Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Overactive Bladder in Grand Rapids

If You Think You Have A Small Bladder and You are Always Going to the Bathroom More Often than Every 2-4 Hours, You may Benefit from Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Overactive Bladder. We are Right Here in Grand Rapids and We Specialize in this Condition!

Individuals who have overactive bladder may be urinating as often as every hour, or more. A good, healthy bladder should be able to quietly fill up with urine over 2 to 4 hours time and then allow you to calmly walk to the bathroom to urinate. It turns out that Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Overactive Bladder should be your first place to start to get treatment! Yes, it is even in the clinical treatment guidelines that Pelvic PT should be FIRST!

How Do I Know if I have an Overactive Bladder? What is Normal?

Individuals who have an overactive bladder experience a strong and sudden urge to urinate. A healthy, normal bladder fills up quietly and allows you to calmly hold your urine for 2-4 hours. Individuals with overactive bladder often finish urinating and still feel like they could go again. Our pelvic floor physical therapy for overactive bladder alleviates these problems. Our treatment is highly effective and does not involve any medications. In fact, many of our patients get off of medications because our pelvic floor PT allows their bladder to function normally again. We think this is a good thing because medications are costly, have side effects and are something people tell us they don’t want to rely upon. Give us a call at (616) 516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to get started.

The Harmful Effects of Overactive Bladder

We have great sympathy for individuals who deal with an overactive bladder. We have had patients tell us that they cannot schedule a much-anticipated trip to Europe because they know they would be on a tour bus for hours and they would not be able to do that without urinary incontinence. We’ve had patients tell us that they feel “chained to a toilet” and unable to be ambitious with their career because their bladder interrupts their productivity every hour. We’ve had individuals tell us that they worry their bladder will get out of control and they might wet themselves in front of everyone. We have had patients to whom this has happened: complete loss of urine, publically at a party. The psychological effects of this problem cannot be minimized. If you go to a urogynecologist, in fact, they will usually question you on how much you perceive your condition is a “bother” in your life. The answers are usually “quite a huge bother.”

High Quality Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy is an Excellent Treatment for Overactive Bladder. The American Urological Association (of which we are a member!) has guidelines from 2019 that recommend pelvic floor therapy as a First-Line Treatment for your OAB.

Here at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, pelvic floor treatment is our specialty. We are experts at treating all varieties of bladder problems, including overactive bladder. We also treat bladder pain conditions (such as interstitial cystitis), urinary retention, urinary incontinence and nocturia (getting up at night to pee). When you choose to see us, you are choosing the highest quality of expert care to give you the strongest chance of getting your bladder back under control. Give us a call at (616) 516-4334 to chat with our knowledgeable staff to get your questions answered!

Will You Be Teaching Me How to Do a Kegel?

No, probably not. Most individuals that we evaluate are found to have a problem with high tone pelvic floor. This means that their pelvic floor muscles are all tensed up and giving a signal to their bladder and spinal cord that they need to pee. All.The.Time. We don’t want to get you doing kegels because they will tense up the muscles some more.

Our treatments are, instead, directed at resolving your underlying pelvic floor dysfunction and myriad other contributions to your condition, such as your hips, back, neck, abdominal wall. You may read elsewhere online that you need to be doing kegels if you have overactive bladder. We could not disagree more vehemently and we are willing to publicly debate anyone who claims otherwise. We are experts at treating pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder disorders and our clinical experience, coupled with our professional involvement in organizations such as AUGS (the American Urogynecologic Society) and IPPS (The International Pelvic Pain Society) and ICS (The International Continence Society) give us unparalleled clinical expertise into treating your condition.

Our holistic treatment addresses any myofascial restrictions from neck to feet and also includes bladder control strategies, bladder training, pelvic floor muscle retraining, fluid management and bowel-directed optimization to address any constipation or diarrhea problems that may be setting off your bladder. Connect with us to learn more about our care!

Rest assured, that when you choose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for your pelvic floor PT for overactive bladder, you will receive customized treatment based specifically on your body’s findings. We do not provide cookie-cutter treatments that are ineffective.

What Does Pelvic Floor PT for Overactive Bladder Involve? Each Treatment Session Effectively Gives You A “Bladder Balancing Treatment”.

Our treatment is holistic and utilizes multiple clinical principles that help calm your bladder. We have found that other providers do not understand the bladder and are not trained in these treatment methods. Therefore, if you have failed to improved even though you have seen other providers, please understand that when you choose Purple Mountain PT for your pelvic floor PT for overactive bladder, you are getting care that is entirely different than you have received before.

Every organ has something called Viscerosomatic Convergence; our treatment taps into this to calm your bladder. Viscerosomatic convergence is most commonly understood for the heart organ. If someone experiences a heart attack they may feel pain down their left arm. Thus, the left arm and the heart organ work in partnership. The bladder organ works in partnership with various areas of your body, including your spine, hips, abdomen and thighs. Therefore, we know that we can optimize your bladder if we evaluate and treat these areas. Our treatment is hands-on, using advanced manual therapy skills to address fascia, muscles, joints and tissues that have relationships with your bladder. Call us at (616) 516-4334 and get to know more about our treatment plan for you.

Will You Mostly Be Treating My Pelvic Floor?

The term “pelvic floor therapy” is actually misleading. No, your treatment is never isolated to your pelvic floor. In fact, our holistic care is the ONLY way we have to get your feeling better. If we limited your treatment to your pelvic floor, we know your overactive bladder will not change that much. Instead, our holistic care directs treatment to all the areas related to your bladder. We treat your back, hips, thighs, posture, abdominal wall, scar tissue (including cesarean scars overlying the bladder), and visceral mobility (do you have endometriosis that may be contributing to your overactive bladder? We treat this!).

However, we do need to treat your pelvic floor muscles. As we stated, they usually have high tone and spasm and need to be retrained to calm down. A 2016 study found the pelvic floor muscle training reduced symptoms and complaints related to overactive bladder and also increased quality of life. That’s our goal: to boost your ability to enjoy your life. We have found that people tell us that their anxiety or depression ease as their bladder control improves.

By providing you holistic and comprehensive pelvic floor therapy for your overactive bladder, you will find that your bladder progressively improves its ability to fill up quietly, hold urine and calmly empty. To speak with our knowledgeable and caring staff, contact us here.

Our Pelvic Floor Treatments Are Research Proven to Help Overactive Bladder

The main symptoms of overactive bladder include urinary frequency, urgency and leakage. Some individuals also experience pelvic pain and lower quality of life. It is common for our patients to come to us with lower abdominal pain or some discomfort or awareness of the urethra. They also may have pain with intimacy. Some patients have on and off low back and they find this improves, also. We know that one known contributor to ongoing chronic low back pain is pelvic floor dysfunction; therefore, if you have overactive bladder, we will treat you pelvic floor dysfunction and low back pain. We expect all of these symptoms to improve with our pelvic floor PT for your overactive bladder. Connect with us here to speak with our staff about getting your plan of care started.

Am I A Good Candidate for Pelvic Floor PT for My Overactive Bladder?

Yes. If you have overactive bladder, pelvic floor PT is actually one of the first places you should start. In fact, of all of your therapeutic options, pelvic PT gives you the best chance of resolving urinary leakage and the problem of running to the bathroom all the time. If pelvic PT cannot help you (which is rare) then you would go back to your urologist and talk about other options, which may include Botox injections, medications, surgery for sacral nerve stimulation. If you truly are having trouble getting results from pelvic PT then we would want you to pair your pelvic PT treatment with mind/body care so that you can calm your nervous system and implement different habits/techniques to react to your bladder. Results are not overnight, but we do find that our patients experience improvements in the first few appointments. Each appointment builds on the progress from the prior appointment and we partner with you to find the best path forward.

There is High Quality Help for Your Overactive Bladder. You Don’t Have To Live with This! If you are interested in receiving an evaluation for your condition, call our office today at 616.516.4334 and we would consider it an honor to be part of your healing journey!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

On a Mission to resolve pelvic floor dysfunction, enhance quality of life and help women, men and kids optimize their well-being.

You may be interested in reading these other articles we’ve written about how we can help you:

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Does Pelvic Floor Therapy Work for Prolapse?

Pelvic Pain Treatment In Grand Rapids

What Can I Do Naturally to Help My TMJ? 8 Tips That Help!

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches

Physical Therapy for Male Incontinence in Grand Rapids

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

Why is My Child Bloated?

8 Ways Pelvic PT Helps IBS

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

Are You Feeling Frustrated by Ongoing Testicular Pain? Have You Seen Your Physician Providers and Found They Are Unable to Resolve Your Pain? Well, Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (orchialgia) is Your Next Best Step Towards Feeling Better.

First, let’s get our terminology down. Orchialgia is the medical term for testicular pain and is defined as general pain in and around the testicles. This pain is termed “chronic orchialgia” if it has persisted for more than 3 months. The discomfort may not be isolated to the testicles, it may also be the entire scrotum, the groin, the perineal area, the penis or the inner thighs. A person can have numerous causes for testicular pain such as trauma, tight pants or underwear, reaction to bouncing around too much, compression related to sitting for prolonged periods, prolonged arousal, infections, vasectomy, nerve related pain. There are other things that may cause testicular pain that should be ruled out by your urologist or other physician. These are things such as diabetic neuropathy, kidney stones, retractile testicle (testicle ascends into the groin) and hernia. In our patient’s cases they do usually do not have these things. Instead, they have myofascial (muscles & fascia), nerves and joint contributions causing their pain. Our high quality pelvic PT for testicular pain right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan properly rehabilitates you holistically ( we treat your spine, hips, legs, pelvic floor) so that you can resolve orchialgia. Call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here to speak with our knowledgeable staff and get your questions answered.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pain are Associated with Chronic Scrotal Pain!

We feel we need to say this again. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pain are Associated with Chronic Scrotal Pain. Full Stop. If you are reading this article because you have chronic testicular pain, please know that you likely have pelvic floor dysfunction. And that pelvic floor dysfunction is very treatable and we will be able to reduce your pain.

This is well published in the medical research, but, unfortunately, urologists are not in the habit of referring patients to pelvic PT for testicular pain, so you are usually left on your own to figure this out. Most Men Find Our Clinic by Googling and Stumbling Upon Us. Contact us here!

What are Your Treatment Options? Why Would Pelvic PT help Testicular Pain?

Well, we help testicular pain because you have muscles and nerves and blood flow and joints and habits that are contributing to your pain and we assess and treat all of these things so you can feel better. Usually the men who come to us have seen their family doctor and may also have seen a urologist. Those providers rule out more serious causes of the pain and treat anything they find. The men who come to us often have been told that there is nothing wrong with them and are often diagnosed with “idiopathic testicular pain”, which means “we don’t know the cause of your pain.” There are no infections. There is no testicular torsion (testicular torsion causes sudden, severe pain). There is no unusual growth. There is no epididymitis (this begins as mild pain that increases gradually). Thus, the men are left with nearly nothing to help them. They try support cups or antibiotic medications, but still have pain. That’s where we come in. Reach out and speak with our knowledgeable staff to see how we can help you.

A Pelvic PTs Experience Treating Testicular Pain

Our experience has been that we can help you! The men we see are usually skeptical when they come to PT. Usually they’ve been on our website and something we have written has piqued their curiosity but has not convinced them that we can help them. What they’ve read has given them a glimmer of hope and they come for their pelvic PT evaluation looking for some answers. Frankly, we’ve seen so many men with this condition, we can tell you that you are often angry at the medical system, frustrated by your condition, feeling hopeless and skeptical of anyone or anything that tells you that you can get better. Call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Pelvic Physical Therapy for Orchialgia Can Be Very Effective!

Chronic testicular pain has been studied because it has been known to be difficult to treat in urologic practices. It stumps urologists and they know they often cannot get rid of your pain. Unfortunately, they don’t consistently follow what the research has shown: pelvic PT for testicular pain works! One study, published in the Canadian Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that more than 50% of men with testicular pain benefitted from pelvic floor physical therapy and were able to get off of pain meds. Our professional experience has found that the vast majority of our patients are able to have reduction in their pain through our high quality pelvic physical therapy. Our evaluations and treatment are holistic and address the numerous muscle, fascia, joint and nerve restrictions that are contributing to this pain. Contact our staff to learn how we can help you.

Multi-Modal Treatment May Help You!

We are members of the International Pelvic Pain Society and through our active participation in that professional organization, devoted to helping people who have chronic pelvic pain, we know that multimodal treatment is the gold standard for treating anyone with pelvic pain. This means that you may also benefit from having a team of providers who can help reduce your pain. Quite often with chronic pain something in your nervous system happens that is called Central Sensitization. Central Sensitization means that your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) is upregulated so that it very easily puts you into pain. Treating central sensitization is something we do and we also like you to see other providers, such as a physiatrist or psychologist who can be on your team to calm down your system. Get in touch with us today and speak with our knowledgeable staff and get your questions answered.

How Do I Know If I am a Candidate for Pelvic PT?

If you are suffering from chronic testicular pain and your physicians are not able to improve your pain, we recommend you have a pelvic PT evaluation. This evaluation will include, with your permission, a rectal exam that assesses your pelvic floor muscles. We also conduct a discreet examination of all of your external pelvic floor muscles, especially those in the perineal area; quite commonly these muscles have trigger points and problems causing pain. Read more here about the benefits of physical therapy for your pelvic floor pain. And contact us to get started on your healing journey.

Men who have a pelvic exam that identifies pelvic floor dysfunction are good candidates for pelvic physical therapy.

Most often, we find high tone pelvic floor, meaning the pelvic floor muscles are in spasms and/or quite tight and this is, quite literally, causing testicular tension.

Your High Tone Pelvic Floor Will Be Gently and Effectively Treated With Our Care

Your Pelvic PT Evaluation for your Chronic Testicular Pain Will Also Include a Full Orthopedic Examination & Treatment of Your Hips, Thighs, Low Back and Thoracic Spine

Some of the nerves that go to your genitals come out of your thoracic spine. We find that our patients who have orchialgia have myofascial and joint restrictions in their thoracic spine that can be impairing their nerves and contributing to pain. Other nerves that go to the pelvic region come through the front of your abdominal wall or through the back of your buttocks. We check all of these areas. It is common that a man who we evaluate has considerable myofascial restrictions in all of these areas. We must treat these to decrease his pain. Give us a call at (616) 516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable and caring staff or contact us here.

