Category: Pelvic Pain

A Pain in the Tail…bone (Part 1- What is it? How does it happen? How does it feel?)

~ jesspreale ~ 103 Comments

Let me tell you a little story. Several years ago, I was on my way to a continuing education course in Minneapolis, MN. I arrived to the airport early for my flight and settled in at the gate with a good book waiting for the boarding call. My flight was delayed…and delayed… a one hour wait became a four hour wait. But, I was reading a great book. I believe I got up one time over those four hours. Then I boarded the plane and sat for another 3 hours (finished the book!). Then I had tailbone pain.

Thankfully, in my case, I was headed to a course full of pelvic health practitioners, and I begged one of them to treat my tailbone on the first day. (Yes, it literally went, “Hi, my name is Jessica, will you treat my coccyx?”) She did, and one day later it felt totally better.

The truth is, my story is not a totally uncommon one. I sat in one place for 7 hours straight (likely in a slumped posture)– and my tailbone didn’t like it. I was lucky, because I know about tailbone pain…I was able to get it treated and I got better very quickly. Many people with the same pain will stay in pain for a long time before getting the treatment that helps. So, my goal today is to tell you exactly what tailbone pain is, how it happens, and what it feels like… and then in part 2 to tell you what you can do about it.

First, where exactly is the tailbone? Seems easy, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t actually know where it is.  Several months ago, I received a referral from a PT colleague to treat a nice lady who was having “tailbone pain.” She came into my office and when I asked where her pain was, she pointed directly to the sacrum.  I have had this happen in reverse too where a patient told me his “back hurt” but pointed to his coccyx. So, where is the tailbone? 

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The coccyx (tailbone) refers to the 3-5 fused bones at the very end of the spine. These fused segments attach to the sacrum. To feel your coccyx, slide your fingers down from the sacrum between each cheek of your bottom. You will feel a very small boney structure, and can often feel the tip of the coccyx (which will be very close to the anus!).

Several ligaments and muscles attach to the coccyx, including the gluteus maximus and the pelvic floor muscles.  The coccyx does not stay still when we move. In fact, the coccyx moves as we sit and moves again as we stand.

coccyx

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Now that we got that out of the way, here are a few things to know about coccydynia (tailbone pain): 

-What is it and what are the common symptoms associated with it? Coccydynia translated means “pain in the coccyx,” and that is how coccydynia is defined.  Most people with coccydynia will complain of pain in sitting (especially on hard surfaces), pain in standing for a long period, and pain when moving from sitting to standing or from standing to sitting. Since the pelvic floor muscles attach to the coccyx, many people with coccyx pain will have pelvic floor muscle involvement to some extent and may complain of constipation or pain with bowel movements, changes in urinary frequency/urgency or pain with sexual intercourse. Clinically, I also will often find that people with tailbone pain will begin to have low back pain too– I believe this occurs as people alter sitting positions and “side-sit” to avoid sitting on the tailbone.

-How common is it? The prevalence is actually unknown. Some literature state that it is “uncommon,” but I don’t really think that’s true. I think it’s likely under-reported (as are many things in the pelvis), and I believe the lack of understanding on treatment options contributes to this. Coccydynia seems to affect women more than men (5x more approximately!) and is more common in people with obesity. 

-What causes it? Coccyx pain is typically divided into two categories– traumatic and non-traumatic. Traumatic coccydynia typically occurs either with a backwards fall on the bottom or during childbirth. In these cases, the coccyx can become bruised, dislocated or even fractured. Nontraumatic coccydynia can occur due to prolonged or repetitive sitting on a hard surface (microtrauma), hypomobility or hypermobility of the coccyx (basically, the tailbone isn’t moving properly), degenerative joint or disc disease, and other variations in the structure of the coccyx. In addition, the coccyx can sometimes become painful if a person has overactive pelvic floor muscles as these muscles attach to the coccyx.  Note: Although much less common, coccyx pain can sometimes come from more serious problems like an infection or even cancer. It’s always important to see a skilled health care provider who can help you determine the contributors to your pain. 

-How is coccydynia diagnosed? As I said previously, coccydynia refers to pain in the coccyx, so the best way to diagnose coccyx pain is with a thorough history of the pain and an exam involving touching the coccyx to determine if it is uncomfortable to the person. (This is where some clinicians run into issues…you see, the tailbone is close to the anus, and people don’t always like going there. But it is SO important as a clinician to actually touch the tailbone to help determine why the person is experiencing pain! No one would examine shoulder pain without touching the shoulder! So, please clinicians, palpate the tailbone. Soapbox over.)

