By: Sigourney Cross 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 life. Vaginismus can be …
Recovery After Rectocele Repair and How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Helps
By: Sigourney Cross A rectocele, also known as a posterior wall prolapse, is one of the main types of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). As explained in some of our prior posts, a POP occurs when tissue and muscles can no longer support the pelvic organs and they drop down. For a review of the main types of POP you can …
Hormonal Changes in Menopause and What You Can Do About It
By: Rachel Daof Los Angeles PHRC members, Stephanie Prendergast, Courtney Edgecomb, and I, Rachel Daof, went to a dinner to discuss Intrarosa with guest speaker Dr. Irwin Goldstein. One of the major points of the night was this: menopause is a chronic progressive, degenerative condition, and it does not improve without treatment. This hit home to all of the women …
Pudendal Neuralgia Resource List
By Stephanie A. Prendergast 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 find useful. …
Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome Resource List
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PT 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 find …
Vulvodynia Resource List
By Katie Hunter, PT, DPT 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 find …
Recovered From Pudendal Neuralgia: Sheyoume’s Success Story
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?
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 …
Managing Life on or after “The Pill”
By: Admin 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 a …
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 …
Your Vagina Is Cleaner Than You Think
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 case I have discharge or urine …
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 benefits …
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 this topic. A …
Vaginismus: Real Answers for Sexual Pain
By Admin 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 may …