Tag Archives: pelvic floor

PT News October 2018

October 31, 2018 Teresa Stockton - Blog, PT News, Sports and Fitness, Women's Health

This time in PT News we recap what our clinics have been posting throughout October, 2018. Featuring published articles from PTandMe partnering clinics!

1. Kicking Injury Aside and Back on the Field
Written by Rebound Physical Therapy with 10 physical therapy locations throughout Bend, OR and the surrounding communities.

Physical therapists help patients with all kinds of disabilities or injury. Read about Kaylee’s journey through rehab as she goes from being a soccer athlete to having to relearn how to walk, and eventually get back into her sport. Read more

2. Transitioning to Indoor Activities
Written by the Therapy Team at The Jackson Clinics with 18 physical therapy locations throughout Northern VA and soon branching into Maryland.

While summer offers opportunities to walk, jog, bicycle, garden, play sports and get into shape, cold weather brings the temptation to eat more, move less and hibernate indoors. Shorter days, frosty air and holiday parties can threaten the fitness gains you made during the summer. Read more

3. The Importance of Physical Therapy on Women’s Health: All You Need to Know
Written by the Therapy Team at Cornerstone Physical Therapy with 5 physical therapy locations in Ohio.

Ever since the #1 New York Times bestseller entitled “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” by John Gray was published, more and more people have asked the question “What makes men and women so different?” Read more

PT News September 2018

September 26, 2018 Teresa Stockton - Blog, Pediatrics, PT News, Shoulder

This September in PT News. Featuring published articles from PTandMe partnering clinics!

1. Childhood Arthritis and How Physical Therapy Can Help
Written by Cornerstone Physical Therapy with 5 physical therapy locations in Ohio.

Juvenile arthritis (JA) isn’t a specific disease, but an inflammatory and autoimmune condition in youngsters under age 16. JA affects approximately 300,000 children just in the U.S. and it’s classified within seven different types, depending upon a range of symptoms and coconditions. Read more

2. Hands-on physical therapy effective for common shoulder conditions
Written by the Therapy Team at Rehab Associates with physical therapy locations throughout Central, VA.

Shoulder problems are one of the more common issues that affect the musculoskeletal system, as its prevalence in the general population has been reported as high as 4.8%. The most common shoulder condition that causes pain is shoulder impingement syndrome (SIS), which often results from too much overhead activity. Read more

3. Tummy Time Positions
Written by the Therapy Team at The Center for Physical Rehabilitation (CPR) in Grand Rapids, MI and the surrounding communities.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies are placed on their backs for sleeping and on their tummies for supervised play time as part of their daily routine. So many of our carriers, including car seats, car seat stroller combos, bouncers and swings put our kids into a supine (aka, on their backs) position and make it more challenging to incorporate tummy time into your day. Read more

PT News July 2018

July 26, 2018 Teresa Stockton - Back, Blog, General Information, PT News

This Month in PT News. Featuring published articles from PTandMe partnering clinics!

1. Early Referral to Physical Therapy for Low Back Pain Reduces Cost and Improves Outcomes
Written by Mishock Physical Therapy with physical therapy locations throughout Montgomery, Berks and Chester, PA Counties.

Low back pain (LBP) is a common and costly medical condition associated with significant physical pain, impaired function, and loss of productivity. LBP is the leading cause of disability in the US exceeding $100 billion per year in treatment, reduced productivity and lost wages. Approximately, 70 million adults have LBP in any given 3 month period of time. (Health Stats, 2015). Read more

2. Men. Do You Feel Like You’ve Been Kicked in the Groin?
Written by the Therapy Team at Ability Rehabilitation with Physical Therapy locations throughout Central, FL

Are you experiencing groin pain without a known injury? Do you have urinary hesitancy, urgency or frequency? Have you been diagnosed with prostatitis, and given antibiotics but achieved little to no relief? Read more

3. Improve Your Mobility with These Range of Motion Exercises
Written by the Therapy Team at Desert Hand and Physical Therapy in Phoenix, AZ

Range of Motion Exercises, or ROM exercises, are important movement patterns designed to regain mobility in a joint such as the shoulder, knee, wrist or fingers. Regularly moving your joints can help reduce pain, keep your joints flexible, and improve strength and balance. Read more

PT News June 2018

June 28, 2018 Teresa Stockton - Blog, General Information, PT News, Sports and Fitness

This Month in PT News. Featuring articles from PTandMe partnering clinics!

1. Walking: An Effective Tool for Weight Loss and Maintenance
Written by The Jackson Clinics with locations throughout Northern VA.