Men, You Likely Have Considerable Tightness in Many of the Joints and Tissues Related to Your Pelvis, Such as Your Hips, Abdominal wall, Thighs and Low Back:

We usually find an assortment of muscle stiffness, guarding and tightness. Often the inner thighs are filled with connective tissue restrictions. The hamstrings may be very tight. The hip flexors are usually quite tense, stiff and unhappy. We treat all of these myofascial restrictions and we also encourage you to implement a regular exercise routine that we will create with you, something that is do-able for your life. We need to you enhance blood flow to the area, so cardiovascular/aerobic exercises can help. We also need you to improve your flexibility and fascia’s ability to move, so stretches or yoga or other program at home directed to your fascia would be recommended. We want you to limit or alter those things that obviously worsen your pain, such as sitting at your desk for hours on end.

What Does A Typical Appointment Involve?

Men with Testicular Pain usually benefit most from our advanced hands-on, holistic treatments. Usually we do not spend your appointments exercising. However, exercise and specific movements and stretches are crucial to your feeling better, so we teach you what you must commit to be doing everyday at home. We have found that your appointment time is best used receiving the hands-on treatment that you cannot do for yourself. Your treatments may include:

Myofascial Release that is directed anywhere we find problems. Usually this means to your thoracic spine, low back, hips, thighs and abdominal wall.
Thoracic and Lumbar fascial and nerve gliding/movement manual therapies and joint mobilization
Abdominal wall myofascial release and trigger point release
Treatment to any scar tissue, including scars from hernia surgeries and laparoscopies.
Trigger point release throughout your abdominal wall, inner thighs, hip girdles, low back.
Pelvic floor downtraining which includes gentle, external & internal work to get rid of the high tone.
Pelvic floor rehabilitation to teach you how to optimize how you use these muscles with urinating and bowel movements.
Recovery training specific to teaching you how to breathe, relax your pelvic floor and abdominal wall, relax your glutes and open up your hips.
Specific, advanced hands-on manual therapy methods to optimize the passageways in which your multiple nerves travel. Nerves need massive blood flow to function well. We work to enhance your blood flow and restore the bound-down and tight tissues in which your nerves have been living.

What Should I Expect After An Appointment?

Patients tell us that they feel better after an appointment. They say that for the first time they can tell that we are actually working on their problem. They tell us that what we are finding and educating them about, inherently makes sense to them. They tell us that they feel hopeful and willing to implement the things we suggest. They tell us they can urinate better, that their stream doesn’t stop/start as much. They tell us that after intimacy they might not feel as much pain. They tell us that their other pains, such as their low back pain or their lower abdominal pain, are feeling less. Connect with our staff to get your questions answered.

How Do I Get Started with Pelvic Floor PT?

We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our patients travel to our clinic from all over the state of Michigan and also from nearby states. This is because we offer exceptional care and expertise specific to the needs of male pelvic pain. We have advanced training that is male focused; we are NOT simply giving you a “women’s health” treatment. You will be receiving male-specific pelvic pain treatment. We wrote an article that details what to expect during your evaluation, you may find that helpful. If you are interested in being evaluated, please call our clinic and we can get you scheduled.

If you are suffering from chronic testicular pain, our heart goes out to you. We know it is a lonely and frustrating road. We know this because our many patients over the years have taught us this. We consider it an honor to help you on your journey to feeling more like yourself again and we promise to provide you with expert care that is trauma-informed, compassionate and results-driven. Call to connect with our staff at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy Founder

Leader of Team of Doctors of Physical Therapy who provide specialized care for men and women who have pelvic health conditions.

You may be interested in these other articles we have written:

Physical Therapy for Male Incontinence in Grand Rapids

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Do I Have Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

5 Tips To Ease Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

What To Expect With Your Pelvic PT Evaluation

Why Should I go to Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

References

Calixte N, Brahmbhatt J, Parekattil S. Chronic testicular and groin pain: pathway to relief. Curr Urol Rep 2017; 18: 83.

Can J Urol 2016 Dec 01;23(6)8546-8550, MR Farrell, SA Dugan, LA Levine

Campbell K, Lipshultz L. Current trends and therapies in orchialgia management. Therapeutic Advances in Urology. 2021;13. doi:10.1177/17562872211026433

Christiansen CG, Sandlow JI. Testicular pain following vasectomy: a review of postvasectomy pain syndrome. J Androl 2003; 24: 293–298.

Sigalos JT, Pastuszak AW. Chronic orchialgia: epidemiology, diagnosis and evaluation. Transl Androl Urol. 2017 May;6(Suppl 1):S37-S43. doi: 10.21037/tau.2017.05.23.

5 Tips To Ease Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

If Your Pelvic Pain Won’t Quit, Read on for 5 Tips to Ease Pelvic Pain!

Here at Purple Mountain PT we have a heart for anyone who is experiencing pelvic pain that just won’t quit. We understand the despair you feel and the lack of answers when you go from provider to provider or experience “random” pains that are unpredictable. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy have many years experience working with people who, unfortunately, have lengthy and frustrating journeys to finding us and getting the real help they need. In fact, at Purple Mountain PT we are known especially for helping people overcome pelvic pain. Our patients tell us that the therapy they receive with us is life changing and the best thing that has ever been done to help them. Here, you’ll find 5 quick tips to ease pelvic pain.

What are Some Common Things That Our Patients Tell Us? Here’s an example.

Sarah’s Story: Do You See Yourself in Her Story? Names have been changed for privacy.

Sarah is a 44 year old female who came to us with lower abdominal pain and vaginal/pelvic pressure that bothered her most days. It had been going on for the last six years or so, and developed around the time her last child was born. In those six years she thought her problem was an ovarian cyst, but when the doctor found a cyst she was told that it should simply be monitored and no further treatment was recommended. She found herself taking ibuprofen more often than she liked and this also caused some issues related to her migraines, rebound headaches. She developed some back pain and went to physical therapy for this; the PT didn’t help. At one appointment they had her sit in a chair and march in place and she thought it was a silly exercise that wouldn’t help her, so she stopped going. The pelvic pressure was worse around her menstrual cycle, but occurred throughout the entire month and was bad enough that she avoided jogging and intimacy.

Review of Sarah’s symptoms:

Abdominal pain
Vaginal pressure
Ovarian cyst present, but not thought to be the cause
Ibuprofen usage has increased over the years
Migraines
Back pain
Pelvic Pressure

She found us because one of her friends told her about us, but she had already been to physical therapy for her back and that PT told her that her pelvic floor was fine.

She was skeptical when calling Purple Mountain PT, but when her friend promised her that we were different and more effective, she scheduled an evaluation. At her evaluation, she told us that her pain was her main concern and was occurring nearly everyday and often causing her to feel out of shape and unable to workout to get into shape. Her pain seemed to be random and, therefore, she really felt like there was nothing in particular she could do to make it go away or help it to be better. We also discovered that she experienced urinary leakage and sometimes urinary urgency. Her constipation was an ongoing problem, with bowel movements once every 2^nd or 3^rd day. Intimacy was not comfortable and was not enjoyable, her libido was gone.

Additional pelvic symptoms we discovered for Sarah:

Urinary incontinence
Urinary urgency
Constipation
Painful intimacy & low libido

Our examination found that she had a variety of things that we needed to address to help her pain:

Myofascial restrictions in her abdominal wall including trigger points in numerous muscles that were contributing to daily pain. These included tension in her hip flexors and abdominal oblique muscles as well as rectus abdominus.
Diastasis Recti Abdominus: Sarah had a problem with the integrity of her abdominal wall, causing her to have a thinning and widening of her linea alba. This places excess stress and strain through the abdominal wall and pelvic floor, contributing to pelvic pain, bladder leakage, lower back pain and pelvic pressure. We specialize in helping women (and men) resolve their DRA. A DRA is a very common finding in our patients and we provide high quality assessment and treatment for this; this is unique to our clinic, as we find that for our patients a DRA is usually not properly addressed until they find us.
Tension and muscle guarding and tightness in her hip muscles, inner thighs and low back. These were a major source of her problem and needed to be effectively treated with myofascial release, trigger point release, joint mobilization and pelvic and low back alignment methods. We also included treatment to improve the strength of her hips and core muscles.
Pelvic floor dysfunction characterized by high tone pelvic floor, meaning her pelvic floor muscles were stiff and painful. These were a big driver of her pain and her urinary urgency and leakage and likely contributing to her constipation, also. By treating her pelvic floor dysfunction and her abdomen, hips and back, we were able to ease her pelvic pain and bladder symptoms.
Misalignment in her pelvis Her SI joint was not happy and we found that her hips and pelvis were not aligned. She also had some postural changes that were making it more difficult on her pelvic floor. We worked with Sarah to optimize her pelvic alignment and posture. By doing this, the stress through the pelvic floor was reduced, thereby lessening her pelvic pain and pressure.
The presence of migraines plus the chronic pelvic pain render us suspicious for her having a ramped up nervous system that easily experiences pain. We use a validated questionnaire to find out if this is the case and it was for Sarah. Because of this we use a combination of education, neural calming techniques, heart rate variability training and myofascial release and muscle calming hands-on methods to calm down her sensitized nervous system. Our patients find this treatment to be incredibly beneficial and a key thing we do that is not routinely provided. Our therapists have advanced training specific to calming the nervous system and restoring the bladder and bowel. We offer this because we know it helps our patients to feel better.
Inability to exercise is a big problem and something we needed to improve. We found she was quite weak & often tight in many major muscle groups including her glutes, quads, inner thighs, hamstrings, low back, postural stabilizers in her upper back, abdominals and calves. Her weakness was from a combination of being sedentary and also from her condition inhibiting the proper firing of her muscles; we needed to retrain the muscles and restore her capacity to exercises.

At Purple Mountain PT we begin treatment on your very first day. You can expect hands-on treatment methods to include myofascial release, trigger point release, corrective alignment methods, neural calming and lots of education in exercises and things you can do to help yourself. Because Sarah’s case is common and, if you are reading this blog, you likely share some characteristics with Sarah, we can offer five tips to ease pelvic pain to help you today. These are things you can try that we also suggested Sarah begin on her first day of treatment. Give us a call at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here to see if we can help you get back to what you’re missing!

5 Tips To Ease Your Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

Tip 1: Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing

The diaphragm is a pathway to calming down high tone pelvic floor and chronic pain. Learning to effectively breathe with your diaphragm is a key skill that is usually dysfunctional when someone has chronic pain. This may seem like a simple, useless tip. But, take our word for it and our patients’ word for it: diaphragmatic breathing is an important skill to help nudge your body out of pain.

Tip 2: Lengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

This is tricky to learn and, especially when someone has chronic pelvic pain, usually they have very limited capacity to let go of their pelvic floor muscles because these muscles are stiff and tight. For the most effective results, you truly need hands-on care from one of our Doctors of PT. But, please give this tip a good, solid try. Practice makes perfect, so you’ll have to work on it multiple times a day.

Here’s one way you can learn how to melt your pelvic floor muscles: lie down in a quiet location. Clear your mind. Soften your breathing. Relax your abdomen. Bring your awareness to your pelvic floor area. Relax your glutes. Let go of your tailbone, invite it to float back towards the floor. Soften and open the anus, let go of the back area. Drop your vagina by fully letting go of it. Simulate peeing and invite a release/opening of the area where you pee. Never push these muscles to get them to release.

Tip 3: Optimize your gut health

This is crucial when trying to resolve pelvic pain. You must have daily bowel movements that are well formed and without straining. Look closely at your nutrition and eliminate all foods that might constipate you and/or cause intestinal bloating or distress. Consider seeing a dietician for expert guidance. Aim to eat 30 grams of fiber a day, if you can tolerate fiber.

Tip 4: Optimize your water intake

Because Sarah had some issues with urinary control and urgency, she had slowly reduced her water intake. This actually worsens bladder wellbeing and can contribute to bladder spasms and ongoing pelvic pain. For your bladder to be happy you need optimal water intake. You should be urinating about every 2 to 4 hours and you want your urine color to be light yellow.

Tip 5: Movement is Needed

With chronic pelvic pain we know that movement is needed. You must move. The less you do, the more you hurt. The challenge is figuring out how much movement is well tolerated and which movements to do. In general, it is smart to begin with brisk walking and some light stretching. Think about stretching your hips, low back and legs. Be gentle with your movements, never forcing a stretch.

Bonus Tip 6: Prioritize Sleep, Relaxation and Meditation.

Sleep is how our body restores itself. You must prioritize sleep, address sleep apnea problems and keep a regular bedtime. By building relaxation and meditation into your daily routine, you will further nudge your nervous system towards a more balanced and less sensitized state and this will, in concert with everything else you are doing, help you have less pain. Research has shown us that individuals who have chronic pelvic pain experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders. We also know that multimodal (meaning a team of providers with various clinical expertise) care is best for you. For more on the benefits of physical therapy, check out this blog we wrote for a fellow PTs site. It is common that your team might consist of a physical therapist, counselor, psychologist, sleep specialist, gynecologist, physiatrist and other providers.

For our patient, Sarah, these 5 simple tips to ease her pelvic pain got her started with a plan for what she could do at home.

With our skilled therapy, which primarily comprised of hands-on treatments from her shoulders to her knees (because pelvic pain and fascia connections extend throughout the body), bladder calming treatments and parasympathetic nervous system activation, Sarah was able to gradually increase her exercise and daily activities and found that the “random” pains were not happening anymore. Once Sarah’s pain went away she told us that she couldn’t believe how long she had lived in pain and she wished she had found us sooner. Contact us today to speak with our knowledgeable and caring staff to learn more about our model of care and how we can help you.

A key feature of our treatment is our expert manual therapy methods and ability to diagnose and treat complex features of pelvic pain.

