By Wendy Powell, Postpartum Exercise Expert, Founder + CEO of MuTu System This information relates to every woman who is having, has had, or will ever have a baby, who wants to regain full use and look of her beautiful pre-baby body (who doesn’t?). Whether she has just had a baby, has teenage children, or if she is about to give …
8 Pregnancy Tips from a Pelvic Health Physical Therapist /Mom
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek I recall being eight months pregnant treating other pregnant women or new moms. I would always hear, “How are you still working full time on your feet?” I still think the most honest answer is, “Pure luck”. Every pregnancy is different, and there are a lot of things that are out of …
Gwyneth’s Goop and the Pelvic Floor: What They Missed
By Stephanie Prendergast Last week, Gwyneth Paltrow’s popular newsletter featured an article on pelvic floor muscles, which prompted numerous emails and tweets in my direction. Apparently this is a topic that makes my friends and colleagues think of me. While pondering why everyone, except for me, seems to be reading Goop, I took a look. I am glad to see …
Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner! Proper Body Mechanics for Parents
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT Having a baby is like running a marathon with your pelvic floor and pelvic girdle muscles. Did you know that: 65% of women who had low back or pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy reported persitent symptoms 14 months after delivery1 20 -70 % of new moms experience stress urinary incontinence 2 24% of women still experience …
Ending Kegel Confusion: Here’s What You Need to Know
I recently had the opportunity to get together with a group of moms through the Holistic Moms Network (HMN) in Fremont, CA. I had put together a talk on what I thought were the most common issues moms of any age might be facing, but I wanted to spend some time asking them what they felt they needed more information …
When should Men do Kegels?
By Stephanie Prendergast When should men do Kegels? As pelvic floor PTs who treat men, this is a question we often address in our clinics. Recently, the question of men and Kegels has hit the mainstream with both the New York Times and Dr. Oz tackling the topic, among others. So I thought it a perfect time to address …
Here’s what’s Wrong with the ‘kGoal’
By Stephanie Prendergast There’s a new Kegel aid poised to hit the market called the “kGoal,” and enthusiasts are touting it as “the new FitBit for the vagina”. But, while kGoal has been generating a ton of press, there are problems with the device and how its being marketed. Before I go any further with the issues I have with this …
Pelvic Pain and Exercise: General Fitness Tips
Part two of a two part series on exercise and pelvic pain. Last week we posted a blog about whether there are any exercises that patients can do that would help with their pelvic pain healing. In this week’s blog we’re going to look at the second common question our pelvic pain patients ask regarding exercise: “As far as my …
Pelvic Pain and Exercise: What Exercises can help Treat my Pain?
Part one of a two part series on pelvic pain and exercise. Exercise is a major topic that comes up in the treatment room with our patients. The two questions surrounding the exercise conversation are: 1. Are there any exercises that I can do that will help treat my pain? Most folks are familiar with PT for other …
Pelvic Health Blog Roundup: CrossFit Controversy and More!
Our favorite health bloggers have been busy in the past couple of months! For one thing, they swooped in and completely set the facts straight after a viral video endorsed the infuriating message that it was “okay to pee during workouts”. (See how the controversy unfolded below.) On top of all of that, our blog buddies offered up a slew …
Case Study: PT for a Vulvodynia Diagnosis
Over the years we’ve treated a wide variety of pelvic floor syndromes at PHRC, and one of the things we’ve learned is that every case is different. Therefore, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all treatment plan. We hope that our new “Case Study” section will help to drive this important reality home. Every couple of months we will …