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About Heather Jeffcoat, DPT | Los Angeles Pelvic Floor Doctor
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About Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CLT, CSCS
About Debbie Dy, PT, DPT
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About Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
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Heather and her staff blog about all things pelvic health related
Including male, female, pediatric, transgender and nonbinary chronic pelvic pain, urinary dysfunction such as incontinence, prostatitis, sexual dysfunction, pregnancy, back pain, upcoming events and more.
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- Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
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When a Squatty Potty isn't Enough: How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Hemorrhoids and Anal Fissures Can Help
Anal fissures and hemorrhoids are some of the most common causes of severe rectal pain in adults. An anal fissure is a tear near the rectum that can cause severe difficulty when defecating. Often you might see bright red blood when wiping, experience soreness around the area, and/or pain that lasts well after having a bowel movement.
Hemorrhoids are small swollen veins around the rectum and anus that can occur both internally and externally. Hemorrhoids can be either painful or painless and most often have symptoms of itching, swelling, pain and bleeding.
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- Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
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Learn All About Childhood Bedwetting and Genetics
The average age of potty training can begin between 18mos to 3yrs and this depends on many factors of readiness including: physiological readiness, cognitive readiness, verbal readiness and motor readiness. In this article, we will assess potty-training readiness, as well as look at the underlying causes of child bedwetting and some behavioral modifications we can use to address these causes.
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- Sarina Karwande PT, DPT, CAFS
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An In Depth Look at Bladder Control for Your Child - and Yourself!
Urinary Incontinence (UI) during the 4th trimester can be a frustrating symptom, but what happens when both you and your toddler, child or teen are struggling with bladder control, or urinary or fecal incontinence? Here are just a few key tips from a pelvic health therapist to help in managing and solving these symptoms for you and your child.
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- Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
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Individuals affected by
What is Endometriosis ?
The tissue that lines the uterus is called endometrium. With
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Restless Legs Syndrome (or RLS)
Restless legs syndrome (or RLS) is a condition where there are uncontrollable urges to move limbs (mostly in the legs, but sometimes in the arms) that follows a circadian pattern, namely evenings/overnight when resting.
The urges usually come with unpleasant sensations such as tingling, burning, itching, or otherwise pain. Usually, it can be alleviated by movement, but as you can imagine, it can be debilitating and impair sleep, and thus the quality of life. It is common to experience mood swings, anxiety, and depression.
It is estimated that about 3.9-14.3% of the general population suffers from RLS. It is the most common movement disorder in pregnant women. There is either primary (idiopathic) RLS, or secondary (acquired) RLS due to pregnancy, renal pathologies, diabetes, hypertension, and other metabolic conditions. The two most common risk factors for RLS are iron deficiency and kidney disease.
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- Staff Writer
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This month is Bladder Health awareness month and we would like to discuss with our readers a recent and significant update to the research regarding guidelines on treating Interstitial Cystitis / Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS).
This past May, the American Urological Association (AUA) published updated clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of IC/BPS. The purpose of this guideline is to provide a “clinical framework” for best practice regarding optimal management of patients with Interstitial Cystitis / Bladder Pain Syndrome. This includes what should and shouldn’t be done for patients, and how to avoid unnecessary or harmful interventions. The previous guidelines on treating Interstitial Cystitis were published in 2014 -- 8 years ago!
So what is Interstitial Cystitis / Bladder Pain Syndrome?
Check out some of our previous articles on our sister site, FeminaPT.com for definitions and how pelvic floor physical therapy can help, including this article specific to those that have painful intercourse and Interstitial Cystitis / Bladder Pain Syndrome. In this year’s update, the author’s, experts in the field, continued to include the role of pelvic floor physical therapy in management and treatment of patients experiencing Interstitial Cystitis or Bladder Pain Syndrome. The AUA has placed pelvic floor physical therapy under the Behavioral / Non-pharmacologic Treatments category, as we are evidenced-based (research-approved) professionals providing treatments that have proven successes for Interstitial Cystitis / Bladder Pain Syndrome.
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Want to start a spin class? Afraid of returning to cycling because of knee pain or pelvic pain?
Come see one of our trained staff therapists for an assessment of your form and spin the right way.
We love biking at Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy / Femina PT! We have a Peloton bicycle used to evaluate, modify and progress spinning and cycling routines. Our clinic director/owner Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, is our in-house spinning guru. She is here to help you with your form as well as how to fit the bike properly to your body.
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May is Osteoporosis Awareness Month.
Did you know that Physical Therapists are an essential member of your interdisciplinary care team?
With life expectancy increasing it is becoming more evident that bone health and fall prevention are key to a good quality of life. Osteoporosis is defined as a decrease in bone mass or a change in the structure of the bone causing the bone to be more fragile.1 If the bone is weak there is a higher chance of a fracture (bone break). The most common areas of fractures are the hip, spine, forearm, and humerus (upper arm bone). Osteoporosis causes more than 8.9 million fractures annually worldwide, affecting predominantly postmenopausal women. The probability of women, at menopause, of having an osteoporotic fracture exceeds that of breast cancer and the likelihood of a fracture is approximately 40%.2
Bone mineral density is measured through a scan called a Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA). It can be used to measure the bone mineral density of the whole skeleton as well as specific sites. Approximately 21% of women aged 50–84 years are classified as having osteoporosis.2
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- Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
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Building Your Own Post-run Recovery Routine
A very important component of any running program, ranging from a 5 km (3.1 miles) race to an ultra-marathon (anything more than a marathon which is 26.2 miles), is adequate recovery.
Many people neglect this portion of their training because it doesn’t involve getting sweaty or doing high intensity intervals or weights. However, building in a solid recovery routine is crucial to helping your body bounce back after training as quickly as possible. A good recovery routine also helps prevent injury, decreased immune system function, and muscle mass loss. A recovery routine encompasses a cool-down activity, nutrition, and exercises like hatha-based yoga, foam rolling, and/or stretching the major muscle groups used during your workout. Although not discussed here, getting good quality sleep is critical to recovery as well!
My Post-run Recovery Routine:
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- Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
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10 Strength, Conditioning, and Balance Exercises for Marathon Runners
Leading up to the Boston Marathon, I have been incorporating these 10 key exercises into my weekly routine (3x/week) to keep my body strong and balanced. Check out videos of these exercises here (link to instagram post). These exercises target the key muscle groups used by runners. These are for educational purposes, not meant to treat medical conditions nor supplement medical advice.
Mat-based Strength and Conditioning for Boston
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- Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
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Road to Boston Marathon Part 1
A Tribute to the First Female Runners in the Boston Marathon
On April 18, 2022 I am excited and grateful to be able to run the historic and prestigious Boston Marathon! As a physical therapist at Fusion Wellness /Femina Physical Therapy and avid long-distance runner for over 20 years, I’m excited to share my training journey with you leading up to the race. This race holds a special place in the hearts of long-distance runners because you must run a qualifying race with a qualifying time. Females ages 18-34 must run 3 hours 30 minutes or better, and males ages 18-34 must run 3 hours flat or better.
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- Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
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Over 1 million people in the United States self-identify as transgender, and according to the 2019 Plastic Surgery Statistics by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, around 11,000 gender confirmation surgeries were performed annually in the U.S. Gender-affirming (also referred to as sex-affirming or gender-confirming) surgery encompasses various elective plastic surgery procedures that result in physical characteristics typically associated with being male or female. While not the case for all people who identify as transgender, some people experience distress that their sex assigned at birth does not match their gender identity (termed gender dysphoria). These procedures are just one means to help someone feel congruence between their gender identity and physical traits associated with a particular sex. It is important to note that just because a person identifies as trans-gender or non-binary does not mean that they feel gender dysphoria, nor does it imply that they need or want medical procedures or surgeries to look more feminine or masculine.
Types of Gender-Affirming Surgeries:
Gender-affirming surgeries can involve the face, chest, or genitalia, and are listed in the table here:
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Restless Leg Syndrome (or RLS)
Restless leg syndrome (or RLS) is a condition where there are uncontrollable urges to move limbs (mostly in the legs, but sometimes in the arms) that follows a circadian pattern, namely evenings/overnight when resting.
The urges usually come with unpleasant sensations such as tingling, burning, itching, or otherwise painful. Restless leg syndrome can often be alleviated by movement, but as you can imagine, it can be debilitating and impair sleep, and thus quality of life. It is common to experience mood swings, anxiety and depression. It is estimated that about 3.9-14.3% of the general population suffer from RLS. It is the most common movement disorder in pregnant women. There is either primary (idiopathic) RLS, or secondary (acquired) RLS due to pregnancy, renal pathologies and are also associated with diabetes, hypertension and other metabolic conditions. The two most common risk factors for RLS are iron deficiency and kidney disease.
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Interstitial cystitis (IC) also known as bladder pain syndrome or painful bladder syndrome, is a debilitating condition that significantly affects the quality of life of patients living with it.
Symptoms of IC include:
- An unpleasant sensation (pain, pressure, discomfort) perceived to be related to the urinary bladder >6 weeks in duration6,7,9
- Increased pain with specific foods or drinks and/or worsened with bladder filling and/or improved with urination9.
- Urinary urgency (Seen in 84% of IC patients)6.
- Urinary frequency (>10x/day) (Seen in 92% of IC patients)6.
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Causes & Treatments for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
Men may experience different types of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS)
Men may experience different types of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and are often divided into different categories: storage symptoms (urinary urgency, frequency, nighttime peeing, incontinence), voiding symptoms (painful urination, incomplete emptying, dribbling, poor urinary stream), and/or post voiding symptoms (post-void dribbling, pain after urination, etc.).
Living with these symptoms can be debilitating and significantly decrease quality of life. Between 70-90% of older men over 80 experience some version of LUTS. LUTS are often associated with bladder outlet/obstruction issues due to enlarged prostate. However, this is not always the case and can arise from other bladder or urethra disorders including overactive bladder syndrome, painful bladder syndrome, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), and other.