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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 2nd or 3rd 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.

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?

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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

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.

  1. 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!

  1. 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!

  1. 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!

  1. 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!

  1. 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!

 

 

Pelvic Floor Specialist in GR

Looking for a Pelvic Floor Specialist in GR? You’ve found the right place!

You deserve to receive your care from an experienced pelvic floor specialist who can help you get the best results. When an individual has pelvic problems, we understand your apprehension and concerns with finding someone who can help you. Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT, our founder, and the team of pelvic floor specialist physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT in GR and treat men and women, helping them achieve their goals and recover from their pelvic condition.  All of our physical therapists specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor, spine and TMJ disorders.   We treat all pelvic health conditions including abdominal and pelvic conditions that involve pain, bladder, bowel and intimacy problems.  In addition to helping adults, we treat pediatric patients with bladder and bowel problems!

What can a Pelvic Floor Specialist do for you?

We empower our patients with safe, effective and natural techniques to help improve and manage all pelvic conditions. This means we evaluate and treat pelvic floor dysfunction, abdominal wall problems, low back pain, SI joint pain, hip pain, pelvic pain, nerve pain, bladder and bowel conditions and painful intimacy. Our pelvic floor specialty care can relieve pain, address boney pelvic alignment issues, recover core muscle coordination, restore bladder and bowel function, get you back to intimacy without pain and increase strength, mobility and function. Read more here, this is a blog Dr. Maureen O’Keefe wrote for Revive Physical Therapy.

Who We Help

We help women and men with any pelvic condition involving bladder, bowel, sexual dysfunction and pelvic pain. We also help kids with bladder and bowel problems. Sometimes the people we help have already been to other providers to treat their condition and they are still suffering, so they come to us looking for expertise and another approach. Because we are pelvic specialists, we comprehensively treat your condition with an approach that works to holistically and naturally get you recovered. We bring over 20 years experience to your condition and we are actively engaged in keeping up with the latest developments in clinical research, so you have the best chance of getting better!

What type of conditions do our pelvic health specialist PTs treat?

Musculoskeletal pain:

  • Low back pain, stiffness, spasm, herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and sciatica
  • SI joint pain (both men and women, pregnant and not pregnant)
  • Symphysis pubic pain (men and women, pregnant and not pregnant)
  • Tailbone pain (coccydynia. Again, men and women throughout the lifespan. It is common after a fall and following labor/delivery)
  • Hip Pain, clicking, stiffness, labral tears.

Bladder, Bowel and Sexual concerns:

These pelvic symptoms may stem from a variety of things, such as:

  • Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: this is routinely found in just about every patient we treat. We are expert pelvic floor specialists and we provide you with peace of mind. Our evaluation will be very educational to you and will let you know whether you have pelvic floor dysfunction or not. And, what you can do about it, if you have it.
  • Pregnancy and postpartum related pelvic changes
  • Chronic prostatitis, endometriosis, PCOS, interstitial cystitis
  • Posture and lifestyle factors such as excessive sitting, exercise overload, high stress, poor sleep quality.
  • Surgery (C-section, hysterectomy, bladder suspension, pelvic reconstructive surgery, hernia surgery, hip labral repair surgery or other abdominal or pelvic surgeries)
  • Trauma (physical trauma and emotional trauma can influence pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic conditions)
  • Diastasis recti Abdominus (also known as abdominal separation): we are experts at evaluating men and women for this condition and helping you heal this, if you have it.

If you are experiencing any pelvic condition, live in the West Michigan or GR area and wonder if seeing a pelvic floor specialist might help you, please call us today at 616-516-4334 for more information. We are happy to answer your questions and determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic floor specialty care. Stop the angst of not knowing what is going on and call us today to find out if we might be able to help you.

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Specializing in pelvic health since 1999.

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

Vaginismus and Dyspareunia Treatment in Grand Rapids

How do I retrain my bladder after prostate removal?

