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, …
Pelvic Neuralgias: General Info, Causes, and Treatment
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles When considering neuropathic pain in the pelvis most people think of the pudendal nerve, but there are several other pelvic nerves that can also contribute to pelvic pain! The genitofemoral nerve supplies a portion of the genitals as well as the front of the thigh. This nerve is sometimes confused with …
Pudendal Neuralgia Frequently Asked Questions- Answered
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Merrimack Over the last couple of years PHRC has shared many YouTube videos and educational material on Instagram educating our viewers and readers about pelvic health. We have received an overwhelming response to several of our posts discussing pudendal neuralgia. Listed below are some of the most common questions we’ve received and our answers. …
Pudendal Neuralgia Resources [UPDATED]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC West Los Angeles Did you know that June is Men’s Health Awareness Month? To follow up that month, we wanted to update the resources we have for Pudendal Neuralgia. Below you will find the latest and greatest information both in blog and video format! We compiled information from guest speakers, Do’s and Don’ts, yoga …
IG Live Q/A: Pudendal Neuralgia + Pudendal Nerve Entrapment
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Lexington In May we went live on Instagram with Mark Conway, MD, gynecologist and pelvic surgeon specializing in pelvic neuralgias. We compiled a list of questions from social media to answer during our live about your inquiries about Pudendal Neuralgia. So what is Pudendal Neuralgia? It is a treatable pain condition that consists …
Why Does the Area Between My Balls and My Butt Hurt? Tyler’s Male Pelvic Pain Success Story
When I first discussed sharing Tyler’s story on this blog, we talked about why men are not aware of pelvic floor PT. We talked about how most websites list “chronic prostatitis” or “male pelvic pain syndrome” to define his symptoms. He shared with me what men are most likely typing into Google when looking for treatment for symptoms similar to …
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 …
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 …
Is Cryotherapy an effective treatment for Pudendal Neuralgia?
People recovering from pudendal neuralgia will tell you there is a lack of understanding about this diagnosis and treatment options in the medical community. Week after week, our blog, How do I know if I have PN or PNE, is one of our most read posts. Recently there has been discussion about cryotherapy treatment for pudendal neuralgia. Sara Saunders, PT, …
Meditation for Pelvic Pain Relief
Help!!! My pants are on FIRE!! Wait, what? Well, at least that’s what it feels like to a lot of people with pelvic pain. Because nerve pain can feel just like that – burning, tingling, like fire ants in your pants. In this post we are going to talk about how mediation can help. Why is this sensation so …
Scrotal Recall: A Case of Male Pelvic Pain
By Melinda Fontaine The physical therapists at PHRC work as a team to help each other figure out the most efficient ways to help our patients. One way we share information is through weekly case studies, where one of our physical therapists describes a patient’s case, why they chose to evaluate the structures they did, how the results of the …
Male Pelvic Pain Explained: Tommy’s Success Story
Happy New Year everyone! We are excited to announce that Liz and Stephanie’s book, Pelvic Pain Explained, is on sale here! If you are on the road to recovery from pelvic pain, or know someone who is, you need to read Pelvic Pain Explained. We wrote this book to help people with pelvic pain navigate …
Pudendal Neuralgia Series 1: Interdisciplinary Conversations from IPPS 2015
By Stephanie Prendergast Pudendal Neuralgia seems to be a diagnosis that is more polarized and controversial than other pelvic pain diagnoses. Why? Over a series of posts we will look at the evolution of this diagnosis, and why we need the perspective of a pelvic floor physical therapist, pain management specialist Dr. Sheldon Jordan, and gynecologist/pelvic pain specialist/pudendal …
A Second Look at Pudendal Neuralgia.
By Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder I treated my first patient with Pudendal Neuralgia in 2002. As a young, excitable pelvic floor physical therapist, I was on a mission to help people suffering from pelvic pain and thought it would be just like what they said in PT school: stretch, strengthen, achieve goals, discharge. So when my patient began treatment for …
Pudendal Neuralgia Media Wrecking Ball: Why words matter
By Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder Most people dealing with the symptoms of Pudendal Neuralgia (PN) will tell you reading about PN, mostly online, can be traumatizing. “Chronic” conditions often translate to gloomy situations for both patients and providers. In recent years, the knowledge of pain science and PN has advanced tremendously. In the medical community there is overwhelming evidence to …
Pudendal Nerve Entrapment (PNE): Your Questions Answered Part II
This week’s post is the second half of a Q&A on the controversial diagnosis of pudendal nerve entrapment and the decompression surgery associated with it. For this post, we chatted with two of the leading experts on the topic: Michael Hibner, M.D., a gynecologic surgeon at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. and Mark Conway, M.D., a …
Pudendal Nerve Entrapment (PNE): Your Questions Answered
Part III of our “Demystifying Pudendal Neuralgia” Series How does PNE (pudendal nerve entrapment) occur? How is it diagnosed? When is a patient a good candidate for the pudendal nerve decompression surgery? When are they not? These are among the questions we asked two of the leading experts on the controversial diagnosis PNE and the decompression surgery associated with it: …
The Role of Physical Therapy in Treating Pudendal Neuralgia
Part II in the “Demystifying Pudendal Neuralgia” Series In the previous post in our “Demystifying Pudendal Neuralgia” series, I talked about the difference between PN and PNE. In addition, I reviewed a list of treatment options for PN. Physical therapy was at the top of that list. Today, in this second post in the series, I will …
How do I know if I have Pudendal Neuralgia or Pudendal Nerve Entrapment?
Part I in the “Demystifying Pudendal Neuralgia” Series For so many the term “pudendal neuralgia” conveys a frightening and mysterious chronic pain diagnosis. And to be sure, at one time, receiving a diagnosis of pudendal neuralgia, or “PN” as it’s commonly called, was truly terrifying, especially considering that it was against the backdrop of a medical community that didn’t …