Of course, we assess and treat pelvic floor dysfunction and this is a hallmark of what we do. We are particularly skilled at identifying whether you have pelvic floor dysfunction. And, to be clear, if you have chronic pelvic pain you need holistic treatment to everything from your shoulders to your knees and maybe even your feet! Our doctors of physical therapy are fully trained in assess and treat all of these areas and provide you expert manual therapy methods + exercises to alleviate your pain. In addition to myofascial mobilization, trigger point release, pelvic balancing and postural corrections, we worked closely with Sarah completing specific exercises to reduce her pain while also building up better strength and function of her muscles, especially her core muscles, hips and thighs. Contact us here or call us at (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered today.

While these tips to ease pelvic pain have worked for many of our patients, please keep in mind that you are not our patient and, therefore, this is not medical advice for you. Everything here illustrates what worked for Sarah and other patients. Please, if you are having pelvic pain that won’t quit, you deserve to be fully assessed by us. We are here to provide you the care that will give you results. Each appointment is upto 55 minutes long and in a private treatment room, with the same doctor of physical therapy every visit; we never bounce you around amongst lesser trained people. You can give us a call at (616) 516-4334 to learn more or contact us here! We wish you better days ahead. And our main message to you is that you don’t have to live like this! There is hope for you.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT and the Purple Mountain PT Team

References:

Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2019 March ; 62(1): 22–36. doi:10.1097/GRF.0000000000000412.

Pelvic Floor PT in Grand Rapids!

You Have Found The Best Pelvic Floor PTs in Grand Rapids!

Here at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy we offer advanced and expert pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids for women, men and children. We understand that when you have a pelvic problem you don’t know where to go to receive your care and you want to make certain that you are getting the best results. Our doctors of physical therapy are uniquely qualified and offer you many years experience and advanced post-doctoral education specific to the challenging needs of pelvic health. To connect, connect us here, or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Pelvic Floor PT Explained!

Some patients tell us “I was skeptical this could help my urinary urgency and frequency, but now I’m a believer because it is so much better.”

We know that pelvic floor PT can be a bit of a mystery. Most of our patients tell us that they had no idea what pelvic PT would do for them. Pelvic floor PT is a specialty field within physical therapy that focuses upon treating bladder, bowel, pain and intimacy related problems for women, men and children. Our pelvic floor PT clinic in Grand Rapids is a place for you to be evaluated and treated with expertise and compassion in a trauma-informed setting that truly elevates the standard of care you should expect to receive from all of your providers. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy are licensed and also have completed extensive post-doctoral training specific to the field of pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorder physical therapy. It makes a difference when you work with an experienced specialist. If you are interested in learning more about working with our PTs here at Purple Mountain PT, reach out to us here or call us at (616) 516-4334.

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

It all begins with the first phone call!

First, you will know from your first phone call that you are receiving care from people who truly care about you and who strive to provide you with excellence. Our care is always welcoming, holistic, compassionate and trauma-informed.

Your Pelvic Floor Evaluation Appointment is Holistic and our Whole Body Framework ensures you receive comprehensive insights into the multiple contributions to your condition.

Your first appointment will be an evaluation, where we will go into depth with talking about your pelvic concerns. Some people come to us with focused and specific concerns, such as chronic lower abdominal pain that worsens with a full bladder. Other people come with more general pelvic concerns; for example, they had a child ten years ago and since then they have had some mild, annoying urinary incontinence and intimacy has not been quite the same. Men often present with severe pain that has been frustrating and ongoing. It is common that men have chronic prostatitis pain and/or nerve related problems of the pelvic floor. We are experts in nerve pain, including pain that radiates into the genitalia, perineum, anus and sit bones, as well as sciatic pain and other nerves. Rest assured, we will evaluate and treat every patient for the specifics related to numerous nerve conditions. Contact us for more information or call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with a knowledgable team member.

Your Pelvic PT Treatment Begins Day 1! This first visit, it is our goal to begin the process of healing!

During this evaluation we begin treatment right away. This includes advising you on how to optimize bladder, bowel and intimacy function. If your child is our patient, we include the child and parent into all evaluation and treatment methods and all care is age-appropriate and focused upon optimizing the child’s bladder and bowel function. Our examination may include an in-depth assessment of your posture, hip mobility, low back function, thoracic spine and diaphragm. We examine and treat your abdominal wall strength and diastasis recti abdominus. Every adult patient receives a comprehensive myofascial assessment of all tissues from your shoulders to your knees (we check your neck and feet, if warranted, also). It is common that we find trigger points and areas of decreased blood flow in the tissues we evaluate and treat. As we discover items that are contributing to your symptoms, we educate you about our findings, commence treatment and help you understand what you can do to help yourself at home. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to your questions answered and see about how we can help you!

What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

Broadly speaking, pelvic floor dysfunction refers to the muscles at the base of your pelvis not working quite right. In many cases these muscles have stiffness, tightness and trigger points. In some cases, the muscles are weak. Other times the muscles have adequate strength, but their timing and coordination with other muscles is impaired, leading to urinary or gas leakage or pelvic organ prolapse symptoms. When these muscles are not working properly, because they work in concert with your abdominal wall and low back, they often contribute to pain in the abdomen, hips or back. Some people with pelvic floor dysfunction have considerable pelvic pain. These muscles also provide you control of your bladder and bowel, so if they are dysfunctional you may experience urinary leakage or frequency and urgency. The pelvic floor muscles have both superficial and deep layers; for some of the women and men we treat their primary problem is in the superficial layers. We check all of the layers of your pelvic floor muscles so that you can receive the right treatment to effectively recover your problem. To read more about the benefits of physical therapy, check out this blog we wrote or contact us here!

What does Pelvic Floor PT Involve?

Our treatment is holistic. This means that we evaluate and treat the numerous things that contribute to your pain, so that you experience excellent results. Our treatment is not cookie-cutter. You get specific care related to your body’s needs. Our care is often hands-on manual therapy that includes myofascial release, trigger point release, and nerve release. We also focus quite a bit on improving blood flow to your tissues because blood flow is the source of life & nutrition for your body, especially your nerves. We also offer treatment that is exercise based and focused upon recovering the coordination and firing of your pelvic floor muscles with your abdominals, low back, hips and knees/feet. For some people’s needs, we include balance training, jumping exercises and dynamic exercises that challenge the pelvic floor muscles so that they begin to fire more appropriately. We will assess and treat your abdominal wall so if you have a diastasis recti abdominus, we will provide very targeted exercises and myofascial work to facilitate recovery of your abdominal wall. Connect with us here to get started.

Why Should I Choose to Come To Purple Mountain Physical Therapy?

Our goal is to provide you excellence in care so that you experience meaningful results. Each appointment is with the same physical therapist, is private and lasts upto 55 minutes. We never bounce you around to a lesser trained person or someone you don’t know. Because we have extensive post-doctoral training and experience treating very challenging pelvic conditions, you can expect an expertise that is difficult to find. You will find that our physical therapists provide trauma informed care in a compassionate setting that is focused upon clinical excellence. We are here to provide you world class pelvic health PT care in Grand Rapids.

Meet Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT Pelvic Health, Spine and TM Joint Disorder Physical Therapist. Founder of Purple Mountain PT. Wife, Mother.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT is a pelvic health, spine & TM joint physical therapist specialist, serving the West Michigan region. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT practiced for 20 years in Chicago working with some of the top surgeons and physicians in the country at Northwestern Medicine Chicago, Loyola University Health Centers and Rush University Medical Center. She had patients travel to her from all over the country and world, seeking relief from their pelvic pain and bladder conditions.

Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain PT to provide specialized, one-on-one treatment to her patients by giving them the time needed (upto 55 minutes each appointment) and a whole-body framework to properly and holistically treat you.

Dr. Maureen provides pelvic, spine and TMJ treatments to women, men & children who are wanting to improve their condition by accelerating results from working with an experienced specialist. Dr. Maureen is the leader at Purple Mountain PT and the reason behind our whole body framework that informs all of the treatments you receive. All of our physical therapists are trained directly by Dr. Maureen, to ensure you receive the specialized excellence that Purple Mountain PT is known for. Dr. Maureen combines manual therapies with therapeutic exercise, patient education, rehabilitative ultrasound imaging, balance training, deep core retraining and neural calming. She loves to educate you on what you should be doing and how to help yourself. If you would like to work with Dr. Maureen, give us a call at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT is proud to be a member of numerous professional societies that are leading organizations in the field of pelvic health and pelvic research.

These include the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health and the Intl Society for Sexual Medicine, The North American Menopause Society and the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT has even taught physicians, surgeons and other pelvic health physical therapists techniques for evaluating and treating complex pelvic health conditions. Her more than 25 years’ experience are a culmination of broad post-graduate pelvic health, sexual health and menopause related advanced education including treating chronic pain, pregnancy & postpartum recovery, diastasis recti abdominis healing, male pelvic & bladder conditions and pediatric bladder & bowel development. Her experience treating individuals with chronic TM joint disorders, cerivcogenic headaches and neck pain provides relief from headaches, neck and jaw pain and difficulty with chewing and yawning. She enjoys working with individuals with challenging TM joint disorders or complex pelvic problems, including painful intercourse, pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain. She has a special heart for women in the pregnant or postpartum recovery stages, as she loves those special times and understands the difficulty it can cause to a women’s body. She herself had a traumatic birth injury and had to recover her body through extensive rehabilitation. She creates a healing environment, in partnership with the patient, to optimize results and address all contributing factors in the pelvic condition. Dr. O’Keefe is committed to providing top level care to her patients and is actively engaged in ongoing advanced education to keep up with the latest research and methods.

How Do I Get Started with Pelvic Floor PT? I Have Some More Questions.

The first step is to call our office at (616) 516-4334 to schedule an evaluation. We like to understand what your needs are, so we can know that we can meet your needs. We love this work and consider it a privilege and honor to help people in such a meaningful way! We look forward to meeting you and helping you to feel like yourself again.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT and the Purple Mountain PT Team.

How Do You Know if You Need Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

Let’s clear up the mystery of knowing if you need pelvic floor physical therapy!

Quite often there is limited understanding of what the pelvic floor muscles do and whether these muscles might be a problem. The pelvic floor muscles are located inside the bones of your pelvis and sit like a hammock inside you. On top of this hammock you have all of your organs: bladder, bowel, uterus/prostate. These organs are supported by the muscles. How do you know if you need Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy? Well, the muscles and the organs communicate with each other and work together as partners, so if you have problems in one area (such as your bladder control) you will have problem in the other area (the pelvic floor muscles). Pelvic floor dysfunction presents itself as pain, bladder, bowel or intimacy problems and we can help with all of those issues!

This is a checklist of some common symptoms you may be experiencing that can indicate you have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.

If you have any of these then you know you need pelvic floor physical therapy:

*Pelvic Pain: Any pain from the abdomen/spine through the pelvis/groin. This includes mid and lower back pain, SI joint pain, pubic bone pain, groin pain, tailbone pain, abdominal pain.

*Lower Back Pain: This pain gets its own bullet point because research has shown us that people with persistent lower back pain typically also have underlying pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.

*All bladder and bowel issues can also have an underlying problem with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. This could be fecal smearing, unexpected loss of gas, urinary incontinence, urinary urgency, painful urination, poor urinary stream, getting up at night to pee.

*Intimacy related struggles: pain with penetration, pain with erection, pain after intimacy, poor intimacy response, inability to orgasm.

*Pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic heaviness, vaginal and pelvic pressure

*Pelvic muscle weakness, whether you can perceive it or not, is usually happening. The muscles are commonly stiff, tight, have trigger points and operate slowly and deficiently. Hence, the laundry list of symptoms here! Kegels are often not the solution to the problem and, in fact, can make things worse. So, seek expert care from a pelvic PT if you have any of these symptoms.

If you are interested to learn more about the benefits of our physical therapy, check out this blog we wrote for Revive Physical Therapy.

If you know you need pelvic floor physical therapy, what should you do? Call us and we can help!

Well, we are here to help you! We provide holistic and comprehensive care to get you results! Our compassionate, patient-centered treatment will identify underlying issues that are contributing to your problem and will treat each of these things. This is key to your success! By providing numerous assessment and treatment methods we can get your symptoms to improve. We have a lot of techniques to help you improve such as:

Myofascial release
Trigger point release
Joint mobilization
Movement pattern restoration
Muscle firing and recruitment re-education
Strength and conditioning
Trigger point dry needling
Self-care education and modification of habits/behaviors that contribute to your symptoms
Instruction in optimizing nutritional healing to promote relief of symptoms
Postural correction and alignment

If you are pregnant or postpartum the pelvic floor muscles and the rest of your body change dramatically during this experience. Unfortunately in our region of West Michigan pelvic floor physical therapy is not routinely suggested to a pregnant/postpartum person, even though we know that it helps improve how you feel!

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy we provide a comprehensive pelvic health physical therapy treatment program special for pregnant and postpartum women! If you would like to read more about what we do, here is an article we wrote that details one of our postpartum patient’s experiences with us!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in treatment for pelvic pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, vulvar pain, TM joint disorders and back pain.

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy located in Grand Rapids, Michigan is a specialty pelvic health clinic that serves women and men who have any pelvic condition. If you are still wondering “how do I know if I need pelvic floor PT?” then give us a call! We offer a free phone consult to discuss your condition. Call 616-516-4334 to schedule your free consult. No problem is too simple or too difficult for us! We commonly help people who have failed to get results from other interventions. The men who come to us often have experienced years of pain and/or bladder & intimacy issues that have proven very frustrating, anxiety producing and depressing. The women who come to us may also have pelvic pain or could be pregnant, struggling with postpartum recovery, have long standing pelvic floor dysfunction that shows up as urinary incontinence, constipation, pelvic pressure, painful intimacy, “mommy tummy” or weakness in their back. If any of these resonate with you, give us a call to schedule your free phone consult: 616-516-4334.

Why Should I go to Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health and TM joint disorder physical therapist providing pelvic floor PT and founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

What’s holding you back from getting Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a specialty pelvic floor PT and TM joint disorder clinic located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We treat men, women and kids in-person or via telehealth. We understand that pelvic conditions, by their very nature, are private and you may be hesitant to get the care you need. Our experienced physical therapists provide you discreet, compassionate and holistic physical therapy for your bladder, bowel, intimacy or pelvic pain concerns. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

We help women, men and kids overcome their pelvic condition, naturally and holistically, without pain medications, so that they can get back to an active life and have a smile on their face again!

