By: Stephanie Prendergast 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 than most …
Muscles Affecting Pelvic Health: It’s Not Just The Pelvic Floor
By: Shannon Pacella As you may know, us pelvic floor physical therapists 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 pelvic floor muscle anatomy, check …
5 Tips to Reduce Vulvodynia Symptoms
By: Katie Hunter Vulvodynia can affect up to 25% of women in their lifetime.1 The vulva is the anatomical term for the external genitalia in women that includes the clitoris, labia, mons pubis, and vestibule (vaginal opening). Vulvodynia has received specific diagnostic terminology as we now know there are various causes and presentations of symptoms that can be considered “vulvodynia”.3 …
EVERYTHING Is Connected: What is Visceral Manipulation and How Does it Relate to the Pelvic Floor?
By: Nicole Davis 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 …
Managing Life on or after “The Pill”
By: Jandra Mueller 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. The pill is …
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, …
Sex Therapy and CBT for Pain with Sex
By Nicole Davis 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 …
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: what everyone needs to know
By: Malinda Marshall 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 …
Your Vagina Is Cleaner Than You Think
Photo courtesy of: Scrubbing Bubbles By: Sigourney Cross I love taking bubble baths. I use my scented body wash and a loofah down there. Sometimes I wipe so hard I bleed a little bit. I always use scented wet wipes to stay fresh. I wear thongs under my yoga pants. I use a daily scented panty liner just in …
Putting down the prescription pad: The opioid epidemic and pelvic pain
By: Katie Hunter It should be a surprise to no one that we are in the middle of a serious, nationwide opioid epidemic. And to top that off, a crisis on opioid overdose. Did you know that on average 115 Americans die each day from opioid overdose?2 In October 2017, President Trump declared the opioid crisis a public …
Why Your Period Makes You Poop!
By Julia Zaitsev Ladies, have you ever felt bloated or backed up the week before your menstrual cycle? What about noticing diarrhea at the start of your menstrual cycle? I know I have. If you’ve been or are pregnant, have you noticed major changes in your digestive system and bathroom behaviors? Below I explore the connection between hormones and …
Good Vibes Coming At You
By Rachel Gelman 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 …
Vulvodynia, Vestibulodynia, and Vaginismus: what’s the difference and why does it matter?
By Stephanie Prendergast 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 between these …
Got Water?
By Rachel Gelman Other than pelvic health and sex, my favorite conversation topic is cats water! Yes, good old H-2-O! You may recall a post I did a while back that discussed how diet can play a role in pelvic health. I talked about the importance of water intake, but patients still ask me questions about …
Vaginismus: Real Answers for Sexual Pain
By Jandra Mueller Vag·i·nis·mus /ˌvajəˈnizməs/ Noun noun: vaginismus painful spasmodic contraction of the vagina in response to physical contact or pressure (especially in sexual intercourse). What is vaginismus? Above is the definition that comes up when you google vaginismus. You may have seen blogs or posts on social media about vaginismus or painful sex or …
You are invited to Becoming UnWOUND: A Conversation about Female Sexual Health & Pelvic Pain with Screening of Animated Short Film“Tightly Wound”
By Stephanie Prendergast The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center, Femina Physical Therapy, and the Milli, the first Expandable Dilator, are teaming up to bring Shelby Hadden and her animated short film about vaginismus, Tightly Wound, to Los Angeles on Saturday, May 19th! Many of you may know of Shelby and her past struggles with pelvic pain. Her journey …
The Blunt Truth About Medicinal Marijuana and Pelvic Pain: Part 2
By Shannon Pacella First things first: if you haven’t already read the Part 1 to this post, please do so by clicking here! There are a few updates since my first post regarding laws and legislature for marijuana (cannabis) use throughout the United States. Currently, 29 states plus Washington, D.C. have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana, …
The Connection Between SIBO and Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome (and How to Relieve Both)
By Guest Blogger Jessica Drummond MPT, CCN, CHC One of the reasons that relieving pelvic pain is so challenging is that pain in different systems within the pelvis can overlap. For example, in rats where experimental colitis (colon irritation) was induced, many of the rats also experienced bladder and urethral pain (Yoshikawa et al., 2015). Thus, there is …
The Most Proven IC Treatment: Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
By Guest Blogger Nicole Cozean, PT, DPT, WCS and author of The Interstitial Cystitis Solution Pelvic floor physical 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 does treating …
The Twisted Trunk: Implications for Abdominal and Pelvic Pain
By Sigourney Cross While attending the 3rd World Congress of Abdominal and Pelvic Pain Conference last October in Washington, DC, I had the pleasure of listening to the lecture of Dr. Diane Lee, BSR, FCAMPT, CGIMS. Dr. Lee discussed the impact that altered pelvic biomechanics and non-optimal function in the abdominal wall and pelvic floor have on pelvic …
A Biopsychosocial Approach to Vulvodynia
By Malinda Marshall Throughout my years of practice I’ve treated many women with vulvodynia. I’ve noticed that it’s rare for women to return to 100% solely with physical therapy treatment; even though their musculoskeletal impairments may have returned to normal, some women continue to feel pain. In my experience, it takes a team of practitioners to treat vulvodynia, …