I know you would think that most people would “know” if their tailbone was painful…but like we discussed above, many people do not even realize where the tailbone is! Also, it is important to note that tailbone pain can be radicular in nature, meaning that nerves in the area are contributing to the symptoms or it can be “referred pain” meaning that it is coming from a different structure. Some of the muscles that can contribute to tailbone pain are the pelvic floor muscles, the obturator internus ( a deep hip rotator) and the gluteus maximus. I have seen several patients that felt pain in their tailbone that was actually coming from tenderness in these muscles. That’s why an exam with palpation is so important.

– How is the coccyx examined? Examination with a physician typically will include a subjective history, physical exam and may also include some type of diagnostic imaging (x-ray, MRI). Typically, when a person comes into my office seeking physical therapy for coccydynia or tailbone pain, my initial assessment includes the following:

  • A comprehensive history to understand what the person believes is causing the pain, what makes pain better/worse, obstetric history, bladder/bowel history and symptoms, sexual history and symptoms
  • A movement exam– basically taking a person through movements of the spine, sitting, standing, squatting to see how the person moves and what movements (if any) bring on the pain, worsen it, or alleviate it. I also will feel the coccyx in sitting vs. slumping to feel the movement of the coccyx and identify pain.
  • An external assessment of the spine– Mobilizing the segments of the low back, the sacrum and then the coccyx helps me identify which structures may be involved in the person’s discomfort.
  • An external muscle assessment– feeling the muscles of the low back, buttocks, pelvic floor and thighs to see if the muscles are tender and if that tenderness contributes to tailbone pain.
  • An internal assessment of the pelvic floor muscles and coccyx- For patients experiencing significant pain, I will often defer this to the 2nd visit or even later depending on the person. The best way to assess the coccyx is by an internal rectal assessment by a very skilled practitioner. This examination allows a clinician to feel the movement of the coccyx and assess the muscles around the coccyx for tenderness. (Note: examination and treatment should always be a “team” decision. If a person feels uncomfortable with an internal exam and does not wish to have one, the practitioner should respect that and treat the person as well as she can with external approaches)

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How is tailbone pain treated and what can you do NOW to make it better? Stay tuned next week for Part 2… 🙂 

As always, I love to hear from you! Please let me know if you have any questions or comments! Happy Friday!

~ Jessica

Can physical therapy help a “bladder problem?” Highlights from my presentation at the Atlanta Interstitial Cystitis Support Group

~ jesspreale ~ 8 Comments

Jessica IC Support Group

Yesterday, I was fortunate to speak with the Atlanta area Interstitial Cystitis (IC)Support Group regarding physical therapy interventions for men and women with IC/PBS (Painful Bladder Syndrome).  I love working with men and women with IC for so many reasons. First, IC can be a fairly scary diagnosis for a lot of people as there is not one specific known “cause”, nor is there a “cure” that works for everyone. Dr. Google can also cause quite a bit of fear as the newly diagnosed read “horror stories” of people who have suffered for years and years with debilitating pain.

The amazing thing is that often times, bladder pain can actually have strong musculoskeletal components and neuromuscular components that are easily addressed with a skilled physical therapist–but in order to understand that fully, we will have to dive in a little deeper. So, here are some of the highlights from the presentation I gave to this wonderful group last night. (Sidenote: IC/PBS is different in everyone, meaning that some treatments work great for some and not so well for others. This blog highlights physical therapy interventions for IC, but please know that each person with IC will have a different journey toward recovery. I strongly recommend building a network of health care providers and finding the treatment that works the best for you.)

First, we started with a little pop quiz–and we’ll start you with the same, to test your knowledge on physical therapy for people with IC :). 

1. True or False.  It is common for men and women with IC/PBS to have tenderness and banding of the pelvic floor muscles as well as other soft tissues structures around the pelvis.

True. A study by Peters and colleagues in 2007 estimated that 87% of people with IC/PBS also have pelvic floor muscle tenderness.

2. True or False.   Traditional pelvic floor strengthening (Kegels) are helpful in reducing pain for men or women with IC/PBS.

False. For people with tender pelvic floor muscles, traditional kegel exercises are actually contraindicated. The American Urological Association’s Guidelines for the Evaluation and Treatment of IC states that people who are receiving physical therapy with kegel exercises should stop treatment and seek out care from someone with advanced training in working with this population.

3. True or False.  The most recent American Urological Association’s Guidelines for the Evaluation and Treatment of IC/PBS strongly recommends physical therapy for men and women diagnosed with IC/PBS.