Pelvic floor PT can improve your life. Here’s one patient’s feedback:

“Maureen has helped me so much over the past year. I came to see Maureen after having a grade 3 tear during childbirth and she has helped me learn so much about healing, recovery and restoration from this injury and pelvic floor dysfunction. She has been so encouraging. She is extremely professional and knowledgeable about her field of expertise and as that same time kind, empathetic and caring. You’re coming to see a very seasoned and experienced professional therapist and it also feels like you’re coming to see a friend.”

-LV, female coming for postpartum recovery following perineal injury during vaginal delivery.

If you are hesitant to go to pelvic floor PT, you are not alone. Research has found that 80% of people put off getting the pelvic PT that their provider told them would help them!

80% of people, who were diagnosed with a problem and told that pelvic PT would help them, decided not to go to PT! We must do better at taking care of ourselves! This was a study that looked at 662 people who were recommended to complete pelvic floor physical therapy. Guess what? Only 128 of the people (19.4%) did attend pelvic PT. It makes me wonder why we women don’t give our own health the time and attention it needs. Especially since we know that pelvic PT can help you not leak urine, resolve abdominal, back and pelvic pain, improve your bladder function and keep you from experiencing fecal incontinence. Stop putting off what you know you need. Our patients tell us they wish they had found us sooner! If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

“Data on PFPT compliance were available for 662 patients (87.3%). A total of 128 patients (19.4%) were fully compliant. Noncompliant patients were more likely to smoke and to have mental health disease compared with compliant patients (18% vs 8.7%, P = 0.01, and 50.4% vs 37.5%, P = 0.009, respectively). A total of 285 patients (43.1%) returned to their prescribing provider. Noncompliant patients were less likely to return to their provider: 63.4% versus 29.7%, P = <0.0001. Of the patients who returned, 183 (64.2%) were offered second-line treatment.”

-Woodburn, Katherine L. MD^∗; Tran, Misha C. BS^∗; Casas-Puig, Viviana MD^†; Ninivaggio, Cara S. MD^†; Ferrando, Cecile A. MD, MPH^† Compliance With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Patients Diagnosed With High-Tone Pelvic Floor Disorders, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2021 – Volume 27 – Issue 2 – p 94-97

I want to draw your attention to the final line, 64.2% of the people, who didn’t go to pelvic physical therapy, were offered “second-line” treatment.

This means they were now being offered prescriptions or medical procedures, instead of being encouraged, again, to go to pelvic PT. Pelvic PT is natural and takes care of the pelvic problems you are experiencing. Our patients all tell us that they don’t want to be on medications. If you know that you have a problem, stop avoiding the solution! Our licensed physical therapists are here to provide you with compassionate, professional pelvic PT that is holistic (we treat your back, hips, abdomen, posture, balance, strength, fascia and more!) and helps you resolve your problem. If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Let’s all take a deep breath and get ourselves in the mindset that taking care of ourselves is necessary so we can feel good and take care of others! Our pelvic PTs offer compassionate, private and holistic care that combines manual therapy and exercises so you can get results.

What our patients have told us about why they chose Purple Mountain PT for their pelvic PT:

Patients come to us a little nervous about embarking on pelvic health care. Usually they have searched for an experienced provider and chosen us because we offer the experience and specialty care they want. Many of our patients have tried other things that didn’t resolve their problem and they are pleased to find our PTs focus on pelvic floor PT and TMJ disorders. If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Are you interested to know some of the reasons other patients chose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for their pelvic PT needs?

They like that each visit is one-on-one with your same doctor of physical therapy, we never bounce you around amongst our staff or have you exercise alone while we treat another patient.
Visits are up to 55 minutes in length and provide you holistic treatment, that addresses anything contributing to your pelvic problem head to toe.
Patients tell us that they feel better after appointments and this also helped them to have confidence they found the right place for their pelvic health physical therapy.
Patients like our gym space and focus on getting you back to an active life.
Patients tell us that the whole body vibration machine and balance based exercises provided as part of their pelvic floor rehabilitation have helped them in more ways than they expected.
Patients come to us wanting to resolve bladder control problems and thrilled to be able to be dry again, after many years of having problems.
Patients are looking for comprehensive treatment for their postpartum recovery to restore their abdominal wall, posture, pelvic floor and more.
Men want help with prostate related recovery or chronic pelvic pain conditions.
Men and women come to us for specialized care to ease their interstitial cystitis pain and overactive bladder problems.
Parents call us concerned about their child’s incontinence, constipation, TM joint pain or pelvic problems, such as hip pain with adolescent female soccer players.

You want results for your pelvic problem. You feel uncertain about what pelvic floor PT is and, actually a little intimidated by it. You are also hesitant because your problem is personal and you don’t want to waste your time going to someone who doesn’t know how to help you. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

This is your validation that you deserve to feel better and to get rid of your pelvic problem. And that you have found the right place to receive your pelvic floor PT and help you! What’s holding you back? We help athletes, sedentary adults, new moms, older moms, dads and kids who have pelvic problems.

Why a triathlete and female athlete should come to pelvic PT

We know that female athletes who engage in running, jumping and cutting sports experience stress urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction. A study of female triathletes found that pelvic floor dysfunction was prevalent at high rates:

Stress urinary incontinence 37.4%
Anal incontinence 28%
Urgency urinary incontinence 16%
Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms 5% (higher rates of prolapse found if you’ve had a baby)
Pelvic girdle pain 18%
Female athlete triad symptoms: 24% of female triathletes screened positive for at least one arm of the female athlete triad.

Our pelvic PTs are here to help athletes of all ages and sports to resolve your bothersome bladder, bowel and pain problems. The best way to get started, to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

If your hesitation is that you don’t know where to go and who can help you. Then. Stop. That. Excuse. Right. Here. You’ve found the right place for your pelvic floor PT.

If you are a CrossFit athlete, our pelvic PTs can improve your ability to control your urine

We know that within the CrossFit community, urinary incontinence is found in 29.95% of athletes. Women who experience urinary incontinence tend to be “older” (33.77 years of age +- 8.03 years than those athletes who don’t have incontinence. Double under and single under are the troublespots that cause incontinence most often. Our pelvic PTs are athletes and love to help you perform at a high level in your sport. If you are experiencing incontinence with sport, the best way to learn more and to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

At Purple Mountain PT we specialize in providing holistic, therapeutic and compassionate care for pelvic floor dysfunction and TM joint disorders. We treat all pelvic conditions and TM joint pain conditions.

When you choose Purple Mountain PT you are choosing to be proactive, to address your nagging problem and to get results. You don’t want to waste your time, going to someone who doesn’t know how to help you. We also understand you might feel nervous because your condition is in a private area and pelvic floor PT sounds a bit intimidating. Rest assured, our patients tell us that their appointments are helpful, comfortable and educational, that they feel heard and understood. In contrast to your fears and anxiety, we can assure you that your time with us will be uplifting, informative and encouraging! Our pelvic floor PT is comprehensive, meaning a lot of our treatment occurs far away from the pelvis, such as at your shoulder blades or your thighs. We also include lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, stress management and other holistic interventions because these help you get results! The best way to get started, to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

How can we say with confidence that we are the right choice for your pelvic floor PT? Because our patients tell us that all the time.

We have set up our entire clinic and methods to provide you truly patient-centered care. From the first phone call we hope you feel well cared for and the confidence that our licensed physical therapists will be able to help your pelvic or TM joint condition. Here is one patient’s review:

“I would recommend Maureen and her practice to everyone needing pelvic care! She goes above and beyond what I thought my PT sessions would entail. I’ve never felt so taken care of and thought of then I have with Maureen. She’s the best!”

-MG. Female, postpartum mom.

Finding the right pelvic physical therapist for you isn’t easy. We’ve made it easier for you. You can call us anytime during business hours to ask your questions of one of our knowledgeable staff members. Reach us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

If you give us a try, you will know within the first phone call if you think I may be able to help you. At your first visit you will receive an education and in-depth evaluation that is comprehensive. We begin treatment at the first visit and provide you with instructions on what to work on at home. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

What our patients tell us with regard to how their experience with us differs from other things they tried:

I was hesitant to come to pelvic floor PT. I didn’t know what to expect, now I wish I had come sooner because I could have felt better long ago!

I’ve gone to a chiropractor and pelvic PT for months and still have problems, I decided to try you because I like that you specialize in this.

I went to someone else, but they didn’t explain it like you.

You are my third PT and the first one to help me feel better.

My other provider never treated all the things you are treating.

At my other provider I felt like my appointments were too short to really treat everything I needed.

My other provider didn’t seem to know what my problem was and gave me a sheet of exercises to do that I knew wouldn’t help me.

I went somewhere else and they didn’t examine things nearly as in depth as you and didn’t ask me the questions you asked. I can tell you know what you are doing here.

You get the idea. I understand why you may be skeptical that pelvic floor PT could help you, especially if you’ve already gotten care that didn’t work. But, many of our patients have been in your shoes and have found that by choosing Purple Mountain PT and getting holistic and expert care, they finally feel hopeful and can see they will get better. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

You will receive your pelvic floor PT care from a licensed physical therapist who specializes in pelvic PT.

All of our physical therapists at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy specialize in pelvic health PT, TM joint disorders and neck and back pain. If your child needs bladder or bowel physical therapy, you will be working with a doctor of physical therapy who has experience and post-doctoral training for pediatric bladder and bowel needs. Our pelvic PTs are specifically educated in male pelvic health rehabilitation, which is not the same as female pelvic PT. We have gone the extra mile with post-graduate training specifically for pregnancy and postpartum pelvic physical therapy. Our PTs also have extensive experience in the field of treating chronic pelvic pain, general orthopedics, complex neck and back pain and TM joint disorder physical therapy. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

You don’t settle for anything in your life, why settle for pelvic problems, a less active life and less than high quality pelvic floor PT treatment?

Do you know there is treatment for:

**Stress incontinence: you don’t have to lose pee everytime you laugh!
**Urge incontinence: you don’t have to rush to the toilet and fear losing pee
**Urinary frequency: you don’t have a small bladder! You need treatment!
**Pelvic Organ Prolapse: this is a biggie! Ladies, if you have any prolapse you can optimize the pelvic region to provide better support to the area.
**SI Joint pain: This hurts! We know your pain and we can help it!
**Gluteal tendinopathy: Does your glute hurt? We can check you out and help you figure out why. If it is tendinopathy we have a treatment program for that! If it’s something else, we know what to do to help you!
**Pubic pain: This. Is. Frustrating. To. Have. & I can help you!
**Pudendal Neuralgia: The monster of pelvic pain. It can get better!
**Sciatica: It hurts. PT helps.
**Endometriosis: The long, painful, lonely road. PT helps endo pain!
**Interstitial Cystitis: Beastly bladder condition & I specialize in treating it!
**Recurrent urinary tract infections: You probably have pelvic floor dysfunction and we can get that better to reduce your risk of another infection
**Vulvodynia: Yep, we know you are suffering silently. We specialize in helping this. It’s awful & can get better!
**Painful sex: Sex shouldn’t hurt! There’s treatment for this!
**Painful cesarean scars or other scars: We can address this and get rid of that pain! Wouldn’t it be great if your clothing didn’t hurt your scar?
**Pelvic muscle spasms: Ouch. Yep, they feel just like you imagine. & I can help them go away.
**Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: All those muscles “down there” not quite working right? I can help that.
**Constipation & straining: Believe it or not, the pelvic muscles and involved in this problem and I can help you! Take care of it so you don’t give yourself a prolapse.
**Pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain: My specialty!!
**Postpartum recovery: Again, this is my jam! I love to help you get back to feeling strong and confident as you recover.
**Birth trauma injury: I have seen them all & I can help you!
**Chronic prostatitis pain: PT is the way out of this problem!
**Testicular, penile or vulvar pain: PT works! I can help you!
**Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder: This. Is. Awful. I know it and I can help you!

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a specialty pelvic floor PT clinic. We help women, men and kids with pelvic floor dysfunction and TMJ disorders receive compassionate and effective physical therapy so you can live an active life! We consider it an honor to work with you and have set up our clinic to put your needs at the center of everything we do. We have been exclusively focused on pelvic health for over 20 years and offer a level of expertise and holistic care that you won’t find elsewhere! If you are wondering if we may be able to help you, call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members, who can answer your questions. We can discuss your symptoms and condition and determine if pelvic floor PT may help you!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in pelvic health and TMJ physical therapy for over 2 decades.

If you need more information about our physical therapy, you may be interested in these:

TMJ Disorder Treatment in Grand Rapids

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Why is My Child’s Poop So Big?

Balance exercises for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

_________________________________________

References:

Poli de Araújo, Maita MD, PhD^∗; Brito, Luiz Gustavo Oliveira MD, PhD^†; Rossi, Fabiana BSc^∗; Garbiere, Maria Luiza BSc^∗; Vilela, Maria Eduarda BSc^∗; Bittencourt, Vitor Ferraz BSc^∗; for the Cross Continence Brazil Collaboration Group Prevalence of Female Urinary Incontinence in Crossfit Practitioners and Associated Factors: An Internet Population-Based Survey, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2020 – Volume 26 – Issue 2 – p 97-100 doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000823

Woodburn, Katherine L. MD^∗; Tran, Misha C. BS^∗; Casas-Puig, Viviana MD^†; Ninivaggio, Cara S. MD^†; Ferrando, Cecile A. MD, MPH^† Compliance With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Patients Diagnosed With High-Tone Pelvic Floor Disorders, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2021 – Volume 27 – Issue 2 – p 94-97

Yi, Johnny MD^*; Tenfelde, Sandi PhD^†; Tell, Dina PhD^†; Brincat, Cynthia MD^†; Fitzgerald, Colleen MD^† Triathlete Risk of Pelvic Floor Disorders, Pelvic Girdle Pain, and Female Athlete Triad, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: 9/10 2016 – Volume 22 – Issue 5 – p 373-376 doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000296

Zoorob, Dani MD^*; Higgins, Margaret MD^†; Swan, Kimberly MD^‡; Cummings, Jennifer DPT^§; Dominguez, Sarah DPT^§; Carey, Erin MD, MSCR^∥ Barriers to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Regarding Treatment of High-Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: 11/12 2017 – Volume 23 – Issue 6 – p 444-448

Vulvar Pain and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction go together.

If you have Persistent Vulvar Pain or Vulvodynia and are looking for an experienced pelvic health physical therapist to help you, you’ve found the right place.

Vulvar pain is a challenging and frustrating condition to experience. Our licensed physical therapists treat women suffering with vulvar pain and vulvodynia who often never realized that physical therapy can help them. Many of our patients find us by doing their own research because they are frustrated with painful sex, pain when wearing clothing that touches the vulva and generalized vulvar and vaginal disccomfort such as heaviness, itchiness and burning. Often, but not always, our patients experience bladder and bowel issues, as well. If this is your circumstance, our pelvic PT for vulvar pain and pelvic floor dysfunction is gentle, compassionate, effective and natural. If you would like to learn more about our physical therapy treatment for persistent vulvar pain, vulvodynia, vaginismus, pelvic floor dysfunction and other pelvic conditions, call us today at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

When a person has vulvar pain, pelvic floor dysfunction is typically also present.

The pelvic floor muscles have both superficial and deep muscles. If you have vulvodynia, vulvar pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, perineal scarring (from giving birth or trauma) or other vulvar pain condition, the pelvic floor muscles in that region tend to go into a stiff, tense state. This pelvic floor muscle dysfunction causes bladder, bowel and intimacy related symptoms and needs to be treated to resolve vulvodynia, PGAD, vaginismus, Pudendal neuralgia and other vulvar pain problems. Our licensed PTs specialize in gently assessing and treating pelvic floor dysfunction. We have specific manual therapy and exercise-based techniques that alleviate vulvodynia, pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. Because we are a specialty PT clinic, devoted to treating pelvic pain, our experienced, licensed physical therapist have extensive post-graduate training in treating vulvodynia, PGAD, dyspareunia, vaginismus, pudendal neuralgia, scar tissue treatment and other pelvic pain condition. Our patients tell us that the examination we provide is educational and more detailed than other exams they’ve received. We assess the multiple layers of your pelvic floor muscles (both superficial and deep muscles), your tailbone, SI joint, lower back, hips, nerves, skin integriy and more. If you are interested in inquiring about cost and availability of our PT for vulvodynia, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Our pelvic health physical therapists specialize in treating vulvodynia, vulvar pain, lichen sclerosus, vaginismus, persistent genital arousal disorder, pudendal neuralgia, vulvar pain associated with perineal tearing and other associated vulvar pain conditions.

Each of these conditions requires a customized approach, tailored to your needs and findings. We partner with our patients to create a therapeutic setting that meets you where your body, mind and spirit are at. We work towards achieving your goals and empower you to know how to help yourself. By providing therapeutic and comprehensive, whole-body treatment to ease vulvar pain, pelvic floor dysfunction and bladder, bowel and intimacy concerns, our patients tell us that this therapy is life-changing. To learn more about our vulvodynia, vaginismus and other pelvic treatment, call us today at (616) 516-4334 or submit your questions here.

When working with Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for pelvic PT to help vulvar pain and vulvodynia, you can expect:

*Compassionate, trauma informed therapy that includes gentle and specialized hands-on techniques to your spine, abdomen, hips, thighs and pelvic region.

*A comprehensive evaluation of your spine, hips, abdominal wall, thighs, pelvic floor and any other areas of your body that may be contributing to the vulvar pain. For example, we also specialize in treating TMJ pain and find that tension in the jaw is linked to tension in the pelvis; if you have TMJ pain, we will include treatment to this area to help your vulvar pain.

*Gentle Manual Therapies including Myofascial release, visceral mobilization (abdominal massage), gentle joint mobilization to your back and hips, trigger point release, therapeutic massage to the thighs, hips and back, and pelvic floor muscle manual therapies (external or internal, depending on your needs, preferences and abilities).

*Exercise based care that restores posture, mobilizes fascia and muscles, improves low back and hip mobility, addresses balance, works to enhance nerve and fascia mobility and eases pain.

*A do-able and focused self-care home program. Our vulvodynia and vulvar pain patients tell us this is very helpful so they can understand what to do to help themselves.

*Education regarding your condition, what we are finding, how it is improving, what to expect in PT and long-term

*Treatment to improve pelvic floor dysfunction, pinched nerves, spine and hip issues, abdominal wall tension, adhesions or scar tissue.

Our pelvic physical therapy patients tell us they are so grateful to finally experience relief of vulvar pain!

Following an appointment, it is common that patients tell us they feel improvement. The process of resolving vulvodynia, persistent vulvar pain or other associated vulvar pain conditions does take time and it is our goal to partner with you to find a path forward. Because we specialize in chronic pelvic pain, our licensed PTs have experience and advanced training in providing treatment for your vulvodynia, PGAD, lichen sclerosus, pudendal neuralgia, perineal tearing (from vaginal birth) or other pelvic pain condition. Many of our patients have tried other therapies that were not effective. Our entire clinic is established to help you in meaningful ways. Patients tell us that no one has ever asessed their vulvar pain as comprehensively as we do. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy to help vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

We Begin Your Vulvar Pain Treatment with a Detailed Evaluation to Determine Contributing Causes, such as Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

With vulvovaginal pain there tends to be many things going on. Rarely is there only one problem: the vulvar pain. This is why our PTs are fully trained to treat you head to toe. For example, inner thigh muscle and fascia tension or restrictions can contribute to vulvar and vaginal pain. Hip problems, such as femoral acetabular impingement or gluteal tendinopathy can also contribute to vulvovaginal pain. Together with your input, we will determine how to best help you. If you are interested in talking to one of our knowledgeable staff members about our PT evaluation for vulvodynia or to inquire about cost and availability, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

Some of the other things that we screen for and may be going on include:

Other pain conditions: It is common and found in the literature that individuals who have vulvodynia or chronic pelvic pain may also experience other painful conditions. We evaluate you for things such as painful bladder syndrome (interstitial cystitis), fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, TM joint disorder or migraines. Pelvic health PT can help your other pain conditions. In fact, TM joint dysfunction is so common in pelvic patients that we have a program to evaluate and treat this for our patients.
Hormonal issues such as thyroid problems, infertility, blood glucose issues, perimenopause or menopausal status, PCOS.
Inflammation: this is very common. In our evaluation we try to identify if this person has any signs or symptoms of inflammation anywhere else. Do they have gut bloating? Tendinitis? Skin conditions? Allergies? We know that lichen sclerosus is inflammatory and many of the chronic pelvic pain conditions are, also. Our PTs will help advise you on natural things you can do to reduce your inflammatory load, including diet, sleep, heart rate variability training, meditation, exercise or other self-care things.
Musculoskeletal problems: This is a primary area for physical therapy to help you. With vulvar pain there is typically pelvic floor dysfunction. There also may be myofascial restrictions in the abdomen, spine, hips or thighs. Underlying biomechanical problems in your hips, back or elsewhere need to be addressed. Any scar tissue (C-section, hernia scars, other abdominal, back or hip surgeries) is also assessed and treated by our pelvic PTs. Because we are fully trained orthopedic physical therapists who specialize in pelvic health, spine, neck and TM joint pain, we will treat any orthopedic problem you have. We have found that, indeed, treating things like your stiff ankle or bad back are very important to helping you resolve pelvic pain. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy to help vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Neurologic conditions, either in the central or peripheral nervous system.
Neuroproliferation: This is a common for vulvar pain. One reason you hurt may be that you have more nerves in that region than someone who doesn’t experience pain. Our treatments for vulvodynia are specifically designed to be gentle and therapeutic to enhance the health of your nerves and reduce pinched nerve irritation.
Psychosocial factors: We take into consideration you, as a whole person. We like to understand your lifestyle, activities you enjoy, your goals and stressors. Having vulvodynia or vaginismus is no picnic and we understand that you may also experience things such as anxiety, depression or mood changes. Our PTs are here to support you towards feeling like yourself again and can help you find a counselor who is a good fit for you, if this would be helpful. We also consider your cultural beliefs regarding sexual health, coping style, interpersonal relationships and sexual function. We provide compassionate and trauma-informed care, so you can expect to be treated with respect and dignity

If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy to help vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

The vulvar tissue is sensitive, keep products away from it that can bother it!

If you have persistent vulvar pain or painful sex, we will talk about nutrition, vulvar hygiene, gut/immune health and exposure to common household chemicals. Vulvovaginal pain, burning and dyspareunia can have numerous causes, so it is important to see a specialist physician who can check out your tissues and determine what is going on. Many of these causes have been found to have an inflammatory component, which is why wholistic healing approaches are warranted. Doing things that reduce your body’s inflammation, keep your allergies in check, eliminate exposure to household chemical irritants and optimize your gut and immune health can be important components of getting your vulvodynia, vulvovaginal pain, burning and dyspareunia (painful sex) to improve. Our physical therapists help guide you in this process. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy to help vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain, reach out to us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

To reduce inflammation, consider avoiding body products to the vulva and work to prevent or treat seasonal allergies. Household chemicals and seasonal allergies have a connection to vulvovaginal pain.

Research has found connections with vulvar pain conditions and having allergies or exposure to common preservatives in beauty products.

One common preservative, Methylisothiazolinone (MI), has been found to be problematic and may be in your body care and cosmetic products. It is commonly used in shampoo, conditioner, hair color, body wash, lotion, sunscreen, liquid cosmetics, personal care products and cleaning products. Its function is to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Research has found it aggravates the delicate tissue of our vulva.
Occupational exposures (via salon work, housecleaning, yard maintenance etc.) and household hygiene habits provide long-term and repeated exposure to MI and are risk factors for developing vulvar pain?

Because vulvar pain and pelvic floor dysfunction go together, alleviating your pelvic floor muscle tension will reduce your vulvar pain.

If the pelvic floor muscles are stiff, tight or in spasm, this hurts. It also reduces blood flow and can impair the nerves that go to the vulva. Our pelvic physical therapy treatment for vulvodynia and pelvic floor dysfunction is designed to restore your entire pelvis, back, hips and abdomen. We treat you wholistically and work with you to establish goals and determine underlying contributions to your vulvodynia. We all are aware that muscle tension hurts, but it is less obvious with persistent vulvar pain, vulvodynia or dyspareunia (painful sex) that muscles are involved. Treating pelvic floor dysfunction is crucial to helping persistent vulvar pain. Because there are many things contributing to your condition, we work very diligently to provide you treatment that identifies and treats you comprehensively. Some of our patients experience fear of examination or severe burning, so we begin treatment to all of the peripheral areas that are contributing to vulvar pain; this includes the abdomen, hips, inner thighs, thoracic and lumbar spine, SI joint, tailbone and other areas. If you would like more information about working with our physical therapists, whether in-person in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via an online consultation, contact us here or call us today at 616-516-4334.

Physical Therapy for provoked vulvodynia has been found to reduce pain

A recent small study confirms what our PTs have found: PT can help decrease vulvar pain.

“The average pain scores of the 24 participants reduced significantly after therapy, and 42% had no pain between treatment and the time of survey. Eighty-three percent did not undergo additional treatment after the initial physical therapy and reported high or very extremely high levels of pain reduction following treatment.

Physical therapy is an effective long-term treatment for primary or secondary PV, resulting in pain reduction and improved sexual function.”

Jahshan-Doukhy O, Bornstein J. Long-Term Efficacy of Physical Therapy for Localized Provoked Vulvodynia. Int J Womens Health. 2021 Feb 10;13:161-168. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S297389. PMID: 33603495; PMCID: PMC7882794.

What to expect with pelvic PT for vulvodynia, pelvic floor dysfunction, vulvar pain and all pelvic health conditions:

We assess your fascia throughout your body, because we know there are fascial restrictions that may be far away from your vulva that can be part of your problem.

We treat your joints, especially in your back and hips to make certain you have optimal, full range of motion in each joint so that the nerves and muscles that enter the vulva and pelvis have optimal pathways.
We treat your pelvic floor, in a very gentle and detailed way. You have several layers of pelvic floor muscles and we work specifically to determine what is the problem and how to treat them.
We gently treat your connective tissue around your vulva. This is an important piece, especially if you have Lichen Sclerosus and are developing adhesions that could compromise your clitoris and vaginal opening.
We teach you how to stop clenching and holding the vulvar region tight and stiff. This is a natural consequence of being in pain, but we need to reverse this problem so that the region can restore blood flow, be less clenched and relax.
We include breathing exercises, core muscle retraining exercises, postural correction, stretching and other exercise based therapies to improve your pain.

We help you achieve your goals, whether they are to sit without pain, to experience intimacy again, to wear underwear or anything else. If you are interested in talking to one of our knowledgeable staff members to answer your questions about pelvic PT for vulvodynia and pelvic floor dysfunction, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

We offer an annual pelvic floor wellness check-up for women with chronic vulvar conditions such as lichen sclerosus and vulvodynia. Especially if you have lichen sclerosus, an annual check up to examine your tissue mobility, the pelvic floor muscles, abdominal wall, bladder and bowel control and intimacy status is advised. We wrote about our annual pelvic wellness check up here. If you would like to schedule an annual check up now, call our office at 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered and to get started. Alternatively, submit your questions here.

How do I find a physician provider who knows how to help me?

It is important that you find a medical provider who is specially trained in treating vulvar pain conditions. Medical providers will give you the diagnosis, prescriptions, biopsies and surgical options (if there are any) that may help you. Be careful in looking for an experienced provider. Your physician may have very little training in vulvar dermatology and anatomy. This is true whether your provider is a dermatologist, gynecologist or family medicine practitioner. Professional societies like The International Pelvic Pain Society or NAMS (The North American Menopause Society) have find a provider directories that may be a helpful resource.

Our physical therapy offers a natural, comprehensive adjunct care to support you and help you achieve true pain relief.

