Author| Dr. Maureen O'Keefe, DPT, specialist in pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, bladder, bowel, and intimacy conditions.

We Provide Compassionate, Effective and Whole Body Pelvic Floor Dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids

When a person needs pelvic floor physical therapy, not knowing who might treat you for your private problem can be a concern that holds you back from getting the care you need and ending your suffering.

At Purple Mountain PT, we specialize in treating pelvic floor dysfunction and TM joint disorders. Our therapists have their doctor of physical therapy degree + post-doctoral education specific to female, male and pediatric pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel and pain disorders. Our patients often come to us with uncertainty and frustration. They aren’t sure if they have pelvic floor dysfunction and they just want relief. They tell us that they want to play with their kids, be able to control their urine, stop having anal fissures, reduce abdominal pain and simply enjoy life again. We partner with our patients to develop wholistic and comprehensive treatment that gives them results and resolves their pelvic floor dysfunction and all symptoms. To learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids, contact us at 616-516-4334 or reach out to us here.

Why We Specialize in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Purple Mountain PT is a clinic that is designed to give you hope and relief and we absolutely love the field of pelvic health rehabilitation. We have a soft spot for you and your circumstance. This is what drives us to give you our best and to get you feeling better. We are devoted to helping people of all ages overcome pelvic problems, back and neck pain and TM joint disorders. We love this work and consider it an honor to help you. To inquire about our methods, call us at 616-516-4334 to chat with one of our team or contact us here.

Pelvic floor dysfunction is actually a tricky and complex area to treat and we are the type of people who thrive on that level of challenge.

Pelvic health demands a higher level of insights and clinical skills than other fields of rehabilitation, perhaps because the pelvis is the gateway from the feet to the trunk and so much is housed there (bladder, uterus, prostate, bowels). The ability to urinate, defecate, be intimate, walk, move, bend, lift and carry all depend on a well-functioning pelvis. If you are struggling with any pelvic issues, back pain, hip problems, abdominal adhesions or bladder or bowel problems, we are here to help you. Reach out to us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or contact us here.

Many of our patients come to us skeptical because they have been let down by prior efforts they’ve made, that did not give them relief.

Sometimes our patients are frustrated, hopeless and truly uncertain about where to go and what to do about their issue. We have more than enough experience and clinical skills to provide you with treatment that you likely have not received. Perhaps our most valuable asset we offer you is our evaluative skills. We actually are evaluating you at every visit, always looking for how your body is functioning, checking and rechecking your pelvic floor dysfunction, customizing your care along the way. If you would like to experience our insights into your condition, contact us at 616-516-4334 or reach out to us here to learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids.

One patient may have put it best when she said “no one has ever checked everything so thoroughly the way you do and given me all of the education and treatments like you do.”

It is common that our patients ask us “have you ever seen anything like I have?” Yep, we have. We’ve been doing this work a long time and we specialize in providing TLC and expertise, even when other things you’ve tried haven’t worked. We specialize in pelvic floor dysfunction because this care is the most rewarding field of physical therapy! We absolutely love it. Pelvic floor dysfunction is actually very complex to treat and we like that challenge. There are many drivers of pelvic floor dysfunction, some of them far away from the pelvis, and we love to provide you comprehensive whole-body care that gives you results. If you are interested in learning more about our methods, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Our therapists pledge to give you our best effort and meaningful treatment at every one-on-one, private appointment.

We are devoted to ongoing education and keeping up with the latest research related to male, female and pediatric physical therapy to treat pelvic floor dysfunction, chronic pelvic pain, bladder and bowel problems, TM joint disorders, pregnancy and postpartum conditions, neck and back pain. If you are looking for treatment that is effective, wholistic and gets your results, you have found the right place. Our knowledgeable representatives are here to answer your questions, feel free to reach out to 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT has specialized in pelvic floor dysfunction for more than 20 years.

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe began her career in the field of general orthopedics and spine care. She has treated every “normal” orthopedic PT condition you can imagine, including feet, shoulder, knee, hip and spine surgical rehabilitation. In the late 1990s she completed post-graduate training to become a spine rehabilitation specialist, helping people with complex neck and back conditions. This lead her to an interest in treating pelvic girdle pain, pregnancy, postpartum recovery and pelvic floor dysfunction. If you are interested in learning more about our care for pelvic health or TM joint disorders, call (616) 516-4334 or contact us to learn more about our pelvic floor dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids recovery program.