True. I know, I sort of gave it away in my answer up above. But physical therapy interventions such as education on IC and dietary modifications, use of cold/hot packs, stress management strategies, managing tender points in muscles, pelvic floor relaxation exercises and managing constipation/sexual pain are considered first-line treatments in the most recent guidelines. Of note, manual physical therapy including connective tissue mobilization is a second-line treatment.

In order to better understand how physical therapy can help someone with IC, we need to look a little deeper into why the muscles around the pelvis become tender in the first place. At my presentation last night, we spent some time discussing the muscles of the hips and abdomen as well as the pelvic floor muscles. If you aren’t familiar with these muscles already, you can take a quick course by reading Tracy Sher’s article here.

bladder in pelvis

We then spent some time discussing some of the reasons the muscles and the soft tissues of the pelvis become tender when someone has IC. Specifically, we discussed the following mechanisms:

1) Tension response to pain: Basically, if the bladder is hurting, I will likely contract the muscles around it to “protect” the painful area. Over time, those muscles can become fatigued and tender.

2) Viscerosomatic reflex: When the brain is receiving a “danger” message from the bladder for a long period of time, there will often be an increase in sympathetic nerve activity (fight or flight response) which can lead to increased inflammation and decreased blood flow in the muscles and the connective tissue around the organ. Over time, this can contribute to tender muscles around the organ. We also often will see that muscles which are innervated by nerves at the same spinal cord level will also have some increased sensitivity and tenderness.

3) Somatovisceral reflex: This is basically the reflex above, but in reverse. Tendernesss in the muscles or a “danger” message from the muscles can also create that same sequelae of events which may lead to increased sensitivity at an organ near those muscles. The cool thing is that we can use this to our advantage because treating the muscles and tender soft tissues can actually help to decrease the bladder irritation!

Typically, for people with IC, we see connective tissue restrictions in the suprapubic area, abdomen, thighs, buttock and perineal area. We also will see tender and sensitive muscles including the pelvic floor muscles, adductor muscles, hip flexors, hamstrings, piriformis and gluteal muscles. Treating these muscles with manual therapy and connective tissue mobilization can help to improve blood flow, decrease inflammatory chemicals and improve the sensitivity in these structures. You can read more about connective tissue mobilization in this blog post by my colleagues over at the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center.

This all ties in very nicely with our current understanding of the neuroscience of pain, which of course, is where we went next.  Much of what we discussed last night can be found in greater detail in the book, Why pelvic pain hurts which I summarized for you a few weeks ago here. The key thing to recognize is that pain is our body’s alarm system— it’s meant to tell us when there is “danger” and to help us protect ourselves. For someone who has had pain for a long time, this system can become sensitized meaning that previous non-painful activities or areas of the body can start to become perceived as painful. This is also influenced by a strong “fight or flight” response which basically can make your body respond like it is constantly under attack. Our brain integrates all of this with our previous experiences, emotions, fears, etc. All of this contributes to a worsening pain experience.  The great thing is that we now know that there is so much we can do to help re-train a brain that is constantly “protecting!” 

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So, next we moved to the most important piece…what can a skilled physical therapist do for someone with IC/PBS? 

 1. Education– knowledge is power and this is such an important component for someone with pelvic pain! We typically will discuss the following:

  • Dietary education
  • Bladder/Bowel habits
  • Sexual function
  • Sleep habits
  • Stress Management
  • Relaxation training/downtraining
  • Neuroanatomy of pelvic pain

2. Desensitizing and retraining the nervous system 

  • Manual therapy techniques (discussed more below)
  • Specific stretches to lengthen muscles
  • Graded motor imagery
  • Posture/alignment training
  • Breathing/Relaxation
  • Setting of appropriate goals, pacing and graded exposure to movements

3. Manual therapy techniques to reduce muscle soreness, improve blood flow,  and desensitize the nervous system

  • Connective tissue mobilization
  • Internal soft tissue treatment to the pelvic floor muscles
  • External soft tissue treatment to the muscles around the abdomen and pelvis
  • Dry needling
  • Scar tissue management

Recent research has shown that manual therapy for someone with IC is very effective in reducing pain. In fact, a multicenter study by Fitzgerald and colleagues in 2012 showed that 60% of women with IC who were treated with soft tissue treatments and connective tissue mobilization saw moderate-marked reductions in pain and improved urinary urgency and frequency.

We closed our discussion last night with a plan of action– reviewing some basic recommendations to get started on improving pain for people with IC.  It was wonderful to meet with this awesome support group! For those of you with IC or bladder pain, the IC Association has a list of support groups that are registered in cities in the US and internationally. They also have great options for online support groups.