Pelvic physical therapy for vaginismus, vulvodynia, PGAD, lichen schlerosus and other pelvic health conditions is natural and without side effects. Whereas medical management by physicians tends to include medication, biopsies and sometimes (not often) surgery, our care teaches your body how to ease pain naturally. By improving your blood flow to the area, resolving pelvic floor dysfunction, optimizing your bladder and bowel, correcting your posture, enhancing your fascia, nerves, joints and strength, our pelvic health physical therapy treatment is designed to help you feel better. Our patients appreciate our pelvic PT treatment does not have the side-effects that things like medication and surgery cause. If you are interested in speaking with one of our staff members to inquire about cost and availability of our pelvic PTs, call us today at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We do recommend you work with both physical therapy and also see your pelvic physician for exams. Here are some things to look for when you go to a medical physician with your vulvar pain concerns.

Your physician provider should use a colposcope during your examination. This is basically like a special magnifying glass to see your vulva and vagina and sometimes there is a computer screen for you to see everything at the same time as the physician. You have the right to defer or refuse an internal exam, if you prefer. You physician will likely prescribe medications and sometimes will take a biopsy to confirm your diagnosis. You should expect to be taken seriously, cared for with compassion and to receive a proper diagnosis. If you are told to relax, to drink wine or that you just need to live with this problem and no treatment is offered, this is not what you need.

If a pelvic PT examines me, how is this different than what a physician does?

Our physical therapists spend one hour with you, one-on-one to take a comprehensive history and examination. Our pelvic physical therapy evaluatioin is conducted using our whole body framework, which includes a musculoskeletal assessment of your body, pelvic exam and assessment of bladder and bowel issues. In addition to these things we:

*Discuss what provokes your pain

*Assess and treat bladder, bowel and prolapse symptoms.

*Assess and treat your spine, hips, thighs and abdomen because problems here can contribute to vulvar pain and pelvic floor dysfunction

*If you permit a vulvar and vaginal exam, we proceed very gently and begin with visual inspection of your tissues.

*We look for a variety of things in the vulva and vestibule, including the pelvic floor muscles, nerve irritation, the color of your skin, the growth (or lack of) of hair, signs of inflammation, fibrosis, adhesions, Bartholin’s glands issues and more.

*We want to see if your labia minora and majora are clearly defined, or do you have structural changes in these areas?

*You will receive a Q-tip test, which gently applies a Q-tip to touch very specific areas of your vulva and vestibule. We ask you whether it hurts or not. The specific areas where you have pain give us clues about what is generating your pain.

*A complete pelvic floor muscles assessment (either external or internally, depending on your comfort). We assess your superficial and deep pelvic floor muscles for signs of tension, weakness, trigger points and dysfunction.

*We examine your vulva, vestibule, clitoral hood and look for remnants of hymen. This is all very gentle and conducted with your permission, while educating you and explaining everything we are finding.

If you would like to speak with one of our staff members about your condition to determine if we may be able to help you, contact us here or call us today at (616) 516-4334.

Should I get a biopsy?

It is recommended that you get a punch biopsy when you have a lesion or tissue that looks different than expected. If your tissue does not have any lesions and there are no appearance changes then the biopsy is not recommended. It is common that some vulvar dermatologic conditions may be misdiagnosed as a yeast infection, vitiligo or herpes and a biopsy will definitively shed light on what condition you have. While recurrent yeast infections do occur, you also may probe your physician if you believe there is something else going on beyond a yeast infection. Could a biopsy or a good exam determine if there is an underlying condition going on?

There are various types of conditions that start with the word “lichen”, such as lichen planus, lichen sclerosus and lichen simplex chronicus. A biopsy helps determine if you have these or other conditions.

Could I have lichen sclerosus?

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a particular condition where the tissue changes its texture and architecture, tends to get whitish, it may appear crinkly or waxy. You may have fissures and loss of your labia minora. You may experience fusion of the tissue over the clitoral hood. Narrowing of the vaginal opening can occur with this, so tearing may be present during intercourse and sex is generally painful. Our pelvic physical therapists treat lichen sclerosus and we’ve written more detail about that care here. More than 30% of people with lichen sclerosus also have an autoimmune disease such as thyroiditis, pernicious anemia, vitiligo and alopecia areata. If a person has LS there is a 3-6% risk of developing vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, so it is important to do self-checks using a mirror so you are familiar with what your vulvar skin looks like and is important to see your provider regularly. Steroid treatment should be reserved until after a biopsy result comes through because some of these conditions benefit most from steroid treatment, whereas other conditions don’t benefit from steroids and they are actually not good for those conditions. Clobetasol is the treatment of choice for lichen sclerosus and should be used continuously, as prescribed and optimal use of Clobetasol is the best way to reduce vulvar cancer risk. Once the active disease has been resolved then the adhesions that are narrowing the opening at the vaginal area can be removed. There is research being performed on the use of platelet rich plasma to treat lichen sclerosus, so that is something to keep your eye on. Fractional CO2 laser has also had some research for treating vaginal atrophy and LS. If you have lichen sclerosus and would like information about pelvic physical therapy to treat your LS, reach out to us here or call our office to talk to one of our staff members, 616-516-4334.

Vulvodynia and persistent vulvovaginal pain are frustrating. Pelvic PT can help you!

We help women overcome their vulvar pain and learn what to do at home to help pelvic pain and vulvar pain. Having helped individuals with persistent pelvic pain, our pelvic health PTs provide you the experience and compassionate care you deserve. Our whole-body treatment approach and ability to improve pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic pain is likely quite different & more comprehensive than what you have tried. If you are wondering if we may be able to help you and want to learn more, contact us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff. Before scheduling an appointment, we can discuss your condition and see if we think we can help you. Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Purple Mountain Physical Therapy is a specialty pelvic health, pelvic pain, back, neck and TM joint disorder clinic. Our PTs provide therapeutic services that are compassionate and patient focused and help get you back to feeling like yourself again. If you are interested in learning more about what we offer call 616-516-4334.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in treatment for pelvic pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, vulvar pain, TM joint disorders and back pain

To read more about our clinc and treatment, you may be interested in these articles

Vaginismus and Dyspareunia Treatment in Grand Rapids

Physical Therapy for Lichen Sclerosus

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Physical Therapy Resolves Vaginismus and Dyspareunia

What Can I Do Naturally to Help My TMJ? 8 Tips That Help!

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches

Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!

References:

Kline JM, Arriaga-Gomez E, Yangdon T, Boo B, Landry J, Saldías-Montivero M, Neamonitaki N, Mengistu H, Silverio S, Zacheis H, Pasha D, Martinov T, Fife BT, Chatterjea D. Repeated dermal application of the common preservative methylisothiazolinone triggers local inflammation, T cell influx, and prolonged mast cell-dependent tactile sensitivity in mice. PLoS One. 2020 Oct 26;15(10):e0241218. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241218. PMID: 33104726; PMCID: PMC7588120.

Loflin BJ, Westmoreland K, Williams NT. Vulvodynia: A Review of the Literature. J Pharm Technol. 2019 Feb;35(1):11-24. doi: 10.1177/8755122518793256. Epub 2018 Aug 20. PMID: 34861006; PMCID: PMC6313270.

Morin M, Carroll MS, Bergeron S. Systematic review of the effectiveness of physical therapy modalities in women with provoked vestibulodynia. Sex Med Rev. 2017;5:295–322. doi: 10.1016/j.sxmr.2017.02.003

How Do You Feel About Your Postpartum Recovery? Would Pelvic PT help you?

Being Pregnant and Postpartum can be an Overwhelming Experience and Definitely Changes Our Body! Pelvic Floor PT is a Key Component of Your Postpartum Recovery.

Each of us will experience our unique emotional reactions to the changes in our body! You don’t have to know all the answers. Expert help from a pelvic floor PT will take your postpartum recovery to the next level!

How do these changes in your postpartum body make you feel? What do you think about your body now? If you are struggling with disappointment in your pregnant or postpartum body, we can help you get back to feeling more like yourself when you join us to complete a postpartum PT recovery program. Pregnancy and the postpartum period carry a risk of low back pain, pelvic girdle pain (such as SI joint pain, pubic bone pain, coccyx pain), painful sex, pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti abdominus and urinary incontinence. This is quite a long list, actually, of unfortunate things that you be experiencing as a result of being pregnant. The good news is that working with us will give you a comprehensive evaluation and treatment program to ensure you get your body back into top form. Pregnancy changes our posture, breathing, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, bladder, bowels and sex life. We can help you recover all of these things! Contact us to start seeing results sooner than later!

What should your postpartum recovery program look like and include? Pelvic floor PT help you get your body back and return to an active life!

Check you for a diastasis recti abdominus and develop a program of recovery from this.
Evaluate and treat every muscle of your pelvic floor to determine how each one is working and to get each one to come back to function.
Teach you how to recover optimal breathing function, which was disrupted when you were pregnant and the baby moved your diaphragm. Recovering breathing is crucial to recovering your pelvic floor function.
Take you through a progressive exercise program to restore your pelvic floor strength, coordination, function and speed.
Address your posture, especially increased midback hunch, tight shoulders, forward head and tilted pelvis. Pregnancy changes your fascia and postural alignment and we look at this and help you correct it.
Optimize your pelvic organ support, a very important part of addressing pelvic organ prolapse.
Strengthen your back and abdominals so you can confidently lift your baby and everything else you need to lift.
Get you back to higher level activities including jumping, skipping and running.

Research confirms that exercise and hands-on care for pregnant women can help their low back pain

“Exercise (any exercise on land or in water), may reduce pregnancy‐related low‐back pain and any exercise improves functional disability and reduces sick leave more than usual prenatal care. Evidence from single studies suggests that acupuncture or craniosacral therapy improves pregnancy‐related pelvic pain, and osteomanipulative therapy or a multi‐modal intervention (manual therapy, exercise and education) may also be of benefit.”

Liddle SD, Pennick V. Interventions for preventing and treating low‐back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD001139. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001139.pub4. Accessed 11 July 2022.

Pregnancies and a live baby were hard to come by in my experience.

I was one of the healthiest people I knew. I was fit and active. I was a physical therapist and knew how to help women through their pregnancy. I had a regular cycle and zero clue that becoming a mother would take years of tears, pregnancy losses, hopelessness and digging in. I had to discover holistic ways to facilitate fertility, I had to work on stress/mind/body/spirit. I had to call on my faith to get us through this. I did just about everything under the sun to facilitate becoming a mother. If you have experienced infertility you know what I’m talking about. Yep, I did everything. Everything.

My postpartum experience wasn’t so peachy, either. I had to do extensive pelvic floor PT, abdominal wall recovery and rebuilding my strength and conditioning.

In my first 30 days postpartum I had emergency surgeries and spent ten hellish days in the hospital. My family was amazing and scared to death for me. It is not an exaggeration to say it looked like I wasn’t going to make it. The will got drawn up in the hospital bed and the priest came. It was a serious and dangerous and God-awful experience. I had two kids under two years old who were not allowed at the hospital. My family and friends were amazing and provided around the clock care for our kids, with my husband shuttling between the hospital and the two locations where our kids were staying. My family wanted to touch base with me or my husband each hour to see how I was doing, because it seemed to change rapidly and would go downhill fast. We were desperate to get me stable, but the roller coaster had begun and it was decidedly out of control. And, remember, I was one of the healthiest people I knew! I was an athlete, super healthy eater, had come to pregnancy after completing years of holistic healing. And. Still. It. All. Went. Wrong. Until it went right! Yay! Eventually I stabilized and got to go home, exhausted and uncertain if I would be able to take care of our two kids. And my body was a wreck. My pelvic floor was a disaster (so many surgeries and my labor and delivery had done a number on me), my abdominal wall had a huge diastasis recti abdominus, all of my body muscles had atrophied. I remember looking at my calves when I was in the hospital and shedding a tear at how atrophied they became. It happened so quickly, over a matter of two weeks. My OBGyne said “well, you’ve lost all of your pregnancy weight and then some.” And I remember replying “It is all atrophy. I will weight lift and get it back.” And I did. It took a long time & a lot of discipline to recover my abdominal wall and pelvic floor and to get strong again. But I did it, with the help of pelvic PT and my clinical background in how to take a woman through a safe and progressive postpartum recovery program.

Now you know a bit about how I got to be the person I am today. I have been through an epic pregnancy and postpartum recovery and found a path forward that is authentically grateful, happy, strong and whole! And we offer this wisdom and understanding to my patients. We know our patient’s pregnancy and postpartum experiences feel like a huge challenge to them. May feel overwhelming. May feel hopeless, like you are stuck with urinary incontinence or a “mommy pooch.” I am proof positive that this is not the case. Get in touch with our knowledgeable and caring staff to see what your plan of care could look like, contact us here.

Working with individuals who are experiencing pregnancy or are postpartum is a calling for us! We love it!

We offer these women an insight, grace, clinical expertise, understanding and joyfulness for their pregnancy. I had to complete intensive postpartum PT recovery. Because of the nature of my labor and delivery and postpartum complications I had serious work to do to recover my pelvic floor, abdominal wall, strength, conditioning and function. I did the hard work. And, I know the commitment it takes to reach your goals. It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes real insight and expertise to provide postpartum pelvic health physical therapy to a woman. It is an honor to work with women who are pregnant and postpartum. Read more about the benefits of pelvic floor PT.

We have advanced training in providing pregnant and postpartum women pelvic floor PT and designing a postpartum recovery fitness program.

And my training dates back to the 1990s! So, I’ve been studying and treating pregnancy and postpartum recovery for more than 2 decades! Many pregnant women come to us experiencing miserable pelvic pain. It might be their SI joint hurts, or their pubic bones are grinding everytime they move their leg, or they cannot roll in bed without back pain. Or it might be that they are experiencing urinary incontinence or pelvic floor muscle spasms or a diastasis recti. We can help all of these conditions! How lucky are we? It is truly an honor to help women during their pregnancy and postpartum periods.

We offer compassionate, patient-focused holistic treatment for people who are suffering from pelvic conditions! Are you interested in addressing your postpartum recovery? Call Today for Information on our Program.

Continue reading →

Oh no, I am having stress incontinence! What natural treatments can I do?

Stress Incontinence: Natural and conservative treatment options to improve your urinary control!

We often work with women and men who experience stress urinary incontinence and are looking for natural treatments, rather than medications or surgery. The age, backgrounds and lifestyle of these patients vary wildly and, no, not everyone is experiencing the urinary leakage because they had a baby (this is obvious for men, but it can be assumed women only experience stress incontinence due to childbirth). The good news is that there are natural and safe options you can undertake to improve your stress incontinence, that do not involve surgery nor medications. If your goal is natural treatments for stress incontinence, you are in the right place! Get in touch here!

Stress Incontinence Basic Overview:

When speaking of stress urinary incontinence we are talking specifically about the involuntary loss of urine that occurs with some activities that put pressure on your bladder and urinary control system. Most often you hear about leaking happening with laughing, coughing and sneezing because these activities cause a large increase in intra-abdominal pressure. When you have increased intra-abdominal pressure, the bladder control mechanisms must be able to tolerate and respond to this intra-abdominal pressure to avoid leaking urine. With stress incontinence, the system is overwhelmed and urine readily escapes. We commonly treat individuals who experience stress incontinence with activities such as walking, getting up from a chair, moving in and out of a car and bending over to pick something up. Regardless of whether your stress incontinence occurs with higher level activities (jumping, running, jumping jacks) or more benign daily activities (walking, changing positions, bending over), all of the suggestions in this blog can help you. Or you can contact us here to get in touch!

Female vs Male Stress Urinary Incontinence, Key Differences:

Female Stress Urinary Incontinence

Stress incontinence is something that can occur in young, female athletes who’ve never had a baby. All the athletic moves such as jumping and quick directional changes can place a lot of force through the abdomen and genitourinary system and for some young athletes, their body cannot manage this. It is common when we work with women that their stress incontinence dates back to their youth. They often remember losing urine when having a fun laughing attack in their youth or when playing their high school sports, for example. Following pregnancy, a woman’s pelvis and pelvic floor muscles change and an unfortunate consequence for many women is stress urinary incontinence. Many women have heard of or know friends who have undergone surgery for their stress incontinence, but most women we know would prefer to avoid surgery and instead are looking for natural treatments for their stress incontinence. Read more about the benefits of our physical therapy here!

Male Stress Urinary Incontinence

In men, the most common reason for their stress urinary incontinence is having a prostate procedure, usually a prostatectomy but also following a TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate). Post-prostatectomy incontinence rates vary in research, but can be as much as 80% of men. About 6-8% of men who have a prostatectomy will experience longstanding stress incontinence, but rest assured that there are things you can do to help this, including physical therapy. Research shows that about 30-40% of men will experience stress incontinence following TURP, but typically it will resolve. Unfortunately, for 0.5-1.0% of men following TURP, their stress incontinence does not go away, after 6 months.

How the prostatectomy or TURP causes urinary incontinence:

Why does a prostatectomy cause stress incontinence? It is because your anatomy is changed because the radical prostatectomy removed a number of your urinary control mechanisms and may also damage some of the nerves. The prostate itself provides a degree of urinary control, so its removal compromises your ability to control your urine. Normally, you have urinary sphincters that are muscular bands at the base of the bladder & prostate. These sphincters are important and keep you from unexpectedly losing urine. They remain shut, tightly, to prevent urine from leaking. When you pee, these sphincters relax and dilate so that your urine flows. With a prostatectomy the prostate is removed and your sphincters are also part of the process. Surgically, the bladder is connected to the urethra (in the area where the prostate used to be). Anecdotally, our patients sometimes tell us that they do perceive their urethra to be shorter after their prostate has been removed. Just about all men have some amount of urinary leakage immediately following their procedure, but with physical therapy and specific strengthening exercises you can improve urinary control. Call us at 616.516.4334 or contact us to learn more about our plans of care.

I don’t want to leak urine all the time! What are my natural, conservative treatment options for stress incontinence?

There are numerous things you can do to help your stress urinary incontinence.

Bladder retraining and fluid intake balance

When we are talking about stress incontinence natural treatments one of the first places to start is to look at bladder retraining, behavioral changes and fluid intake. A physical therapist can help you learn how to retrain your bladder and can troubleshoot and advise you on your fluid intake. We often find that individuals are scared to lose urine so they unnecessarily empty their urine prematurely, which can in the long-run not work in their favor. Ideally, your bladder is strong and able to fill and hold a normal amount of urine, without experiencing bladder spasms, urgency and frequency. We also see people have vast problems with their fluid intake. Some people avoiding drinking, so they are dehydrated. Other people sip and drink water all day long, which for some people makes it hard to hold your urine. In some cases fluids like caffeine can worsen bladder control. A PT can help you figure out what would be the most strategic fluid intake for your circumstances. Contact us for more info!

Weight Loss is a great natural treatment option for stress incontinence

Yes, losing weight is shown to reduce stress incontinence! Do you have an extra 5-10 pounds on you (Or more?). Extra weight places more strain and pressure through the bladder, urethra and pelvic floor. Losing even 5 pounds can have a beneficial effect on your stress incontinence. While losing weight can feel like a challenge, the rewards it brings are totally worth it. And, if you are serious about implementing natural treatments for your stress incontinence, this one is a big one to accomplish! Contact us for more info!

Pelvic floor muscle training with a pelvic physical therapist

When an individual experiences stress incontinence your pelvic floor muscles typically are not functioning properly. Research has shown that pelvic floor muscle training can improve your symptoms. It has also shown to help for pelvic organ prolapse symptoms, which is a condition common to women, and something that contributes to stress incontinence. Training your muscles does take time, research seems to show it takes 3-6 months of consistent work to get the benefits you are looking for. So, the trick is to be consistent and make the commitment to doing your exercises. Training these muscles is the ultimate natural treatment for stress incontinence. Seriously, if you have stress incontinence these muscles are always dysfunctional and you must address this. Contact us for more info!

What exercises should I be doing to train my pelvic floor muscles?

Working with a pelvic health therapist you will learn a wide variety of exercises clinically shown to help improve urinary control. Exercise is nature’s gift, as it is a natural treatment for stress incontinence that has no unpleasant side effects, like you would experience with pharmaceuticals and surgery. There is not one exercise to do and, definitely, doing a “kegel” is not what we are talking about. Stress incontinence occurs when your bladder control is overwhelmed by abdominal pressure that is generated through your movements. We will assess the symphony of muscular coordination that should be occurring. We also look at your movement patterns and see if your strategies are optimal for promoting bladder control. When we help you train your pelvic floor muscles we also coordinate your breathing, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, glutes/hips and thighs and we address speed and timing. Contact us for more info!

Why we do NOT recommend you do Kegels:

We don’t recommend that you just try to work on Kegels or pelvic floor muscle training on your own at home; stress incontinence is a bigger problem than just getting a kegel to be stronger. In fact, most people we see who have stress incontinence cannot perform a kegel properly. They do it all wrong and in some cases can worsen the problem! They are often bearing down on the muscles, even when they think and perceive they are correctly tightening the muscles. Other times the muscles are already too stiff and tight, so kegels can worsen your stress incontinence. Another problem we see is the lack of correct coordination between your abdominal wall and breathing with your pelvic floor muscles. Additionally, in men, we see a tendency to recruit the wrong muscles when they do kegels such that they are unlikely to get much benefit to help their incontinence. We also see, in both women and men, a tendency to “cheat” using your glutes and thighs, which does you no good and, in fact, can give you a false perception that you are helping yourself. We also see people who commonly have a problem in their abdominal wall that can contribute to your stress incontinence. This problem, a diastasis recti abdominus (DRA), is a widening of your linea alba that causes a disruption in your body’s ability to transfer load through your trunk, thus rendering it easier to lose your urine. Before we begin pelvic floor muscle training, we assess you for a DRA and if this is a problem you have, then we treat that as well. Working with a pelvic health PT will give you the best chance of improving your stress incontinence and we can teach you what to be doing at home so you can add these things to your workouts. Contact us for more info!

Pessary, an option for women.

A pessary is a small item that is custom fitted by your physician for your anatomy and is inserted in your vagina. Pessaries come in many different shapes and sizes to help correct your anatomy when you have a pelvic organ prolapse. Combining a pessary with behavioral changes and pelvic floor muscle training, as described above, was found to have better improvement than only wearing a pessary. Put another way, a pessary all by itself might not eradicate your stress incontinence, but if you also work on improving your pelvic floor awareness, strength and coordination while making some behavioral changes, you have a better chance of meeting your goals. Just as most women are comfortable using a tampon, a pessary is something a woman can learn to insert and remove by herself. Getting fitted for a pessary happens at your doctor’s office, preferably a urogynecologist who is specially trained in measuring your prolapse and fitting you for a pessary. In one study, 73% of women who were given a pessary were happy enough with it to continue wearing this after one year. If you have a pessary, usually there are regular follow ups with your physician to ensure everything is going all right with it. How often you have a follow up depends on your physician’s preferences and your body, menopausal status and other considerations. Sometimes follow up checks for your pessary would be every 3 months, other times it could be every 6 months or once a year. Based on my experience as a pelvic health PT, I find that pessaries are under-utilized and not well known. They are, in fact, an excellent natural treatment for stress incontinence and most women, can adapt well to wearing one. You don’t even feel it, once it is inside you and fitted well. Contact us for more info!

Address and improve your constipation

Improving urinary control can happen when you get your bowels regulated. Individuals who have extreme constipation may face stool impaction and this has been shown to worsen urinary control. Additionally, straining to have a BM is a strain on your pelvic floor muscles, the exact muscles that are needed to be in tip-top shape to maintain continence. For any person I am working with who presents with issues related to stress incontinence, I always assess and help them with their bowel regularity. Getting your bowel movements optimized is a natural treatment for stress incontinence and, for some people, can be an “easy win” towards getting their urinary control improved. Contact us for more info!

There is hope! You can improve your stress incontinence if you undertake the above tips!

The bottom line is that stress incontinence, although a frustrating and common condition in both women and men (following prostate surgeries), is not normal and can be improved with targeted efforts. By implementing a combination of efforts listed in this blog you can improve your constipation. Do you need to lose a few pounds? Cut back on your caffeine? Retrain your pelvic floor, breathing and core muscles? Improve your constipation? Get a pessary? These are many natural treatments for stress incontinence that can help you, so please do not assume you are stuck with this problem. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT offers expert and customized care specific to your body, your movement patterns, your muscular dysfunction and your bladder. If you feel you would benefit from expert, directed guidance to help you improve your stress incontinence, call us today at 616-516-4334. We always enjoy answering your questions and helping you determine your next best steps!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder of Purple Mountain PT. We love this work and are here to help you regain control of your bladder.

You may be interested in these other articles we’ve written:

What Can I Do Naturally to Help My TMJ? 8 Tips That Help!

Does Pelvic Floor Therapy Work for Prolapse?

Does Physical Therapy Help Endometriosis?

5 Tips To Ease Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Bladder Problems. What’s Going On?

Vaginismus and Dyspareunia Treatment in Grand Rapids

8 Ways Pelvic PT Helps IBS

What Can I Do Naturally to Help My TMJ? 8 Tips That Help!

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

SI Joint Treatment in Grand Rapids

Do You Need Specialized SI Joint Treatment in Grand Rapids? Are you looking for more than run-of-the-mill care that doesn’t work?

We offer comprehensive SI joint treatment right here in Grand Rapids, so you can finally feel better again. If you are tired of your SI joint pain and looking to get out of pain with natural and safe treatments, we are here to help you. To reach out to us with your questions about our SI joint treatment or to learn if we may be able to help you, call us here or submit an inquiry with your questions and we will be in touch with you. We love this work and have experience and dedication to helping people who have SI joint pain.

If you have questions about our SI joint treatment here in Grand Rapids or if you may qualify for a remote consultation, call us at 616-516-4334 to talk to one of our knowledgable team members or ask us a question here and we will be in touch!

We offer comprehensive and specialized whole body care to evaluate and treat your SI joint and pelvic condition so you can experience relief of pain and improved function.

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy our licensed physical therapists have specialized training specific to treating stubborn SI joint pain. Because of our specialty, we have treated countless people who have SIJ pain and provided them with a comprehensive physical therapy rehabilitation program that treats the myriad things that are causing their pain. If you are wanting help from someone who truly knows how to improve SI joint pain and dysfunction, you have found the right place. To talk with one of our knowledgable staff members contact us here, you can call us directly or submit an online inquiry about SI joint treatments and we will be in touch with you.

Our SI joint treatments are not limited to just cracking or adjusting your SI joint. We do balance your pelvis and SI joint through gentle joint mobilization and manual therapies and also broaden our plan of care to include corrective exercises that use the power of your own body to re-coordinate the stability around your SI joint.

The manual therapies we offer include a variety of methods. These may include myofascial release, muscle energy technique, strain counterstrain methods, manually resisted exercise, triplanar release, trigger point release and joint mobilization to alleviate your muscle guarding and to improve your stiff joints. The corrective exercises include functional movement pattern retraining, core stabilization, pelvic stability exercises, balance exercises, postural improvement exercises, breathing, spine & hip mobility, fascia stretching exercises and more. Everything we do is customized to your needs and findings. We never work with another patient while you have your appointment, because we don’t think that is right and best for you. If you are interested in learning more about Purple Mountain Physical Therapy you can contact us here.

We love it when people reach out to us to talk about their SI joint pain to see if we can help you. We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan and providing SI joint treatment is something we are devoted to doing well. You get the benefit of receiving comprehensive treatment and working with experienced and specialized physical therapists in a one-on-one setting, with private appointments that are upto 55 minutes in length.

You never work with an aide, for example. And we never leave your side because you need our instructions in how to properly complete your exercises and the new movement patterns we will teach you. We also often use hands-on manual therapy techniques, such as cupping or myofascial work, while you are moving and exercising. If this sounds of interest to you, but you still have some questions, give us a call here or submit an online question and we will be in touch with you.

Who benefits from our SI Joint treatment?

We treat adolescents, women and men who have SIJ pain, low back pain, pelvic girdle pain or hip injuries. We help people who have an acute SI joint injury or episode of pain. This may be from sports, pregnancy, labor and delivery, heavy lifting or from out of the blue. We also work with people who have longstanding and chronic issues related to on and off SI joint pain and, often hip or low back pain, also.

While some of our patients come to us with acute SIJ pain that hurts to walk, change positions or sit, other patients have chronic SIJ pain that flares up intermittently.