What is Pelvic Floor PT?

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

9 Tips That You Need Pelvic Floor Therapy

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

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

What Does TMJ Physical Therapy Help?

Physical Therapy for Neck Pain and Headaches

Why Does My Ten Year Old Wet The Bed?

Why Does My Child Keep Wetting Their Pants?

 

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids

If you are looking for Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids or are curious as to what pelvic floor PT involves, read on!

Pelvic floor physical therapy is your solution and path forward to reclaiming your best self when you have issues related to bladder, bowel, intimacy, prolapse, genital pain, pelvic pain, hip and lower back pain.  Our licensed physical therapists specialize in treating men, women and kids who have pelvic health conditions ranging from pain to bladder and bowel problems to pelvic organ prolapse to nerve pain.   In addition to specializing in treating pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorders, all of our PTs are fully trained & experienced general orthopedic physical therapists, meaning that we are able to treat your entire body to properly and effectively address all contributing factors to your pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic condition.

If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, which we provide in-person or via remote consultation for those who qualify, contact us here.

Imagine your quality of life if you didn’t have pelvic floor problems!  Our physical therapists are here to get you active and painfree again.

What would you be able to enjoy? Wouldn’t it be great to sign up for the Bridge Run in downtown Grand Rapids? How about sitting and driving to the UP without pelvic pain? Or, picture yourself running with your kids and not worrying about your bladder or pelvic organ prolapse. Consider what your relationship might feel like if sex were not painful. Pelvic floor physical therapy can help restore you to your best self.  By combining effective corrective exercises, postural improvements, stretches, strengthening and manual therapies you will notice that you feel better again.  If you are interested in inquiring about cost and availability of our services, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, offering specialty pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, Michigan and specifically providing one-on-one appointments with your PT that includes comprehensive techniques to recover from all ranges of pelvic conditions and pelvic floor dysfunction.

While you may never have heard of pelvic floor physical therapy, our founder, Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT has specialized in pelvic health PT for more than two decades.   She practiced in Chicago working closely with major research medical centers, such as Northwestern Medicine and Loyola Medicine, with their urogynecology & reconstructive medicine departments, OB/Gynes, colorectal surgeons, chronic pain specialists, urologists and other providers.   Now living and working in Grand Rapids, Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain Physical Therapy with a goal of providing our community results-oriented, personalized and specialized pelvic health physical therapy.  All of the staff at Purple Mountain PT are fully specialized in pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorders.   Our physical therapists are also mentored by Dr. Maureen and share her devotion to delivering compassionate, comprehensive care.

To ask us questions about pelvic floor physical therapy or to simply learn more from one of our knowledgable staff members, contact us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

The Purple Mountain Physical Therapy Difference? What makes your pelvic floor physical therapy experience different here?

  • We specialize in pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorders. Therefore, you are working with a professional who focuses exclusively on these conditions
  • We provide you appointments that are upto 55 mintues in length, which allows you the time to receive comprehensive treatment.
  • You will always have the undivided attention of your physical therapist.  You never share your appointment time with another patient.
  • We never leave your side during exercises.  This is crucial because we cue you and teach you how to effectively breath, stack your posture, move, engage your core and activate your pelvic floor.  You can’t get that working with a PT who is halfway across the clinic, treating another patient instead of you.
  • We provide whole body care.  This is because we understand the complexities of pelvic health, anatomy and the many things that may be contributing to your pelvic floor dysfunction.  For example, do you have plantar fasciitis?  This can complicate pelvic floor issues.  Do you have neck problems?  This can worsen pelvic floor problems. Do you have tightness in your midback?  This can effect bladder pain and testicular pain.  Our PTs will treat anything that may be needed to get you feeling better.
  • We offer trauma informed care.  This means, we offer a therapeutic experience rooted in safety and trustworthiness.  We lead with compassion and meet you where you are at, allowing transparency with decisions.  We recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma and understand that the pelvic floor often mysteriously holds this trauma.  We are interested in undertanding your life circumstances or past experiences, if you feel comfortable sharing.  We work with you to create a safe, trusting and therapeutic relationship within the boundaries you determine that allow a path for recovery.  If you have anxiety, depression or have experienced mental, sexual, bodily or other trauma you can count on our entire clinic to meet you with compassion and respect and to provide you a safe, therapeutic place to receive your care.  You are always in control and it is very important to us to avoid re-traumatization.
  • We ensure that our therapy will meet your needs, so we focus on your goals and what is important to you.
  • All patients receive the benefit of working with two of our specialist PTs.   This team model elevates our patient’s ability to get better.   By providing you the brain, skills and experience of two of our PTs, you will be sure to receive comprehensive, meaningful and effective care.  Each appointment is one-on-one with one physical therapist and between appointments our PTs are excellent at communicating and collaborating about your care plan to prepare for your next visit.