If you live in Atlanta or the surrounding area, Judy Eichner is the group coordinator. She can be e-mailed at: icatlanta@live.com.

As always, I would love to hear from you! What have been your experiences with physical therapy IC? Is there anything you would like me to add for future presentations? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend!

~ Jessica

6 Reasons Why the Diaphragm may be the Coolest Muscle in the Body

~ jesspreale ~ 25 Comments

I have a small confession to make– I love the study of human anatomy. Always have. It was studying human anatomy and physiology that made me shift my undergraduate degree at Gordon College away from “Biology” and into “Movement Science” (which has now become “Kinesiology”… Who would have known that years later, “Movement Science” would have been the coolest name for a major ever? Am I right fellow PTs?). The human body is fascinating and incredible. So, it should come as no shock to you that I have favorite muscles. In PT school, my favorite muscles were the ones with the most fun names… like the Gemelli brothers (who are small hip external rotators) or Sartorius (a thigh muscle…best, if sung to the tune of “Notorious“). Of course, you know that now the pelvic floor muscle group ranks pretty high on that list…but the diaphragm, well… it just takes the cake. Here are some of the reasons why the diaphragm really is so cool.

1) We can contract our diaphragm voluntarily–but it also will contract without us consciously telling it to. How cool is that? You can activate your diaphragm by taking a long, slow, breath expanding your ribcage 360 degrees and allowing your belly to relax. But, before I brought your attention to your breath, you were using the diaphragm without even thinking about it!

2) The diaphragm helps to mobilize the ribs, lumbar spine and thoracic spine. The diaphragm attaches to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lumbar vertebrae, the inner part of the lower 6 ribs as well as the back of the sternum at the xiphoid process. The central tendon of the diaphragm then attaches to the 3rd lumbar vertebrae. During inhalation as the diaphragm flattens to allow the lungs to fill with air, the diaphragm will “pull” slightly on each of those attachments, effectively giving you a gentle mobilization. The ribs will also move during inhalation and exhalation to allow space for the lungs to fill.

3) The diaphragm is a key member of a team of muscles which help to create dynamic postural stability. You knew that would be one of my bullets, right? I think I mention this in almost every post…but… the diaphragm works together with the pelvic floor muscles, abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis) and low back muscles (multifidus) to pre-activate and provide support to the body during movement. Together, these muscles make up our “anticipatory core” and are important muscles for healthy pain-free movement patterns. Now, no post on the diaphragm would be complete without an excellent video explanation by Julie Wiebe, PT, who is amazing and has done so much to help advance the understanding of dynamic stability in PT practice.

4)Retraining proper firing of the diaphragm can help to reduce urinary incontinence AND low back pain.  Now, that is pretty cool, right? Excellent research by Paul Hodges and colleagues has shown altered firing patterns of the diaphragm in people with low back pain or urinary incontinence.  Amazingly, when people re-established proper firing of the diaphragm leading to full excursion, both low back pain and bladder problems reduced   This is likely due to the relationship between the pelvic floor and diaphragm in controlling intraabdominal pressure within the abdomen and the pelvis.  Proper breathing helps to restore the optimal pressures needed to control movements and support the pelvic organs. This relationship is so huge that problems with breathing and continence are more correlated with low back pain than obesity and physical activity. 

5) Slow breathing with the diaphragm can calm down the nervous system.  The breath is so connected to the autonomic nervous system. When a person is fearful or anxious, the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) is activated, and a person will take quick shallow breaths to bring oxygen to the muscles as quickly as possible (think: being chased by a bear)  the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) is activated when in a more calm or relaxed state (yes, I am oversimplifying all of this… I know). In that state, a person will take slow calm breaths (think: sipping a cup of tea after a great massage).  The cool thing is that we can use our breath to help us move toward a more relaxed state. Slow breathing will help calm stress, anxiety and promote a person being in a more parasympathetic state. And guess what? There’s an app for that! The Breathe2Relax app for iphone/android allows a person to program in his or her breath and then takes you through a guided breathing exercise.

6) Slow breathing with the diaphragm can reduce pelvic pain. As we discussed previously, the pelvic floor and diaphragm are coordinated and work together to control pressures through the pelvis. As the diaphragm is activated during inhalation, the pelvic floor relaxes to accept the contents of the abdomen/pelvis. As we exhale, the diaphragm returns to its rested position and the pelvic floor activates slightly. Long slow breaths then encourage complete relaxation of the pelvic floor and thus can help decrease pain for people with tender pelvic floor muscles.