Many of the people who we provide SIJ treatment for here at our clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via remote consultation (if you qualify) have already tried a lot of things to help their pain and cannot get it to fully resolve. We have found that our comprehensive SIJ treatments that include the pelvic floor muscles as well as whole body posture, strength and alignment correction are key to helping you get rid of SIJ pain. Many of our patients are pregnant and worried that they may not be able to walk or function in their third trimester. Our treatments for pregnancy and postpartum SIJ pain provide genuine pain relief. Some of the athletes we have treated who have SIJ pain seem to have developed the problem related to the repetitive nature of their sport, such volleyball players who jump and land on one leg often. Or yoga masters whose stability is lacking. All of our treatments are safe and natural and use the power of customized corrective exercises and gentle manual therapy to get you feeling better. If you are interested in learning more about our SI joint pain treatment here in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via remote consultaiton, give us a call or reach out to us here with your questions and we will be in touch.

You Need Comprehensive SI Joint Treatment that includes pelvic floor treatment because your pelvic floor muscles attach to the inside of your pelvic bones and can contribute to chronic SI joint pain. Especially if you have “tried everything” and continue to have chronic SI joint pain, we encourage you to get your pelvic floor muscles evaluated and treated, they are often part of the reason why you cannot resolveyour pain.

Did you know that your piriformis muscle, which many people who have SI Joint problems are familiar with, is part of your pelvic floor and attaches directly to your sacrum? Tension, weakness or imbalances in your right and left piriformis need to be treated when addressing SI joint pain. There are additional pelvic floor muscles, also, that influence your SI joint. Most of the pelvic floor muscles attach directly to your coccyx tailbone. Because the coccyx has a joint with the sacrum, any pelvic floor muscles (that attach to the coccyx) that may be weak, tense or dysfunctional can pull on the coccyx. This tension and pulling on the coccyx can greatly effect the sacrum contribute to SI joint pain. That’s why our SI joint treatment program will check your pelvic floor muscles and determine if they are problematic. We find that SI joint problems rarely are happening in isolation. We will figure this out with you and develop a customized treatment program for you. Contact us here!

We Provide You A Detailed & Comprehensive SI Joint Evaluation and Treatment Plan That is Probably Different than You’ve Had Before!

SI joint pain can be debilitating and we offer a comprehensive treatment program that helps move you forward. Our treatment approach to chronic or acute SI joint pain is to assess and treat you comprehensively. Our licensed physical therapists specialize in treating pelvic floor dysfunction, back, neck and TMJ disorders. We are also fully trained and experienced general orthopedics physical therapists.

Our SI joint treatment approach is customized to each person’s goals, findings and abilities.

We treat issues such as your posture and your head being forward because this posture influences the position of your lumbar spine and SI joint.
We also look at your feet and angles of your knees and hips because these influence your SI joint.
If you have weakness, tightness or movement patterns that are not optimal, we customize your treatments to include corrective exercises for these areas so your SI joint can experience relief.
Some people with SI joint dysfunction also experience prolapse, uterine related pain (due to the uterosacral ligament), hip pain or bladder control problems and we provide treatment to these issues as part of your SI joint treatment plan.
We’ve found some of our patients have gluteal tendinopathy, a separate tendinitis condition in the glutes that is quite painful and alters your pelvic stability and strength.

Our comprehensive care includes assessment and treatment of the SI joint, hips, pubic bones, low back and all associated muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments, including the pelvic floor muscles. Pregnant women, we’ve got you covered! We know how to help you navigate SI joint dysfunction, pelvic girdle pain and low back pain. Call us at 616.516.4334 or contact us here to ask us a question or to get started.

Your natural and effective SI Joint Treatment will include assessment and treatment of your entire core

When we are developing your SI joint treatment plan, we customize our program to your needs and findings. In particular, you will be pleased to see that we evaluate and treat all of the muscles attached to your pelvis.

We also consider all of the muscles above (such as your abdominals, hip flexors, lower back, mid back, diaphragm & ribcage and others) and below the pelvis (such as your hamstrings, adductors, calves and feet) and how they may contribute to SI joint dysfunction and pain. This means that our SI joint treatment at our clinic in Grand Rapids or via a remote consultation will include a large variety of corrective exercises directed to rehabilitating your abdominals, breathing, lower back, scapula stabilizers, glutes, inner thighs, pelvic floor, hamstrings and calves. When we work with you in-person we also include manual therapies such as myofasical release, trigger point release, pelvic and lumbar spine joint mobilization, hip stretching and others. If you would like more information about our SI joint treatment, please reach out to us here to speak with a knowledgable member of our staff. We love to answer your questions and determine if we may be able to help you.

The Importance of a Proper SI Joint Evaluation

We have set up our clinic procedures, including your evaluation, to provide you a welcoming environment with 55 minute appointment times to ensure we have the time to properly evaluate your SI joint problem. Research and years of experience have taught us that there are specific tests and measures that need to be done to evaluate an individual with SI joint dysfunction. We will evaluate your joints and your muscles, as well as your ligaments, fascia and nerves. If you have any other chronic pain condition such as endometriosis, orchialgia, dyspareunia, interstitial cystitis, pelvic organ prolapse pain or chronic pelvic pain, we have effective and safe treatments for these that will be addressed as part of your SI joint treatment. We look at your posture and alignment, from your feet to your knees and hips up to your shoulders and neck. Let us know what you need help with!

Your muscle spasms, tightness and misalignment will improve

By providing a combination of specific, graduated exercises and advanced manual therapy methods to optimize alignment, reduce trigger points and muscle guarding we help you feel better. We don’t just tell you to stretch it out! In fact, many of our patients have been told to stretch their problem, which can aggravate an SI joint condition when not done carefully. By restoring your boney alignment, using methods that balance your pelvis and SI joint, you will feel things are in place again! Addressing underlying pelvic floor muscular problems is sadly often overlooked, but is necessary to recover from SI joint dysfunction. A typical patient with SI Joint Dysfunction comes to us with a considerable amount of pelvic floor dysfunction. Once we treat these muscles, in conjunction with everything else provided, the condition will begin to heal. To chat with our knowledgeable staff, contact us here!

Patients tell us that their evaluation and treatment plan is so much more detailed than anything they’ve had before. If you are looking for true results for your SI joint pain, we are your physical therapists!

We love this work and getting to know you. We are the type of physical therapists who read about SI joint pain just for fun! You will be working with a physical therapist who has devoted herself to developing clinical skills to best help you. That is the difference. The one on one treatments, where we never leave your side, will give you everything you need to have the best opportunity to improve your SI joint pain. If you are suffering from SIJ syndrome and are frustrated with lack of progress or just worried that this will never go away, come give us a try. We want to make sure we are a good fit for you, so call us or ask us a question here online. You can reach us at 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered. We promise to give you specialized, compassionate care that is designed to help you feel better!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

You may also be interested in these other articles we have written:

Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!

Sciatica Treatment in Grand Rapids

Does Physical Therapy Help Endometriosis?

What Does TMJ Physical Therapy Help?

5 Tips To Ease Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

If You Think You Have A Small Bladder and You are Always Going to the Bathroom More Often than Every 2-4 Hours, You may Benefit from Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Overactive Bladder. We are Right Here in Grand Rapids and We Specialize in this Condition!

How Do I Know if I have an Overactive Bladder? What is Normal?

The Harmful Effects of Overactive Bladder

High Quality Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy is an Excellent Treatment for Overactive Bladder. The American Urological Association (of which we are a member!) has guidelines from 2019 that recommend pelvic floor therapy as a First-Line Treatment for your OAB.

Will You Be Teaching Me How to Do a Kegel?

Rest assured, that when you choose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for your pelvic floor PT for overactive bladder, you will receive customized treatment based specifically on your body’s findings. We do not provide cookie-cutter treatments that are ineffective.

What Does Pelvic Floor PT for Overactive Bladder Involve? Each Treatment Session Effectively Gives You A “Bladder Balancing Treatment”.

Will You Mostly Be Treating My Pelvic Floor?

Our Pelvic Floor Treatments Are Research Proven to Help Overactive Bladder

Am I A Good Candidate for Pelvic Floor PT for My Overactive Bladder?

There is High Quality Help for Your Overactive Bladder. You Don’t Have To Live with This! If you are interested in receiving an evaluation for your condition, call our office today at 616.516.4334 and we would consider it an honor to be part of your healing journey!

Peace,

You may be interested in reading these other articles we’ve written about how we can help you:

Are You Feeling Frustrated by Ongoing Testicular Pain? Have You Seen Your Physician Providers and Found They Are Unable to Resolve Your Pain? Well, Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (orchialgia) is Your Next Best Step Towards Feeling Better.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pain are Associated with Chronic Scrotal Pain!

This is well published in the medical research, but, unfortunately, urologists are not in the habit of referring patients to pelvic PT for testicular pain, so you are usually left on your own to figure this out. Most Men Find Our Clinic by Googling and Stumbling Upon Us. Contact us here!

What are Your Treatment Options? Why Would Pelvic PT help Testicular Pain?

A Pelvic PTs Experience Treating Testicular Pain

Pelvic Physical Therapy for Orchialgia Can Be Very Effective!

Multi-Modal Treatment May Help You!

How Do I Know If I am a Candidate for Pelvic PT?

Men who have a pelvic exam that identifies pelvic floor dysfunction are good candidates for pelvic physical therapy.

Your High Tone Pelvic Floor Will Be Gently and Effectively Treated With Our Care

Your Pelvic PT Evaluation for your Chronic Testicular Pain Will Also Include a Full Orthopedic Examination & Treatment of Your Hips, Thighs, Low Back and Thoracic Spine

Men, You Likely Have Considerable Tightness in Many of the Joints and Tissues Related to Your Pelvis, Such as Your Hips, Abdominal wall, Thighs and Low Back:

What Does A Typical Appointment Involve?

What Should I Expect After An Appointment?

How Do I Get Started with Pelvic Floor PT?

You may be interested in these other articles we have written:

References

If Your Pelvic Pain Won’t Quit, Read on for 5 Tips to Ease Pelvic Pain!

What are Some Common Things That Our Patients Tell Us? Here’s an example.

Sarah’s Story: Do You See Yourself in Her Story? Names have been changed for privacy.

She found us because one of her friends told her about us, but she had already been to physical therapy for her back and that PT told her that her pelvic floor was fine.

Our examination found that she had a variety of things that we needed to address to help her pain:

5 Tips To Ease Your Pelvic Pain that Won’t Go Away!

Tip 1: Practice Diaphragmatic Breathing

Tip 2: Lengthen Your Pelvic Floor Muscles

Tip 3: Optimize your gut health

Tip 4: Optimize your water intake

Tip 5: Movement is Needed

Bonus Tip 6: Prioritize Sleep, Relaxation and Meditation.

For our patient, Sarah, these 5 simple tips to ease her pelvic pain got her started with a plan for what she could do at home.

A key feature of our treatment is our expert manual therapy methods and ability to diagnose and treat complex features of pelvic pain.

You Have Found The Best Pelvic Floor PTs in Grand Rapids!

Pelvic Floor PT Explained!

Some patients tell us “I was skeptical this could help my urinary urgency and frequency, but now I’m a believer because it is so much better.”

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

It all begins with the first phone call!

Your Pelvic Floor Evaluation Appointment is Holistic and our Whole Body Framework ensures you receive comprehensive insights into the multiple contributions to your condition.

Your Pelvic PT Treatment Begins Day 1! This first visit, it is our goal to begin the process of healing!

Why Should I Choose to Come To Purple Mountain Physical Therapy?

Meet Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT Pelvic Health, Spine and TM Joint Disorder Physical Therapist. Founder of Purple Mountain PT. Wife, Mother.

Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain PT to provide specialized, one-on-one treatment to her patients by giving them the time needed (upto 55 minutes each appointment) and a whole-body framework to properly and holistically treat you.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT is proud to be a member of numerous professional societies that are leading organizations in the field of pelvic health and pelvic research.

How Do I Get Started with Pelvic Floor PT? I Have Some More Questions.

Peace,

Other articles that may be of interest:

Let’s clear up the mystery of knowing if you need pelvic floor physical therapy!

This is a checklist of some common symptoms you may be experiencing that can indicate you have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.

If you have any of these then you know you need pelvic floor physical therapy:

If you know you need pelvic floor physical therapy, what should you do? Call us and we can help!

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy we provide a comprehensive pelvic health physical therapy treatment program special for pregnant and postpartum women! If you would like to read more about what we do, here is an article we wrote that details one of our postpartum patient’s experiences with us!

Peace,

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health and TM joint disorder physical therapist providing pelvic floor PT and founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

What’s holding you back from getting Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

We help women, men and kids overcome their pelvic condition, naturally and holistically, without pain medications, so that they can get back to an active life and have a smile on their face again!

Pelvic floor PT can improve your life. Here’s one patient’s feedback:

If you are hesitant to go to pelvic floor PT, you are not alone. Research has found that 80% of people put off getting the pelvic PT that their provider told them would help them!

I want to draw your attention to the final line, 64.2% of the people, who didn’t go to pelvic physical therapy, were offered “second-line” treatment.

Let’s all take a deep breath and get ourselves in the mindset that taking care of ourselves is necessary so we can feel good and take care of others! Our pelvic PTs offer compassionate, private and holistic care that combines manual therapy and exercises so you can get results.

What our patients have told us about why they chose Purple Mountain PT for their pelvic PT:

Are you interested to know some of the reasons other patients chose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for their pelvic PT needs?

Why a triathlete and female athlete should come to pelvic PT

If your hesitation is that you don’t know where to go and who can help you. Then. Stop. That. Excuse. Right. Here. You’ve found the right place for your pelvic floor PT.

If you are a CrossFit athlete, our pelvic PTs can improve your ability to control your urine

At Purple Mountain PT we specialize in providing holistic, therapeutic and compassionate care for pelvic floor dysfunction and TM joint disorders. We treat all pelvic conditions and TM joint pain conditions.

How can we say with confidence that we are the right choice for your pelvic floor PT? Because our patients tell us that all the time.

Finding the right pelvic physical therapist for you isn’t easy. We’ve made it easier for you. You can call us anytime during business hours to ask your questions of one of our knowledgeable staff members. Reach us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

What our patients tell us with regard to how their experience with us differs from other things they tried: