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 Box 1 contains …
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 …
Happy New Year!
By: Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder January is often the time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future. So, in that spirit, we thought it would be fun to dedicate this post to a few top Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center events of 2018….and a peak forward to 2019. In no particular order, here’s what happened …
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 …
Alternative Treatments for IBS: Can Hypnosis Help Heal Your Gut?
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is considered a functional gastrointestinal disorder. The Rome Foundation defines IBS as when a person has chronic abdominal pain at least one day per week in the last three months combined with at least two of the following: abdominal pain related to having a bowel movement; abdominal pain onset is associated with change in stool frequency; …
The Ankle Bone is Connected to the Pelvic Floor Muscle Function
By: Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington With Halloween just occuring, I had been seeing skeleton decorations everywhere and it got me thinking about anatomy. Cue the ‘Dem Bones’ song we sang as kids – “the knee bones connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bones connected to the hip bone,” the ankle bones connected to the pelvic floor…wait, I didn’t …
Part 2 of 2: What is a good pelvic PT session like?
Last week, in Part 1 of What is a good pelvic PT session like, we described what a pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation consists of and how we go about developing an assessment and setting goals to help our patients get better. This week we dive deeper into pelvic floor physical therapy treatment plans, patient education, and ongoing treatment sessions. …
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Serve the Transgender/Gender Non-conforming Population: Part 2
By: Elizabeth Akincilar Last week, Shannon Pacella, DPT, taught us how physical therapy can benefit transgender individuals prior to gender affirming surgery and for those who choose not to undergo gender affirming surgery. You can read her blog here. This week, I present Part two, where I will explain why physical therapy for transgender individuals after gender affirming surgery should …
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Serve the Transgender Population: Part 1
By: Shannon Pacella Earlier this summer, Dr. Heidi Wittenberg wrote a blog post enabling medical providers to understand transgender healthcare needs, which you can read here. Following Dr. Wittenberg’s lead, I was fortunate enough to attend an educational course focused on the physical therapy evaluation and treatment of transgender patients, and I believe it is imperative to convey how important …
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center Turns 12!
By: Stephanie Prendergast On July 17th, 2006, Liz and Stephanie opened the doors to the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco. Their mission was to improve the quality of life of their patients and to contribute to the dynamic growth of their employees and students. They aspired to educate the community and medical professionals about pelvic …
Putting down the prescription pad: The opioid epidemic and pelvic pain
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 health emergency and has since …
Posture Revisited: Sitting and the Pelvic Floor
Photo via Joe Loong via Flickr In previous entries, Britt beautifully took us through all things posture (Posture and the Pelvis Part One and Part Deux). Here are some important takeaways from her posts to consider as we explore how sitting may affect your pelvic floor: The diaphragm, trunk (back extensors, transversus abdominis, obliques, etc.) and pelvic floor muscles are …
Vaginismus: Real Answers for Sexual Pain
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 have experienced it …
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 …
Autonomic Dysregulation in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, Walnut Creek At the 3rd World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain organized by the International Pelvic Pain Society, Professor Qasim Aziz spoke about Autonomic Dysregulation in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders. Qasim Aziz, MBBS, FRCP, PhD is Professor of Neurogastroenterology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University …
This is Us: a look inside PHRC
By Stephanie Prendergast, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles January is often the time to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future. So, in that spirit, we thought it would be fun to dedicate this post to a few top Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center events of 2017….and a peak forward to 2018. In no particular …
Hormones: Your Body’s Frenemies
Hormones drive me crazy. As a woman, my biological clock seems to be more like an overactive alarm clock lately. For example, on a certain day I may see a baby and feel an intense urge to procreate. It is as if my uterus wants nothing more than for me to have 18 babies right now and then star in …
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 …