  • To start this conversation and get your questions about pelvic floor physical therapy answered, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.  

If you want to imagine how pelvic floor physical therapy might help you, read what one patient told us following her pelvic floor physical therapy:

“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help and treatment! I feel great still and I thank God everyday for meeting you! It really changed my life and I don’t have pain! I can’t thank you enough! May God bless you and your family!”    Female, endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain

When you choose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, here are some things to expect:

You will be treated by a Doctor of Physical Therapy who has post-doctoral training in pelvic health, pelvic floor rehabilitation and pelvic floor dysfunction. This includes conditions such as female pelvic health throughout the lifespan, male pelvic health, chronic pelvic pain, sexual health, painful sex, interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, chronic prostatitis, Pudendal neuralgia, clitorodynia, persistent genital arousal disorder, coccydynia, peri-menopause and menopause related health, post-prostatectomy rehabilitation, urinary incontinence, post-partum recovery and pregnancy care.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy at Purple Mountain PT is Comprehensive and Cares for Your Whole Body.  We evaluate and treat a lot more than the pelvic floor muscles.

  • The first appointment includes both comfortable conversation & examination. 

We allow you the time to tell us your symptoms, history and goals.  The examination is customized to your needs and preferences.   Your first visit may focus on your lower back, pelvic alignment, pelvic floor strength, abdominal wall, scar tissue, hips or any other area necessary.

  • When we evaluate your back, hips, abdomen and thighs we look at strength, flexibility, muscle and fascia tissue quality, joint mobility, postural alignment, movement patterns and more.

Because everyone’s needs vary, the specifics of what you can expect might range from basic movements like standing, balancing and squat to more complex movements such as hopping or jumping.

  • You will receive an assessment of your abdominal wall to determine strength, tension, restrictions, integrity of your linea alba, rib cage movement, diaphragmatic breathing, bloating, visceral mobility and more.

Most patients are evaluated for a diastasis rectus abdominus, which is a separation of the abdominal wall. This evaluation involves you lying on the table and your physical therapist gently touching your abdomen. You also will be asked to move your body in certain, gentle ways as we assess you for a diastasis rectus abdominus (DRA).

  • We are the only clinic that offers Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging.  This is the use of ultrasound to look at your muscles and see how they are working.  In particular, we use this to see you pelvic floor muscles, you bladder position, your ability to empty your bladder, to measure constipation, to check the balance between your various abdominal muscles, to teach you to coordinate the engagement of your abs with your pelvic floor, to measure your DRA and to retrain your low back muscles.  This cutting edge technology is fabulous and our patients love it!  It takes the guesswork out of things and we can measure your progress.  You can see and learn how to better control these pesky muscles.   And the best part is that Ultrasound Imaging is included in your plan of care at no additional charge.

  • Because scar tissue can contribute to pain and other problems, we check your abdomen for scar tissue restrictions.