So, there you have it! I bet the diaphragm just moved up a few notches on your favorite muscles list (you know you want one!). If you need more reasons, and enjoy “nerding-out” with Anatomy, check out these studies:

What’s YOUR favorite muscle? Did I miss any reasons why the diaphragm is amazing? Let’s chat together in the comments below!

~ Jessica

TBT: Can an old knee injury contribute to pelvic pain? A case study

~ jesspreale ~ Leave a comment

Today’s throw-back comes from a guest blog post I wrote for Share MayFlowers in 2013. SMF is a wonderful public health and awareness campaign supporting female pelvic and perinatal health. Jessica McKinney, PT, MS founded this organization and is an amazing pelvic PT and advocate for women dealing with pelvic floor and perinatal related dysfunction. I was asked to guest blog for their campaign over the month of May, and shared the following case study to help illustrate how nothing in our body works in isolation. I hope you enjoy! ~ Jessica 

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Note: This case study was selected as it demonstrates the synergy within the body. Our bodies are meant to function in unity with each joint, muscle and ligament doing its part. When one structure does not function optimally, the entire person is impacted and often other structures will have to “pick up the slack.” This can create pain, instability and a loss of function. Treating the pain means treating the person—finding the weakened structure and helping the entire person regain the synergy they need to fully support their bodies.

Subjective History: Mary* was referred to physical therapy by a local Urogynecology team for chronic pelvic pain which had been occurring for the past year, slowly worsening over time. She reported that pain caused frequent nausea and impacted her ability to participate in athletic activities. Prior to the onset of pain, she was active in athletics at her high school, playing soccer, volleyball and ice hockey.  She had no complaints of changes in urinary function, but noted occasional constipation. She was not currently having sexual intercourse, but reported some pain with sexual stimulation.  She had been seeing multiple different physicians before being referred to the Urogynecology team.

With further questioning, Mary reported that she experienced a fracture of the tibia (at the knee) 1 year ago while playing soccer. She was immobilized in a brace for 1 month, but did not have physical therapy after her injury….

Enjoy the full post at Share MayFlowers by clicking here! 

Book Review: Why Pelvic Pain Hurts

~ jesspreale ~ 10 Comments

I love books. I love picking out a new book, flipping through the pages, and escaping for a small time into a different world. My love of reading translates so easily into my clinical practice in women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapy. Clients who have worked with me know that I keep a shelf of related books in my practice for them to look through and enjoy. I find books are so helpful for my clients experiencing related problems. Often times, men, women and children with pelvic health problems feel alone and so isolated. The reality is that these issues are private ones–I will often treat clients whose own spouses are not aware that these issues are occurring! And there are SO many great pelvic health books out there! The biggest thing I love about my clients reading books is that it helps the to realize they are not alone. So many other people have these problems too–so many that there are books written about it! I also think that reading information helps the learning process for many so much more than just hearing information spoken by me! My hope in “book reviews” is to share some of those awesome books with you, so you can read them, recommend them and learn from them! Whether you are a patient seeking information, a health care provider, or just an interested individual, I hope these reviews will be helpful!  Enjoy! 

from amazon.com
from amazon.com

I am so excited to introduce you today to a wonderful little book called, Why Pelvic Pain Hurts by Adriaan Louw, Sandra Hilton and Carolyn Vandyken. These authors are all physical therapists and both Sandy and Carolyn are Pelvic PTs. To be honest, I’ve followed Adriaan Louw for quite some time now. I have read some of his other educational books such as Why do I hurt? and I have even listened to his online educational seminar via Medbridge called “Teaching People About Pain.” He’s brilliant–so I knew I would love this book from the moment I heard it was being published! Who should read it? 

  • Men & Women experiencing chronic pelvic pain
  • Clinicians working with men and/or women experiencing chronic pelvic pain
  • Families & friends of people experiencing chronic pelvic pain

What are the details? 

  • Cost: $15.69 on Amazon.com
  • Length: 67 pages with great illustrations, broken into 5 sections.
    • Understanding your body’s alarm system
    • Understanding your extra-sensitive alarm system
    • Understanding your pelvic pain
    • Understanding your Lion and how it impacts you
    • Understanding your treatment options

What’s so good about it?  As you may know by reading my blog, I love how the current understanding of pain is so much more than just tissue damage. Our nervous system is powerful and incredible, and is significant in the pain experience. Often times, clinicians run into difficulty when they start talking with clients about the neuroscience related to chronic pain– mostly because these people have had bad experiences in the past with people thinking their pain is “all in their head.” Louw does a great job of emphasizing that pain is a real experience no matter what situation it occurs under, but that pain does not always correlate with tissue damage. Hurt does not always correlate with harm. This book uses fantastic metaphors and stories to help drive home key points. The book begins in the first two sections by describing the nervous system’s involvement in the pain experience, and goes into detail as to how these systems become overly sensitized in a person experiencing chronic pain. I especially love the pages where the authors highlight all of the situations that contribute to a more sensitized system (such as failed treatments, family concerns, fear/anxiety, ongoing pain, etc.) as I think this is such a big piece for people to understand. The next section focuses on pelvic pain specifically, initially beginning with highlighting one of the major problems in overcoming pelvic pain (the “taboo”). They then go on to utilize a wonderful analogy of a measuring cup being “filled” by the 400 nerves in the body passing information to the brain. This measuring cup “overflows” when a large volume of information is being sent or when emotions/stressors surround the experience (like a flame heating the water in the cup). This metaphor is used throughout the book with treatment focused on helping the water to stop boiling over.  The rest of this section goes through various diagnoses related to pelvic pain, but also emphasizes that the pain experience (from a neurological perspective) is the same in most diagnoses despite the differences in the symptoms. Lastly, the authors describe the difference between tissue problems and a sensitive nervous system.

Your metaphorical pain "cup"
Your metaphorical pain “cup”

Section 4 utilizes a fantastic metaphor of being under attack by a Lion and describes in detail how the body feeling under a constant threat of danger and in a strong protective response can contribute to experiences such as tender areas in the body, mood swings, appetite changes, fatigue… and much more! They also describe the other areas in the brain that are involved with pain and the overlap with different tasks (such as sensation, movement, and even memory!). They also maintain compassion and understanding for the experience unique to people with pelvic pain, and beautifully state, “At the core of being human, being alive, there are certain bodily functions that should not only be pain-free, but enjoyable…when you have pelvic pain, you’re not only robbed of pleasure, but the pleasure is replaced with pain. How unfair is that?”

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Don’t worry- the book does not end here :). Section 5 discusses treatment options emphasizing that treatment should be aimed at stopping filling or emptying the “cup” or extinguishing the “fire” under the “cup.” Then, the authors systematically go through current treatments including knowledge/education, manual therapy, soft tissue treatment, specific exercises, graded motor imagery, aerobic exercises, medication, sitting posture, breathing/relaxation, sleep, stress management, and activity pacing/graded exposure. Under each of these categories, clear explanations are given as well as recommendations to get started! I could write a whole other blog post on these recommendations…but then you wouldn’t be thirsty for more, would you? So, all of that to say– this was a wonderful book! I strongly recommend it for men and women experiencing chronic pelvic pain– it’s an easy read, cheap, and offers clear recommendations to get started toward pain-free relief. Knowledge truly is power when it comes to recovering from chronic pain. Do you have any questions about the book? Have you read it yet? What books do you love and want me to review next? I would love to hear from you in the comments below! ~ Jessica

How should urgency suppression strategies be modified for the tender or “hypervigilant” pelvic floor muscles?

~ jesspreale ~ Leave a comment

Urinary urgency, frequency and incontinence are complex and involve the interactions of multiple systems (somatic, visceral and neurological). These three problems are treated commonly in pelvic physical therapy and women’s health physical therapy practices. Urgency suppression strategies were initially developed based on these systems- with the understanding that the pelvic floor muscles were not contributing their part to the system.  In my opinion, this was largely based on the understanding the incontinence/urgency occurred when the pelvic floor muscles were not strong enough to properly hold back urine. But, over time we have learned that this is not always the case. (See my recent post here).

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So, do the same urgency suppression techniques apply for a tender pelvic floor muscle group? Hhow should urgency suppression techniques be modified for the overactive, shortened or hypervigilant pelvic floor?

To understand this, I first need to introduce you to the standard urgency suppression techniques.

UST Traditional

Now, please don’t take this as “Jessica doesn’t think urgency suppression techniques work,” because that is simply not true. I use these in the clinic all the time—for my patients who are experiencing urgency or urge incontinence and have weak, under-functioning pelvic floor muscles. These techniques work for this population a few different ways:

  • Deep breathing facilitates the parasympathetic nervous system which helps to keep the walls of the bladder relaxed thus allowing the bladder to fill and decreasing urgency. This breathing also helps to decrease the emotional fear that a person may feel (“Ahh, I hope I make it to the bathroom!”) which also will calm urgency due to the impact this has on the brain.
  • Strong, quick, contractions are thought to stimulate the neurological connection between the pelvic floor muscles and the bladder. Basically, quick contractions tell the bladder “it is not yet time to empty” and the bladder relaxes its contractions (which make us feel the strong urge) helping to calm urgency.
  • Distraction/Visualization are ways to get the mind off of the bladder and on to something else. Remember when you needed to go to the restroom, but got busy and forgot you needed to go? This aims to utilize that same mechanism to calm urgency and allow postponement of the urge.

