By Stephanie Prendergast It has been an eventful few weeks in pelvic health news! We’ve summarized the top stories and included our commentary. “Pelvic pain may be common among reproductive-age women, NIH study finds.” From the National Institute of Health Article summary: Pain reports were highest for women with endometriosis, however ⅓ of those without […]
By Sara Stuart Pelvic pain can present itself in a number of ways. For Amanda* (name has been changed for anonymity), her symptoms began with her first menses. “I remember being on a cruise to Mexico with my mom and trying to learn how to put a tampon in for the first time. […]
Earlier this year Liz and I completed our manuscript for our book, Pelvic Pain Explained. Writing it was a challenging process, to say the least. We are hopeful that this book will raise awareness about and help to demystify pelvic pain. By sharing our combined clinical experience we want to help people with […]
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 […]
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. […]
If you’ve ever said the following: “It feels like there’s a wall there.” “I can’t insert a tampon.” “I can’t have penetrative sex with my husband.” “I was told I need to drink a glass of wine right before sex, but that still doesn’t help.” You might be experiencing vaginismus symptoms. DEFINITION What exactly is […]
“If you “play with sex steroid hormones” using finasteride (propecia) – the goal of finasteride (propecia) is to reduce the synthesis of the sex steroid hormone – dihydrotestosterone – then you will likely “play with your sex life” – as sexual function is very much related to sex steroid hormone levels”, says sexual medicine expert and urologist […]
Next week, the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center will turn NINE. In 2006, Liz and I wanted to be more involved in the field than our current work situation permitted. So, we quit our jobs, hoped we could pay our mortgages and started the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center. We wanted to provide the highest quality […]
Every year over 70,000 American women are diagnosed with gynecological cancer, according to the CDC. A diagnosis of gynecological cancer can be devastating, but, as medical technology and research advances, more and more women with this diagnosis are becoming cancer survivors. Although surviving cancer is an amazing feat, many of these women are left with […]
I remember coming of age as a hormonal teen- before the days of google (believe it), hearing whispers about “orgasms”. It was like I went home for summer break with all of my childhood intact and when I came back to school in the fall, my peers were suddenly obsessed. I was bombarded with comments […]
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 […]
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 […]
Urinary tract infections (UTI) are considered to be the most common bacterial infection in humans, costing the US health care system about $1.6 billion dollars per year. These infections plague millions of people at some point or another throughout the lifetime. In fact, some research suggests that a female’s lifetime risk of getting one is […]
By Stephanie Prendergast, PHRC Cofounder What is Vulvodynia? Is it a symptom, a disease, or a syndrome? What does the term ‘Vuvlodynia’ mean to people with vulvar pain, pelvic pain specialists, medical professionals, and the community in general? In a previous blog post I wrote about how in the pelvic pain world, diagnosis does not dictate treatment. […]
Chronic Prostatitis! It’s not something discussed at a baseball game or at a family gathering. However, it is estimated that between 2-14% of men worldwide are diagnosed with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS)1. But what exactly is CP/CPPS? According to the National Institutes of Health, CP/CPPS, also known as category III prostatitis, is characterized […]
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 […]
By Rachel Gelman, DPT “ Let’s just start with the word vagina. Vagina. It sounds like an infection at best. Maybe a medical instrument. ‘Hurry, nurse, bring me the vagina.’ Vagina. Vagina. It doesn’t matter how many times you say the word, it never sounds like a word you want to say. ”-Eve Ensler, The […]
Vaginal yeast infections aka candidiasis, are an uncomfortable and common issue that many women find themselves dealing with at some point. Three out of four women will experience at least one vaginal yeast infection in their lifetimes-many will experience two or more. If you’ve had one you know that the symptoms can be enough to […]
By Jackie M. White This week writer Jackie White, writer, educator, and creator of the website Sexual Healing, shares her colorful story and essay on pelvic pain. Growing Pains: A Story of Sex, Vaginsmus, & Clinically Approved Dildos Not Just Another Blog Post, Folks… Back in September 2014, the North American chapter of World Sexual […]
This week guest blogger and esteemed LA colleague, Julie Weibe, PT talks about her conversation the brilliant Lorimer Moseley, Ph.D., B.App.Sc. Her posts sums up one of the reasons Steph and Liz asked Dr. Moseley to write the forward for their book, Pelvic Pain Explained. Here’s what Julie has to say: November 17th 2014 Well, […]
By guest blogger Jordan Hoffman Stephanie here: In the late summer and early fall of last year I began experiencing increasingly painful periods. I was bleeding very heavily, taking up to 12 Advil per day without relief, and was very concerned about what was happening in my reproductive tract. Our LA clinic opened in May and […]
