By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC West Los Angeles What is Interstitial Cystitis? IC is a pelvic pain syndrome characterized by irritated bladder symptoms. This condition is associated with painful sex, pelvic floor dysfunction, vestibulodynia, endometriosis, and gut dysbiosis. What are the symptoms? Symptoms include bladder pain, urinary urgency, urinary frequency, pain worsened with bladder filling, nocturia, and dysuria. The …
Working on mind over bladder? Urine good company
By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco Urination is one of the most reliable body functions a person can have. You go about your daily routine, you receive a little message to your brain that says “Hey there! It’s me, your bladder. We’re pretty fully down here. Do you think you could empty me?” You listen to your …
How Pelvic Floor PT Helps Children with Constipation & Incontinence
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington Did You Know… Bedwetting affects 15%-22% of children, and of those children, 10%-25% have urinary leakage during the day.1 One of the primary causes of bedwetting and daytime wetting is constipation.1 10%-25% of children who bed wet also have difficulty controlling their bowels.1 Awareness of bladder sensation and control of bladder begins between one …
Success Story: How Jennifer Beat Endometriosis
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas Jennifer was referred to PHRC by her urogynecologist who diagnosed her with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS). For more information on this condition, check out Melinda’s webinar on IC/PBS. She was diagnosed with IC in 2012/2013 because she had been experiencing significant cramping in her bladder, as well as urinary urgency and frequency. …
How to Tackle Pelvic Pain, Joseph’s Success Story
As physical therapists, we often refer to our patients’ last day with us as Graduation Day. I always enjoy Graduation Day because it means the patient has accomplished their goals; their symptoms have reduced, they are able to function without limitations, and they are leaving as happier, healthier individuals. To put it plainly, they don’t need me anymore. It is …
Gotta Go Right Now: Urinary Urgency Explained
By: Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek You know that feeling when you just drank the equivalent to a big gulp and you haven’t had a bathroom break in over four hours. That sensation of your body telling you to get to the bathroom ASAP is called “urgency.” In case you wonder if urgency and the frequent need to urinate …
Young Men Get Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. Here’s How Chris Recovered with Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy!
By: Rachel Daof, DPT People often ask me what symptoms men present with that land them in pelvic floor physical therapy. The truth is, men suffer from similar issues as women when it involves their pelvic floor: bowel, bladder, sexual dysfunction, and/or pain in the pelvic region. Furthermore, it’s not only the elder male population that can experience these …
Thrive with Age: Menopause Solutions
“It’s NOT all downhill from here! When you learn how to find balance in your life and in your hormones, it’s really possible to feel vital through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.” DR. AMY DAY, FOUNDER, THE WOMEN’S VITALITY CENTER IN BERKELEY, CA Too many women are silently struggling through bothersome symptoms of perimenopause and menopause on their own. Women often …
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 …
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 …
What’s new in research and clinical care for “Prostatitis” aka male Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS)?
By Stephanie Prendergast, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles If you are a man suffering from what feels like ‘prostatitis’, this blog and our upcoming informational event is for you. Did you know?… 10% of men experience prostatitis-like symptoms at some point in their lives. 97% of these men do not have a prostate or bladder infection yet are …
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 …
Beating Interstitial Cystitis
By Stephanie Prendergast “Thousands of people with Interstitial Cystitis live healthy, pain-free lives and so can you.” – The Interstitial Cystitis Solution, Nicole Cozean PT, DPT, WCS In honor of Bladder Health Month this week’s blog is dedicated to Interstitial Cystitis/ Painful Bladder Syndrome. IC/PBS is a treatable pelvic pain syndrome affecting roughly 3 million men and 9 …
Male Pelvic Pain and Chronic Nonbacterial Prostatitis: A Story of Hope and Determination
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington Unfortunately, the majority of the men we see at PHRC have been through quite a journey with their pelvic pain, before finding pelvic floor physical therapy. I want to share a recent success story about one of my male patients, Ben (his name has been changed for anonymity). My hope by sharing …
Diaphragmatic breathing, pelvic pain, peeing and pooping
Diaphragmatic breathing aka deep belly breathing – how is that an exercise? Many of my patients are surprised when I prescribe and emphasize diaphragmatic breathing in their home exercise programs. Historically, they have associated physical therapy and/or exercise with strengthening, stretching or the need to get the heart rate up. However, with the pelvic floor muscles, especially for …
Jagged Little Pill: Part Two
By Joshua Gonzalez, MD After reading my last post, Jagged Little Pill, many of you who have had similar suspected OCP-related problems may be thinking there’s no hope. Trust me, you are not doomed if you’ve ever taken an oral birth control and you have symptoms of vulvodynia. My goal this week is to reassure you that you’re …
Jagged Little Pill: How Oral Contraceptives Wreak Havoc on the Female Body
By Joshua Gonzalez, MD The advent of oral birth control pills in the 1960s was heralded as a huge victory for women’s rights. Finally, women could take control of their bodies and their fertility. Since then, oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) have become ubiquitous in reproductive aged women with nearly 10 million women today using The Pill as their primary …
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 …
Find IC/Bladder Pain Support
In the coming months we plan to cover issues related to IC/bladder pain on this blog. In the meantime, we wanted to call your attention to a great resource for those struggling to find support for and gather information about this often complex pelvic pain-related issue. The IC/Bladder Pain Network, provides support for millions of men and women around the …
Q&A: Pelvic Floor Drops, Weak and Tight Muscles, Tilted Pelvis and More
Since launching the blog, we have received many questions from readers. In this post, we’re going to tackle a handful of them. If you have a question of your own, please take the opportunity to post it in the “comments” section of this blog. Stop UTIs from Impeding PT Progress Dear Stephanie and Liz, I have PFD and am currently …