-Five Years: Christina’s Success Story
By: Kimberly Buonomo, PT, DPT, PHRC Lexington Christina is a 75 year old patient I had the pleasure of seeing last summer. She came to me with a 30+ year history of pain which started as back pain during pregnancy. By the time she got to PHRC, her pain had spread to her pelvic floor, groin, adductors, low back, piriformis …
Foam Rolling for Pelvic Pain Relief
By: Courtney Edgecomb, DPT, PHRC Los Angeles The very first time I came across a foam roller was in high school when I went to physical and occupational therapy for back pain. At that time, the main product was simply a long, circular white piece of soft foam. It wasn’t special but it certainly helped me continue playing soccer without …
Finding the Right Bike Saddle for Pelvic Comfort
By Morgan Connor, DPT, PHRC Los Gatos Since I am sure you haven’t memorized the PHRC staff bios, I’ll give you a little background on myself: Last year I got into triathlons and now spend a lot of time riding my bike. This past spring I finally bit the bullet and decided to get a bike for myself. After riding …
Recovery From Vaginismus and Painful Sex: Martha’s Success Story
By Sigourney Cross, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Vaginismus is characterized as an involuntary spasm or contraction of the muscles around the vagina. This makes it very difficult for women to insert tampons, receive pelvic exams by their doctors and can also make sexual intercourse nearly impossible and painful. It can affect women anywhere from their teenage years to later in …
What to Know About Your Menstrual Cycle
By: Rachel Daof, DPT Here at PHRC we see conditions that affect that dreaded time of the month: our periods. As we have written before, conditions like endometriosis can directly affect menstruation. Other menstrual related issues include period cramps, nausea, bowel movement issues, headaches, and many other symptoms all driven by our cycle. To many of us, these are things …
Motor Vehicle Accidents and Pelvic Pain
By: Courtney Edgecomb, DPT It’s needless to say that getting into a car accident is scary. Adding in any form of injury on top of an accident can be life-changing. I have become more cognisant of such life-changing accidents since I started my physical and occupational therapy career in Los Angeles a few years ago. A large amount of the …
As the Bicycle Turns: Cycling and the Pelvic Floor
By: Kim Buonomo, DPT, PHRC Lexington Who doesn’t love a leisurely bike ride? People with pelvic floor dysfunction! While biking is great cardio, there are a lot of aspects that make it not very pelvic floor friendly. Most of this comes down to blood flow to the pelvic floor, which is what I want to discuss today. Anatomy Review In …
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 …
Pelvic Pain Explained: Vulvodynia + Resource List
May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month 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 find useful. This week, in our second …
NEW COURSE: Advanced Management of Complex Pelvic Pain Syndromes
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 role as the first physical …
5 Easy Exercises to Help Ease Pregnancy Aches and Pains
By Sigourney Cross, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Pelvic and low back pain during pregnancy affects up to two-thirds of women and can start anytime from the first trimester to months after giving birth.1 This is due to a couple of reasons. First, there is a change in your hormone levels. Increased levels of the hormones relaxin, estrogen and progesterone begin …
Hunting for hernias…are they a common cause of pelvic pain in men?
By: Elizabeth Akincilar, PHRC Cofounder Explaining to someone who has never heard of pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy what type of physical and occupational therapy I practice is always an interesting conversation. People usually assume certain things about my practice. Most assume I primarily treat older women with “bladder issues” and new moms. People are always surprised to find …
Book Review: Why Pelvic Pain Hurts
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 with your coworkers and even …
Time to Talk About Healing, It’s a Process
Earlier this month I had my wisdom teeth removed. Last thing I remember was talking about elephants in Thailand, and next thing I know I wake up looking like a chipmunk that got in a bar fight (and lost). After a few days, I couldn’t understand why I still felt bad. This was a “simple” procedure and all the pictures …
Recovered From Pudendal Neuralgia: Sheyoume’s Success Story
By: Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder Pudendal neuralgia is a syndrome characterized by burning, stabbing pain in the territory of the pudendal nerve, which has a vast distribution in the pelvis. The symptoms can wreak havoc during ordinary daily activities such as sitting, exercising, going to the bathroom, and having sex. Nerves are physiologically different from muscles, therefore they heal differently …
Muscles Affecting Pelvic Health: It’s Not Just The Pelvic Floor
By: Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington As you may know, us pelvic floor physical and occupational therapistss tend to talk about the pelvic floor muscles quite a lot. However, we also assess and treat many other muscles surrounding the trunk, pelvis, hips, and thighs, that influence pelvic health and various pelvic floor muscle dysfunctions. If you’d like to learn about …
Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: Scott’s Recovery from Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
The holiday season tends to be a stressful time for many people. It’s not uncommon for people to feel their bodies tense up as the levels of stress and anxiety rise – and every year we see an increase in patient numbers as a result. In December, I had the opportunity to evaluate a male patient, who I’ll call Scott, …
Battle of the bulge: is your weight impacting your pelvic floor function?
By: Sigourney Cross, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent the last couple of months eating everything in sight. With Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s back to back, it’s hard to say no to all those delicious side dishes and homemade desserts. But now that the holidays have come to an end, it’s back to …