We will examine and treat all scars related to C-sections, robotic surgeries, hysterectomy, laparoscopic surgeries, testicular torsion surgery and hernias.  By using gentle manual therapies to this area, myofascial decompression techniques, visceral mobilization, myofascial release and other techniques, you will notice your scar feels better, lies flatter and is not contributing to issues.

To get started, you don’t need a referral or prescription; you just have to call us at 616-516-4334 and you’ll talk with one of our knowledgable team members who can answer your questions or explain what to expect.  You can also contact us here and we will be in touch with you.

With your permission, we may evaluate and treat your pelvic floor muscles to see if you have pelvic floor dysfunction:

  • Pelvic floor physical therapy may also include a gentle examination of the muscles internally, either through a vaginal exam or rectal exam.

We do not use instruments or tools, so our examinations are typically not painful. We are specialized pelvic health licensed physical therapists and we provide a detailed and gentle examination.

  • We examine every pelvic floor muscle, hip muscles, pelvic bones and joints (such as pubic bones, SI joint and tailbone), locations where nerves enter/exit the pelvis to look for pinched nerves and associated fascia throughout the pelvis.

We provide feedback and education so you know exactly what we are finding and treating.

  • Follow up appointments are often a combination of hands-on manual therapy techniques, neural calming, biofeedback, strength and conditioning, fascia flow exercise, core coordination & pelvic floor rehabilitation exercises and patient education.

  • We teach you exercises and behavioral strategies

You will know what you can do on your own to help yourself.  Patients tell us they feel so relieved to have a focused, customized plan to implement that will help their pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder problem, bowel issue, intimacy pain or other pain (such as testicular pain, pubic pain, endometriosis pain, abdominal pain or bladder pain related to interstitial cystitis).

  • Pelvic PT visits often include patient education and instruction in neural calming, pelvic floor coordination exercises, core exercises, bladder retraining strategies and other corrective exercises. 

Patients tell us that learning what they should be doing and what they need to avoid is invaluable.  Neural calming is a valuable part of our pelvic pain treatments as well as bladder, bowel and TMJ disorder physical therapy.  We may help guide you through heart rate variability training to help balance and calm your nervous system.

If you may benefit from working with one of our pelvic health physical therapists, but you have some questions, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here and we will be in touch with you.

  • For most people appointments are once a week, although this can vary. All appointments are private, 55 minutes long and with the same therapist.

We never treat another patient during your appointment and we do not utilize lesser trained aides to give you pelvic floor therapy treatment.  We want you to experience results and, therefore, we make a commitment to you and pledge to meet your needs. This is part of our patient-centered, compassionate treatment mission.

  • We offer remote consultations and telehealth appointments, also, for those who qualify. 

Some patients come to their pelvic floor physical therapy to our clinic in Grand Rapids for some visits and have telehealth visits for other visits, it depends on your needs.

  • If you are interested in talking with one of our knowledgable team members about our pelvic floor physical therapy program in Grand Rapids or a remote consultation, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.  We love to answer your questions!

Most important of all, pelvic floor physical therapy gets you back to doing the things you want to do!

We’ve had patients be able to return to just about any activity you can imagine: water skiing, traveling abroad, sitting for road trips, sexual intimacy, CrossFit workouts, jumping jacks, racquetball, basketball, fishing, running around with their kids, baking, dancing, yoga, job interviews, sitting during tax season, starting new jobs, babysitting, college and more! Tell us your goal and we will help you reach them!

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, this work is a calling and an honor to get to know you. We are in this field to improve lives, one person at a time. We enjoy meeting you, learning about your busy life and helping you get back to all the things you dream of!

Do you think you may benefit from pelvic floor Physical Therapy? Call us to inquire about cost and availability and to get your questions answered: 616-516-4334

We hope this answers some of your questions about what to expect should you need pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via a remote consultation with one of our specialized physical therapists. To answer any other questions such as cost or availability, contact us here! We promise to give you our best and to welcome you graciously.

Peace,
Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

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

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

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

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