Fundamental Physical Therapy

Telehealth "e-visits" are a great way to get the PT help you need.

As we've previously mentioned...

This is why I run my practice in a way that ensures you and I are working together for your benefit only, and YOU are in the drivers seat making decisions about your health care - not your insurance company.

Yes. That’s a finger going inside a vagina. Where is it going? . Let the clinical pearls begin... . When most people get a GYN exam or well woman exam or pa...p smear- they are NOT getting the pelvic floor muscles assessed typically. It’s usually described as a health care provider examines your pelvic area. It includes your vulva and your internal reproductive organs your cervix, ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina. . But what if an underlying cause of pelvic pain or urinary issues has to do with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction, or urethral fascia, or the nerves deep near the back wall of the vagina? Is someone checking that? No. Typically not in these exams. But alas, there are people who DO assess these things (and we are training more OB/GYNs on this too because this isn’t usually taught in Med school or residencies!).... . Pelvic floor /Pelvic health therapists specialize in assessing all of the pelvic floor muscles, fascia, scars, nerves within the pelvis/vagina/rectum AND at the external pelvic area, abdomen, legs,spine, diaphragm, and more... . This image highlights a super important area that is often missed. The (random) finger is touching the OBTURATOR INTERNUS muscle. It’s a deep pelvic floor muscle. The obturator internus muscle can be a contributing cause of vaginal pain, pain with penetration, mimic bladder, abdominal pain (or refer there) and more. It’s actually a deep hip external rotator which means it actually attaches to the HIP! It can be a cause of hip or back pain or become an issue due to hip or back issues. It’s not always as simple as one muscle issue . And to get more pelvic anatomy nerdy- there are all sorts of attachments and connections to the obturator internus. So, it should get more attention. The arcus tendoneus levator ani is attached to it and that runs down to the ischial spine (and the Pudendal nerve goes through the obturator internus fascia and is also at the ischial spine) . So, has anyone touched your obturator internus (OI) lately? And, shout out to all the pelvic floor therapists who regularly assess and treat pelvuc floor dysfunction, including OI! You can find a pelvic floor specialist - physical therapist or other specialists by searching our directory at www.PelvicGuru.com . Questions?

Honored to have been interviewed about my work and recent book publication, on the "Stay Healthy San Diego" podcast with Mat Parker. Have a listen!

Hormones matter in all kinds of performance, more than we often think about.

More food for thought.

To address any pain problem, could you be missing a huge opportunity by not yet optimizing your sleep?

Don't expect to be like Tiger Woods. Surgery is not the best option for most people with back pain.