PT Center for Women

So congratulations! You’ve had your baby, and now you’re excited to get back into those favorite clothes that you haven’t worn in quite awhile. You feel like they should fit, because after all, your baby is five weeks old already. But, your jeans are still two sizes too small So, what do you do? You promptly jump onto the treadmill, turn up the incline, and start jogging. Fast. For like, two minutes. And then something happens. You notice that you’re wet. Not wet with sweat, just wet. In the saddle region, and at that moment you realize that your body is not quite like it used to be prior to that beautiful baby you now have. The very next thing you do is call your girlfriend, mom, sister, or all three and shout, “DID THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!?”  It’s true, and it happens all the time. Women have a baby, and then they want to pick up their life where it left off prior to pregnancy. The little story I just told you about is only one of several potential hiccups that new moms experience when th

As many of my patients are aware, I have recently suffered a herniated disc in my neck. It was for no reason at all. I just woke up with it. Here’s a little background on me professionally: Before switching my practice to pelvic health, I did spine care for over a decade. Because of my training and experience, I immediately recognized my symptoms; I have witnessed my patients go through the same thing for many years. I didn’t waste any time, and I called my doctor for help. And help me she did! She prescribed me steroids right away, and she ordered an MRI of my neck. The MRI confirmed my suspicion that I had a herniated disc. (I hope you don’t mind me nerding out for a moment: First of all I was correct. Secondly, I was off one spinal level, as I had guessed it was at C6-7, when it was in fact at C5-6). Six weeks have gone by since my initial diagnosis, and I have seen the physiatrist. A physiatrist is a doctor who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, which is a fan

Frequently I get the following question from my pregnant patients: “I’ve never really exercised before, but I need to. Is it okay to start now?” Let’s look at the risks of exercise during pregnancy. “Risks!” you say, “What risks?” Now, before you stop reading this and come to the conclusion that you should not exercise during your pregnancy, I urge you to look at this through my eyes.  As a physical therapist, I am specially trained in exercise prescription. In other words, I teach people how to exercise. Sometimes that involves rehabilitative exercise in order to heal from an injury or surgery, occasionally it includes performance coaching for seasoned athletes, and sometimes it involves teaching someone who has never exercised before how to start. If you fall into the third category of people, this blog is for you!  First of all, let me state the few reasons why women would absolutely not be allowed to exercise during a pregnancy. These are set by the American College of Obstetr

So, let’s talk about constipation. Oooh. Is that a conversation inhibitor? Shouldn’t be, as the importance of bowel movements is undeniable. So let’s discuss what’s normal, what’s not normal, and the causes of constipation. There are many causes of constipation. One could be a musculoskeletal problem where the muscles are tight in the pelvic floor region and it is not allowing the stool to pass. The second cause may be that the guts just aren’t pushing the food through the digestive tract and it’s not getting to where it needs to go to be eliminated. Another cause of constipation can be diet, as many foods slow the digestive tract (cheese and dairy products). There can be emotional causes as well. The whole purpose of a bowel movement is to eliminate all of the by-products from our foods that are not used in our digestive system. If left in too long, they just don’t feel good. They don’t become toxic, but it does affect our other systems. With eating food, it goes from our mouth