As a spine specialist PT back in the 1990s, Dr. Maureen was working with people with tough-to-treat back problems & multiple surgeries. It turns out that people who have chronic low back pain also have pelvic floor dysfunction, so she learned quickly that if her patients were going to get better, that she needed to know how to treat the entire core, including the pelvic floor. This is when she first began her journey towards being a pelvic health specialist.

Today, Dr. Maureen has over 25 years’ experience providing specialized pelvic floor physical therapy to men, women and kids who experience any type of pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic condition, which includes all hip and back conditions as well as complex pelvic pain problems like interstitial cystitis, encopresis, enuresis, chronic constipation, pudendal neuralgia, endometriosis and chronic prostatitis. She loves working with all people, including those who are pregnant and postpartum.

Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain PT to provide our patients an excellent experience with physical therapy.

It is our goal to provide you treatment that is healing, effective and more than you could have expected. We love to see you thrive and get back to enjoying life. More importantly, we enjoy getting to know you and helping you come back to the fullness of who you are meant to be. If you are looking for a specialty pelvic health, spine or TM joint clinic that will treat you with compassion and expertise, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to learn more about out pelvic floor dysfunction, back pain, neck pain or TM joint treatments.

At Purple Mountain PT, we hope to exceed your expectations and are known for helping people who have failed to get relief elsewhere.

A recent patient provides insights into what may make our whole body framework approach, with one-on-one treatments for 55 minutes helpful:

I cannot believe how much you have helped me!  It is amazing, when I look back at how difficult it has been to recover since I had my daughter.  Actually, I probably had these pelvic floor issues going back to gymnastics and childhood.   I had tried to get help before coming to see you and I was told I was fine and that there were no problems.  I even saw a PT who told me that I had healed fine, there were no problems and this was all in my “nervous system”. What does that even mean?  I mean, what was I supposed to do about that?   She discharged me after 4 visits, saying I was totally fine.  I was left feeling really frustrated and a bit humilitated because I didn’t feel fine.  I mean, was this all in my head or something?  But, I knew something was wrong. And it wasn’t until I came to you that I found relief.  Everything you do, for my neck, my back, my hips, my pelvic floor, my abdomen. Everything.  I’m so grateful.  I love the whole body vibration machine, I might buy one!  I feel so much better after the exercises and really need you there to tell me how to do them correctly.  The hands-on manual therapies, they are next level!  It’s like you can feel things that other people miss.  I am so grateful for working with you, it has helped me so much.  Helped my mind, body and spirit.  Even my confidence and mental health are improved!

If you are looking to receive care where your concerns are taken seriously and we have the time to investigate how to help you, we’re here for you.   Our specialist PTs are able to see and feel things that often get missed by other practitioners.   If you don’t want to  “feel like a number”, you’ve found the right place. We love to serve you and help you untangle your pelvic, neck, back or jaw problem. To learn more about our pelvic floor dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

Purple Mountain PTs Guiding principles for life and pelvic floor dysfunction PT: 

• The Golden Rule is a core value:

Treat someone as you would like to be treated. Our physical therapists work very hard to meet your needs and treat you with compassion, respect and lovingkindness. You will feel cared from the first phone call. Every patient is welcome here and we treat you with respect and dignity and hope to have some fun along the way!

• Pelvic Floor Dysfunction is typically a result of a combination of many things:

Identifying what these things are and treating each of them will give you the best results. This is why we offer 55 minute private appointments and give you wholistic care. We treat anything going on that is influencing the pelvic floor function. This means you can expect care to your entire spine, abdomen, thighs, hips and pelvic floor. To get your questions answered, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

• Partial treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction will not end your suffering and solve your pelvic problem.

Partial and ineffective treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction is, unfortunately, common. Things such as either appointments being too short and not providing the time to comprehensively treat everything and lack of skill and experience by the provider cause ineffective treatment to occur. Many of our patients have tried care elsewhere and find that our treatment is more effective, wholistic and beneficial. We see patients who travel from other states and who drive from all over the state of Michigan to see us. We often hear from patients that no one else has given them as much insight and treatment as we provide. This is what sets us apart. Contact us here or call (616) 516-4334 learn more about our out of town program, telehealth or to have any other questions answered our cost and availability.

• The body will tell you what is going on: look, listen, pay attention.

Ignoring these messages has consequences to your health. The Purple Mountain PT pelvic floor dysfunction treatment program evaluates numerous areas of your body to determine all contributions to your pain.