The simplest exercise available is placing one foot in front of the other and walking. Because this is something we do every day, it is often overlooked as a valuable tool for weight loss. Read more

2. The Roles of an Athletic Trainer
Written by the Therapy Team at The Center for Physical Rehabilitation with locations throughout Great Rapids, MI

Athletic trainers not only help individuals return to the athletic field or a respective line of work but it also allows these athletic trainers to practice in a setting that best suits them and their interests. Read more

3. Why Should I Try Physical Therapy
Written by the Therapy Team at Excel Physical Therapy in Palmer & Wasilla AK

Do you suffer from aches and pains in your joints? Physical therapy can help! Most people who suffer from pain wait it out to see if it will subside on it’s own, but what is the cause of the pain? Read more

PT News May 2018

May 31, 2018 Teresa Stockton - Blog, PT News, Shoulder, Sports and Fitness, Women's Health

This Month in PT News. Featuring articles from PTandMe partnering clinics!

2. Hands-on physical therapy effective for common shoulder conditions
Written by the Therapy Team at Rehab Associates of Central Virginia

Shoulder problems are one of the more common issues that affect the musculoskeletal system, as its prevalence in the general population has been reported as high as 4.8%. Read more

3. What to expect on your first visit with a pelvic Physical Therapist
Written by the Therapy Team at Ability Rehabilitation – Central Florida

You may be wondering how this will help with your concerns and symptoms. You may be wondering “how does this work”. What will happen during the first visit and follow up treatments? Read more

Women’s Health: The Sacroilial (SI) Joint and How It Affects You

September 19, 2017 Teresa Stockton - Back, Blog, Women's Health

It has been estimated that about 95% of the population will experience low back pain at some point during a lifetime. Low back pain may be due to many different causes and anatomical structures, one such structure is the SI joint. Here is some pertinent information about the SI joint and how it may affect your general health.

8 FUN FACTS:

What is the SI joint?
It is a joint connecting the sacrum and the ilium, 2 bones included in the pelvis. The pelvis connects the upper body to the lower body, more specifically the spine to the hips.

What does the SI joint do?
It helps to stabilize your core during functional and work activities and helps with shock absorption during weight-bearing activities including walking. Stability is also assisted by the ligaments, fascia, and muscles that attach to the joint. This includes back, gluteal, hip, and pelvic floor musculature.

Who feels SI pain?
People with leg length discrepancies, asymmetrical lower extremity weakness, scoliosis, pregnant women due to increased ligamentous laxity, women > men due to pelvic anatomy, and those who have experienced a traumatic event such as a fall or a motor vehicle accident or that perform repetitive activities with poor body mechanics including lifting and bending.

Where would you feel SI pain?
Directly over the SI joint, in the buttock, lateral or posterior thigh, or sometimes in the groin.

When may you feel SI pain?
Rolling in bed, rotating your trunk, walking, stair ascent or descent, standing from a sitting position, single leg activities

What positions/activities should be adopted?
Sleep with a pillow between your lower extremities, perform slow, controlled movements, maintain equal weight-bearing through lower extremities with transitional movements and standing, log roll during bed mobility to keep lower extremities symmetrical, swing lower extremities out of the car before standing up to prevent trunk rotation.

How can PT help?
Physical therapy has been found to help patients with SI pain get pain relief, reduce inflammation and muscle spasms, improve healing, muscle extensibility, joint mobility and range of motion, strength, muscle control, and gait mechanics.

What does PT treatment for SI pain involve?
Stretching, mobilization techniques, education on proper body mechanics with functional activities, massage, myofascial release, modalities including electrical stimulation for pain modulation and ultrasound to assist with healing and inflammation, muscle energy techniques, and a core stabilization and strengthening exercise program, tailored to the individual patient. If a leg length discrepancy is found, a heel lift may be helpful to restore abnormal forces being placed through the SI joint with weight-bearing activities. An initiation of a home exercise program is also an integral part of physical therapy treatment.

The Benefits of Physical Therapy for Women’s Health

April 18, 2017 Teresa Stockton - Blog, Women's Health

Women’s health can cover a multitude of subjects, from pregnancy to aging – the female body undergoes many changes. Physical therapists’ most common women’s health clients come in experiencing incontinence, osteoporosis, and pregnancy-related back pain.

URINARY INCONTINENCE
Urinary incontinence is a loss of bladder control that results in leakage when the muscles of the pelvic floor are weak or overactive. Causes include childbirth, hormonal changes, surgical trauma, pelvic fractures, chronic cough, obesity, muscle weakness, or even repetitive lifting. Physical therapy can help decrease or resolve urinary leakage, identify bladder irritants and strengthen pelvic floor muscles through an individualized exercise program.

OSTEOPOROSIS
Keeping the bones strong as you age, especially after menopause, is a challenge many women face. An excessive decline in bone mass is called osteoporosis, and it is a leading healthcare concern for women. A physical therapy program can help improve your posture and strength, prevent falls, and decrease your risk for fractures.

A physical therapist that specializes in women’s health and treating pelvic floor dysfunction can help as well.

PELVIC FLOOR DYSFUNCTION
Exhibits Several Symptoms:

Urinary Incontinence
Fecal Incontinence
Constipation
Diarrhea
Pelvic Floor Pain

PREGNANCY-RELATED BACK PAIN
Many women experience low back pain during pregnancy. This is due to several factors such as:

Hormonal Changes – this causes increased looseness of the pelvic ligaments to prepare your body for birthing your baby.
Increased Weight Gain – This places increased stress on all the joints of the body. Increased breast weight can overload
the neck and upper back.
Postural Changes – Body weight shifts forward as the baby grows and this increases the arch in the lower back. Stomach
muscles and the lower pelvic muscles become weaker which decreases support for the lower back.
Altered Movement Patterns – Due to your changing body, women often begin to move in different patterns that can increase stress to the low back or pelvic joints.

This information was written by Advance Rehabilitation Physical Therapy, an outpatient physical therapy group with 24 locations in Georgia and Florida. Advance Rehabilitation is a physical therapy practice that focuses on providing the highest quality rehabilitation services. We specialize in physical therapy, sports medicine, industrial rehabilitation and athletic training. Our staff includes highly-trained professionals that serve as a bridge between injury and recovery to help patients get back to pre-injury status as quickly as possible. For more information click here.

Bladder Control During Pregnancy

October 18, 2016 Teresa Stockton - Blog, Women's Health

Aside from a growing belly, you may notice other changes in your body now that you are pregnant. One thing you may notice is the loss of urine when you are not trying to urinate. Loss of bladder control, also called incontinence, is common during pregnancy and after childbirth. Needing to run to the bathroom often or leaking urine can make you feel embarrassed. Do not feel shy about asking for physical therapy for incontinence. They can help you understand and manage bladder control, and make sure there are not other conditions causing your incontinence. Here is some information to help you learn more.

HOW DOES THE BLADDER WORK?
Urine is stored in your bladder, which is an organ located in the pelvis. The muscles of the pelvis help keep your bladder in place. When you urinate, urine travels from your bladder and out of your body through a tube called the urethra. Ring-like muscles (sphincter muscles) keep the urethra closed so urine does not pass until you are ready to urinate. Muscles at the end of the urethra (sphincter muscles) and in the pelvic floor also help to hold back urine.

HOW CAN BEING PREGNANT CAUSE BLADDER CONTROL PROBLEMS?
The weight of a baby in your belly and the act of giving birth will put pressure on your bladder and may cause your pelvic muscles to stretch and weaken. This causes your bladder to sag, and your urethra to stretch. Nerves can also be damaged. It is this damage to muscles and nerves that can cause bladder control problems to persist.

HOW CAN I CONTROL MY BLADDER?
The good news is that incontinence may go away once your pelvic muscles heal, usually 6 weeks or so after giving birth. But you can take steps after childbirth to minimize bladder control problems by doing exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Kegel exercises are one type of pelvic floor muscle exercise.

Kegel exercises do not require equipment and can be done anywhere—while sitting at your desk, standing in line at the bank, or even lying down in bed. They are done by squeezing your sphincter muscles in the same way you would when stopping urine flow. After 6-8 weeks of doing the exercises, you may find that you have fewer leaks.

Talk to your doctor to learn more about how to correctly do Kegel exercises. Following pregnancy, if Kegel exercises do not control the incontinence, your doctor may discuss other treatments or refer you to a specialist who can help.

Here are some general steps for doing Kegel exercises from the American Pregnancy Association:

• Squeeze your pelvic floor muscles as if you were trying to stop the flow of urine. Do not squeeze the muscles in your belly, legs, or buttocks.
• Hold for 5-10 seconds, then relax.
• Repeat 10-20 times.
• Try to do at least 3 sets per day.

If incontinence is still bothersome, talk to your doctor about other options, such as wearing absorbent pads or briefs. With support from your healthcare team, you will be able to manage incontinence, as well as other bodily changes that come with pregnancy.

by Marjorie Montemayor-Quellenberg, MA

RESOURCES:
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
http://www.acog.org

Office on Women’s Health
http://www.womenshealth.gov

CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Health Canada
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca

Women’s Health Matters
http://www.womenshealthmatters.ca

REFERENCES:
Kegel exercises. American Pregnancy Association website. Available at: http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/kegel-exercises. Updated Aug. 2015. Accessed Feb. 10, 2016.

Treatments of common complaints in pregnant women. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated February 1, 2016. Accessed February 10, 2016.

Urinary incontinence fact sheet. Office on Women’s Health website. Available at: http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/urinary-incontinence.html. Updated July 16, 2012. Accessed February 10, 2016.

Urinary incontinence in women. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed. Updated December 9, 2015. Accessed February 10, 2016.

What I need to know about bladder control for women. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases website. Available at: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/urologic-disease/urinary-incontinence-women/Pages/ez.aspx. Updated June 2012. Accessed February 10, 2016.

3/5/2013 DynaMed’s Systematic Literature Surveillance: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed: Boyle R, Hay-Smith EJ, Cody JD, et al. Pelvic floor muscle training for prevention and treatment of urinary and faecal incontinence in antenatal and postnatal women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;10:CD007471.

Last reviewed February 2016 by Michael Woods, MD Last Updated: 2/10/2016

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