Sounds great, right? And it is—really great for people who are experiencing urgency and have weak, underactive pelvic floor muscles. But what about for the people having overactive/shortened/hypervigilant pelvic floor muscles?

My thought process is that these techniques have to be modified to allow them to be effective for this population. First, we will keep a few steps and here’s why:

Deep breathing & Distraction/Visualization: I actually love these (especially the calm breathing) for my patients with difficulty relaxing the pelvic floor muscles. I often find that people with overactive pelvic floor muscles tend to be in a sympathetic-drive state for their nervous systems. Remember, the sympathetic nervous system is the “fight-or-flight” response. People who have chronic pain or chronic urgency/frequency often will have a significant amount of stress and fear, and I find that this state of their system often facilitates poor breathing patterns and overall increased tension and poor force modulation (meaning, choosing the right amount of muscle activity for the current task at hand). My colleague, Seth Oberst, wrote an amazing post about this very thing recently (I could write an entire post applying all of that to the pelvic floor!). So, we’ll keep these steps—with an emphasis on slow, calm breathing, utilizing the diaphragm and emphasizing relaxation of the pelvic floor with the inhale and returning to baseline with the exhale.

But here’s where we modify:

Quick, strong, pelvic floor contractions: My issue with this component for the overactive or hypervigilant or shortened pelvic floor muscles stems from a few key points. Traditional “kegels” or pelvic floor strengthening exercises are contraindicated for people with pelvic pain (or in my mind, anyone who has a tender, hypervigilant or overactive pelvic floor). Performing quick contractions for this population often will create pain, worsen the patient’s symptoms and actually increase urgency. You heard that right. Did you know that the pelvic floor muscles can actually refer to the bladder? I have had many instances when examining a person’s pelvic floor muscles that he/she reported that even lightly pressing on certain muscles made him/her feel urgency. And we know that somatovisceral convergence (a muscle impacting an organ) is real, and does occur.  So, what do we do about this step?

We use this relationship in our favor.

Instead of quick, hard contractions, the person can perform deep breathing and pelvic floor drops (emphasizing complete pelvic floor relaxation). Although initially, some of my clients will worry that relaxing the pelvic floor muscles will “open the flood gates” this does not typically occur. Instead, relaxation of the pelvic floor combined with breathing will often calm down the detrusor (bladder muscle) activity and allow them to feel decreased urgency.

So, what do these new urgency suppression strategies look like?

 New UST

 What do you think? If you have a tender pelvic floor and/or pelvic pain, I encourage you to give it a try! Let me know what you think! As always, I would love to hear from  you!

~ Jessica

Taking the first step: Getting moving when experiencing chronic pain

~ jesspreale ~ 9 Comments

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As many of you know, I recently took a huge step in my career and moved to Atlanta with my husband, accepting a job as a pelvic health physical therapist for a newly opening private practice with One-on-One Physical Therapy. Leaving my patients behind was one of the hardest parts of moving (if you’re reading this prior patient, I miss you!). One of the things I realized when working to find colleagues to treat my current patients was that I treat quite a number of people with chronic pain. And I love it. When I left Greenville, I would estimate that close to 50% or more of my caseload were men and women who had been experiencing pelvic pain for 6 months or more (and many of them, much longer than that!). Often times, people experiencing chronic pain feel trapped in an inactive state—fearing movement, exercise and even social activities as they correlate increased activity with increasing pain. The sad truth about this is that reality and current research tends to show the complete opposite:

Movement is medicine for chronic pain.

 Now, let’s take a step back…

What is chronic pain and what isn’t it?

 I promise this blog post is going to stay on track. Honestly, there are so many people much smarter than I am who have written amazing books, articles, and blog posts on understanding chronic pain. So, I will be succinct here, but give you some good resources at the end if it leaves you thirsty for more.

In short, all pain is produced by the brain. (Your pain is real, not all in your head, but the brain is always really involved!) Pain is an alarm system used by the brain when it perceives damage or even sees a threat of damage to the body. Pain is there to motivate the body to action—basically to help you eliminate the source of “threat.” Example: I step on a tack. I feel “pain.” I move my foot off of the tack.

This alarm system works really well for situations like the one above. There is a threat. We remove the threat. We feel better. But it is important to recognize that the amount of pain does not always correlate with the amount of damage. Example: A man walks into the emergency room with a knife sticking out of his leg, but isn’t experiencing “pain.” A papercut can be felt as VERY painful.

 The point is, the brain takes information in about our current situation, past experiences, emotions, etc. to create an experience of pain that it perceives as useful to us for the time being. This experience is influenced by situation (i.e. needing to get to the emergency room so the knife doesn’t “hurt”) emotion (i.e. No one knows what is wrong with me, so it must be really really bad!), fears (i.e. I am never going to be able to run again!), and life stressors (i.e. going through a divorce when the pain initially began).  

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 So, how does this relate to movement?

For many people experiencing pain, movement often becomes a “threat” to the brain. For example, if a person is experiencing pelvic pain and the brain believes that walking will worsen the pain, then often walking will be a pain producing activity—to protect you from the “threat” of walking! Over time, the threshold for pain can change and people can become more sensitive to movements or activities—basically, the brain becomes very good at playing the pain “tune.” Lorimer Moseley uses the example of an orchestra in his book Explain Pain. If an orchestra plays the same song again and again, they become very very good at playing that song. Our brain works in the same way.

With that being said, we have learned that if we can help a person to move in a way that his or her brain is not protecting or guarding by pain, we can actually reduce the sensitivity to those movements and help a person get back to an active lifestyle with less pain. This is as true for a person experiencing chronic pelvic pain as it is for a person with chronic low back pain or neck pain or ankle pain.

Does it actually work?

 The awesome part is that research has shown that movement and exercise are extremely helpful in pain reduction!  A meta-analysis in 2014 published by the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that regular aerobic exercise improved pain, disability and depression/anxiety scores in people with low back pain. Another meta-analysis and systematic review published in 2014 by the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that walking exercise helped to reduce pain levels in men and women experiencing chronic musculoskeletal pain. Even pregnant women with low back and pelvic girdle pain see benefits of exercise in pain reduction as noted in this 2012 review by the Journal of the Section on Women’s Health.

To see even more benefits of exercise, check out this awesome video by Dr. Mike Evans:

 

So, how do you get started if you hurt?

The key piece here is that we want to start moving at low pain levels in a way that will be therapeutic for your body—not in a way that will cause your body to guard and produce increased pain. When I treat patients with chronic pain, I start recommending movement at the first or second visit (of course, depending on the specific patient). Here is where I typically start:

  1. Begin with small, manageable movement goals: If you have spent the last 5 years moving from bed to the couch, it is probably not the best thing for you to begin a running program. For these people who have been very sedentary, I recommend starting small by aiming to walk around the house once every hour and perhaps adding in a small series of shallow squats at their kitchen counter along with a few other easy exercises. On the other hand, if you are fairly active, but have avoided regular exercise, try to slowly build up to a routine again. I generally recommend starting at 10-15 minutes and building up to 30-60 minutes depending on the person.
  2. Explore new and different exercise options: I have seen time after time that a person may be frustrated that she cannot do an exercise she enjoyed (i.e. running) so will stop exercising all together. Often times, I find that although one exercise may aggravate symptoms, another will be much more tolerated! I recently worked with a wonderful patient experiencing chronic pubic joint and pelvic pain—she loved walking for exercise, but found that walking was aggravating her pubic joint. We tried exercise in the pool, and she LOVED it! Not only could she begin moving again, but her pain seemed to stay at a low level while she exercised! So explore other options—walking, swimming, yoga, pilates, etc. Be open!
  3. Try not to be afraid of pain: Remember to see pain for what it really is! I often tell my patients that if an activity keeps their pain low or improves their pain, it is likely a good, safe exercise for them to be doing. That being said, sometimes patients will try an exercise and it will severely worsen their symptoms—and that is part of the learning process. Generally, we find if we hold off on that activity for a short time while finding another activity that is more tolerable, we can often return to the other activity at a later date with much lower levels of discomfort.
  4. Work with a team: I always recommend that my patients work closely with myself or another health care provider while they are getting back to movement. Sometimes, it is a little of trial and error learning what movement strategies are the most optimal to start with. Be patient, share your experiences, and be open to suggestion for different things to try!

 So, good luck! Get started, and let me know if you have any questions! Thankfully, I am not by any means the only person who has written on this topic, so check out these excellent resources from my colleagues working with people with pain.

 On Pain & the Brain:

 On Exercise for Pelvic Pain:

Do you have any other resources you love? What has worked for you in the past? PTs, what are your favorite suggestions to give patients? Let’s share and learn together in the comments below!

~ Jessica