• Listen to your patients and they will tell you what they need.

Our licensed physical therapists truly care about you and listen intently for clues as to what are driving considerations for your pelvic floor. Your body knows and, with you, we will figure it out. If you need someone who will listen to you and help you put the pieces of the puzzle together for your complex problem, you’ve found the right place. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or reach out to us here.

• When self-care is lacking everything else suffers.

We must make the time and develop the routines into our daily life. This is how we can offer our best to others. Sleep, nutrition, quality relationships and connection to others, stress relief, being good to yourself, physical activities especially outdoor activities, being kind and spirituality all need to be nurtured. We advise you on what you need to do at home to help your pelvic floor dysfunction. Contact us at 616-516-4334 or reach out to us here to inquire about cost and availability.

• Education is a lifelong pursuit.

Excellence requires continual pursuit of knowledge and reflection on what works, what doesn’t work and what needs to be modified. The pelvic health PTs at Purple Mountain PT are committed to ongoing education and keeping up with the research. We meet regularly, we teach other physical therapists advanced skills, we are part of international professional groups, also. This is what it takes to be able to provide you meaningful help; we are continually reading research, attending webinars, traveling to conferences and seeking out more knowledge to deliver the best, most effective pelvic floor dysfunction treatment available in Grand Rapids and beyond. We love to learn and love this field and you benefit from our passion for this. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to ask us questions about your condition and whether we can help you. Or reach out here.

• Goal setting helps define your “Why”

In physical therapy and life in general, setting goals helps us to be motivated, clear about where we want to go and sets our intention each day to work towards that goal. Goal setting is an important tool to helping us build a plan going forward so that we meet our goals. We love to work with you to help you identify your goals and then achieve them! Reach out to us here if you have any questions!

• The human body is made to move

While sitting may not be inherently bad, prolonged sitting without taking breaks is known to worsen health and can cause some severe pelvic conditions to develop that lead to pelvic floor dysfunction. Full range of motion of joints, fascia and muscles is best, when possible. Taking intermittent breaks from sitting is best and these can simply be short episodes of standing, climbing some stairs or walking around for a minute or two. At Purple Mountain PT, we have a private gym space and use a variety of exercises, whole body vibration machines, balance activities and stretches to help retrain your body. If you would like to learn more about our exercise based methods to help restore your pelvic floor, resolve stress incontinence, ease pelvic pain, optimize your postpartum recovery or prepare you for birth, call us at 616-516-4334 to talk to our knowledgeable staff or contact us here.

• The pelvis holds a lot of power, disruption in this area can create ripple effects elsewhere.

We know that pelvic floor dysfunction causes problems in myriad areas of life. It may be interfering with your relationships and social outings, stifling intimacy, causing anxiety, contributing to migraines, lost sleep, TM joint syndrome, bowel problems, feet problems and more. This is why we offer neural calming methods, such as heart rate variability training and provide trauma informed care. Purple Mountain PT is a soft place for you to land, if you are in need of therapy to help your condition. Call us at 616-516-4334 to learn more or reach out to us here.

• The gut and microbiome are leading the way in your health.

Want to feel better? Work on gut health, it is foundational to immune health, brain health and the body functioning well. Our visceral mobilization treatments, abdominal scar tissue care and counsel on nutrition offer you a way to improve gut health.

• Managing your stress effectively and purposefully is imperative.

Stress can effect our physiology, emotions, mood, sleep, immune system, gut health, pelvic floor, bladder, bowel and more. Identifying and mitigating unhelpful sources of acute and chronic stress can help your pelvic floor dysfunction improve.

• Love is what matters.

While this may sound like being loving to others, and it is, Loving yourself is equally important. We understand the angst, despair and brokenness that you may feel if you have pelvic floor dysfunction. Or, maybe your problem isn’t affecting you as deeply and you just want to improve your well-being. Rebuilding your sense of who you are and loving yourself while giving and receiving love from others is an important part of recovery.

We hope these insights give you an idea of what Purple Mountain PT offers for pelvic floor dysfunction recovery. You will be in caring hands, with a person who prioritizes listening to you and meeting your goals and also helps you define a path forward to meet those goals. If you have any questions about our pelvic floor dysfunction PT in Grand Rapids, call us at (616) 516-4334 and don’t hesitate to contact us. We always enjoy meeting you and guiding you toward a path of recovery!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe