Category: breast cancer

The Special Care Needs of the LGBTQ+ Community

On By bbpt1In bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, constipation, Core Stability, diastasis recti, education, Endometriosis, fitness, Health, health awareness, Incontinence, injury prevention, LGBTQ+, lymphedema, multiple sclerosis, orthopedics, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, physical therapy, Pregnancy and postpartum, prostate cancer, prostatitis, sexual health, Uncategorized, urinary dysfunction, vaginismusLeave a comment

Happy Pride Month!!!!

We are reposting an old post broadly discussing the LGBTQ+ community, with special focus on transgender individuals. Please keep checking back as we continue to discuss specific issues relating to the care of the LGBTQ+ community.  

Amy Stein PT, DPT and Fiona McMahon PT, DPT

rainbow flag

Who are LGBTQ+ individuals?

At Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, we have been meeting and studying with experts about the LGBTQ + community. LGBTQ+ refers to individuals who do not identify as heterosexual or do not identify as cis- gendered (although these two categories are not mutually exclusive). Cis-gender means you identify with the genital anatomy you were born with. People who belong to the LGBTQ+ community can be cis-gendered (meaning they identify with the genital anatomy that they were born with) and be gay/lesbian/ bisexual/ questioning etc.  They can be trans-gender and heterosexual or some combination thereof. Basically LGBTQ+ is a term that includes people who are not both cis-gender and heterosexual. LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other individuals.  

Never Assume. Listen, Ask.

We were excited to understand and learn more about how we can help, specifically with patients experiencing pain or weakness in the pelvic floor. We met with an LGBTQ + advocate and he recommended the following when it comes to treating patients both within and outside the LGBTQ+ community.  First rule of thumb:  with all patients, don’t assume and be open to any questions or discussion. Ask if your patient would like you to stay away from certain terms regarding their anatomy, as well as their preferred gender pronoun. Use language that they want us to use.

 As with all patients, we need to use a biopsychosocial approach. With any patient, Richard Green at Bellevue hospital says that we always want to know exactly what is going on with our patient. We must subjectively understand why they are visiting us.  Has there been trauma, surgery, complications, or anything that has worsened their symptoms? What hormones and medications are they on? Don’t single anyone out. These questions are important for every patient.  

We want to get the medical and surgical history during or prior to the visit. There is no standard one surgical procedure or hormonal protocol in trans care. Hormones, either testosterone, estrogen, lupron, puberty blocking, testosterone suppressing can be used in many patients, but are also used specifically to aid in transition in transgender patients. Many hormones have consequences or side effects and our patients need be educated on the various options.  There is research on hormones and bodily changes, however there is no good research on how the hormones affect the pelvic region. Anti-estrogen hormones may result in vaginal drying and atrophy, more tissue tearing, and pain with penetration.  Endometriosis can be worsened with testosterone hormones.  Hormones can be administered via injection, pellets, patches, creams, gels, and pill form.  It’s important to realize side effects and risks of hormones for each patient. Dosage depends on body type, weight, previous surgeries, etc.  Hormone therapy can be given by a primary care provider or endocrinologist; however, many are not familiar with a specific protocol but at the same time each person may have different goals.  Progression of hormones can be monitored for each patient and according to patients wants and needs.  

For those who opt for surgical transition, it can result in pelvic pain and or weakness as organs are moved and or removed. Like we mentioned before, there is no one surgical protocol and it will vary from surgeon to surgeon, from changes in hormones from the removal of certain organs.  Knowing what tissues have been removed or moved and or where scar tissue could have been formed, is important to addressing a patient’s complaints. Also, it’s important to ask if the patient was having these symptoms or pain prior to any of the surgeries or hormonal medications. Surgical transition can take a long time with various surgeries and various symptoms that arise throughout. Some issues that  can occur are fistulas or fissures and when dealing with nerve implants there could be nerve damage and restrictions.

 

How is care for the LGBTQ+ community funded and regulated?

Medical coverage for the LGBTQ + community is non-regulated and different in each state. The Affordable Care Act, (ACA) covers some therapies and surgeries. You can try to appeal with each insurance which have their own policies on gender affirming care.

How can physical therapy help?

At Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, we specialize in abdomino-pelvic disorders, including pain, weakness, bladder, bowel and sexual dysfunction.  We also specialize in orthopedics and functional manual therapy.  We treat the LGBTQ+ community and we welcome any questions at desk@beyondbasicspt.com or call 212-354-2622. We are happy to help and look forward to hearing from you!
Resources: Center of excellence for transgender health.

WPATH center for care Endocrine Society

  • speaks on hormone therapy (however some information may be out of date).

 Adolescent Health Center

PH101: Ladies Only Session

On By bbpt1In BBPT Health Tip, bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, constipation, cupping, diastasis recti, education, Endometriosis, fitness, free seminar, health awareness, lymphedema, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, physical therapy, sexual health, Uncategorized, vaginismusLeave a comment

By: Fiona McMahon, DPT
Hey Ladies!!! In our next installment of our Pelvic Health 101 course, we are hosting a women’s only session to allow for a safe and non-threatening place to discuss many issues that can affect the health of your pelvic floor. This class one of Stephanie Stamas’s (the founder of PH101’s ) favorites and is definitely not to be missed. Hear more about it in her video below! Join us at 7pm on October 25, 2017  Please register at pelvichealth101.eventbrite.com

Location

110 East 42nd Street, Suite 1504

New York, NY

10017

Pelvic Health 101 Spring 2018 (2)

PH101: Does my Diet Really Matter?

On By bbpt1In BBPT Health Tip, bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, constipation, education, Endometriosis, free seminar, Health, health awareness, Incontinence, nutrition, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, Pregnancy and postpartum, Uncategorized, urinary dysfunctionLeave a comment

Fiona McMahon, DPT

Gluten free, soy free, low FODMAP… It’s amazing how many diets there are out there that really can  provide people with symptom relief. If you are suffering with chronic pain you may be confused on where to start, or what is right for you. You also may have tried out a bunch of different ways of eating, not seen results, and have gotten really frustrated. If this is the case for you, I highly encourage you to come to our next pelvic health seminar on March 28th at 7pm “Does my diet really matter”.

jessica-drummond-headshot-197x300This seminar will be hosted by a special guest speaker, nutritionist Jessica Drummond, MPT,CCN,CHC. Jessica Drummond is a former pelvic floor physical therapist who now specializes in nutrition for those suffering with pelvic floor dysfunction. This seminar has been a huge hit and is a great starting point for those considering adding nutrition as part of their healing journey.

Register at pelvichealth101.eventbrite.com today.

 

 

Location

110 East 42nd Street, Suite 1504

New York, NY

10017

Pelvic Health 101 Spring 2018 (2)

 

Continuing our Education: Vestibulodynia, Vulvar Pain, and Beyond

On By bbpt1In bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, constipation, Core Stability, education, Incontinence, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, physical therapy, Pregnancy and postpartum, sexual health, Uncategorized, vaginismus, Women's HealthLeave a comment

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Fiona McMahon PT, DPT

In a blog a few posts back, we covered some of our new skills we developed with our friends, Kelli Wilson PT, DPT, FAAOMPT, and Sara Sauder PT, DPT in addressing issues of the male pelvic floor. In this post, we will cover the new techniques and latest information we learned in issues concerning pelvic floor dysfunction in individuals of the female anatomy.

As experienced and expert physical therapists, we are all extremely comfortable with treating disorders of the pelvic floor, but the thing is, there is so much new information coming out, that even if your latest training was two years ago, chances are, there is a lot of new information out there to discover, which can really help your patients.

One of the most interesting things we learned about was in regards to hormonally mediated vestibulodynia and vulvar atrophy. Although many of us know how to spot these conditions, learning about the specific mechanism that causes them in cases of long term birth control use was fascinating. Long term birth control use can actually suppress the production of estradiol and testosterone from the ovaries and cause the liver to increase levels of sex binding hormone globulin, which takes even more of these hormones out of circulation. When this happens, the vulvar tissue can shrink, become thin, and friable (tear easily). This can cause burning and pain. It is important for PT’s to be able to screen for this condition so we may refer our patients to MDs who can get them on a different method of birth control or prescribe them topical treatments as needed.

We also learned more about conditions such as interstitial cystitis, lichens planus and sclerosis, pelvic congestion, vaginal adhesions, as well as other current medical treatments that are now available for our patients who are in pain.

All in all, it was a great course and we look forward to bringing our new knowledge to our patients to help them be more successful in our physical therapy treatments.

For most of last year, myself, Sara, and Amy worked together to contribute a chapter to the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health latest textbook on female pelvic pain which will be available soon on Amazon, and is an essential tool for practitioners treating pelvic and sexual pain from both a medical, mental health and physical therapy perspective. Check out the following excerpts from our chapter detailing treatment of pelvic pain here:

On who is an appropriate candidate for physical therapy:

“Ideal candidates for pelvic floor physical therapy referral are patients with pelvic floor musculoskeletal dysfunction or those who have been treated by clinicians for pelvic pathology but have not experienced symptom resolution. Clinicians can identify appropriate patients by palpating the vulva, performing a digital examination of thevaginal and rectal muscles, and performing a moist cotton swab test on the vestibule. If the patient reports reproduction of any of her sexual or pelvic pain symptoms with this examination, she is likely affected by pelvic floor dysfunction”

On what pelvic floor physical therapy is:

“Physical therapy intervention for the dysfunctional pelvic floor incorporates a comprehensive approach addressing specific tissue characteristics, strength, alignment, and neuromuscular control. Manual therapy is a hands‐on approach to correct tissue restrictions, improve alignment, and enhance blood flow. Different manual techniques may be used to achieve different objectives.”

Check out the full text: Musculoskeletal Management of Pelvic and Sexual Pain Disorders available here.

 

Sources

Pukall C, Goldstein A, Bergeron S, et al. Vulvodynia: definition, prevalence, impact, and pathophysiological factors. J Sex Med. 2016; 13(3): 291-304

Burrows L. Basha M. Goldstein A., et al. The effects of hormonal contraceptives on female sexuality: a review. J Sex Med. 2012;9 (9) 2213-23

Pelvic Health 101 is back and with BRAND NEW COURSES

On By bbpt1In bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, Cold Laser, constipation, Core Stability, diastasis recti, education, Endometriosis, fitness, free seminar, Health, health awareness, Incontinence, injury prevention, lymphedema, male pelvic pain, marathon, meditation, Men's Health, Modalities, multiple sclerosis, nutrition, orthopedics, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, pediatrics, Pelvic Pain, persistent genital arousal disorder, physical therapy, Pregnancy and postpartum, prostate cancer, prostatitis, sexual health, Uncategorized, urinary dysfunction, vaginismus, Women's HealthLeave a comment

Fiona McMahon PT, DPT

Our Pelvic Health 101 courses are back! For those of you not in the know about our courses, they are informational sessions provided by top experts in the field of pelvic pain and pelvic function. These courses allow you to dive more deeply into topics such as bowel, bladder and sexual function and dysfunction, pelvic and genital pain, childbirth, diet, issues with kiddos, and much more.

This year we added a Gent’s Only Session to be a companion to our Ladies only session to help answer some of the specific questions you may have about pelvic floor function as it relates to sexual health, bladder and bowel health, as well as pain.

Our first class is “PH101: Something’s Wrong with my What?”, where our own Stephanie Stamas,will be going through the basics of anatomy of the pelvic floor, what can go wrong and how we can fix it. Our first class is on March 7th at 7pm. Register here: pelvichealth101.eventbrite.com, to reserve your spot. Our classes are extremely popular so make sure you register well ahead of time.

Check out

Location:

110 East 42nd St, Suite 1504

New York, NY

10017

Check out all the upcoming classes here:

Pelvic Health 101 Spring 2018 (2)

Why seek out a physical therapist with advanced orthopedic training? The case for CFMT and OCS

On By bbpt1In BBPT Health Tip, bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, Cold Laser, constipation, Core Stability, dance medicine, diastasis recti, education, Endometriosis, fitness, Health, health awareness, Incontinence, injury prevention, marathon, orthopedics, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, physical therapy, Pregnancy and postpartum, prostate cancer, running, sexual health, sports, strength, Uncategorized, urinary dysfunction, vaginismusLeave a comment

Pelvic 3By: Kaitlyn Parrotte, PT, DPT, OCS, CFMT

If you have perused our website, you might have noticed that here at Beyond Basics, we have many physical therapists who have a CFMT certification, or are in the process of completing one. Now the question lies, what is a CFMT? How is this approach unique? How can this approach be of benefit to me?

The acronym CFMT stands for Certified Functional Manual Therapist. This certification is through the Institute of Physical Art (IPA), which is an organization founded by two physical therapists, Gregg and Vicky Johnson.

With the CFMT approach, we evaluate and treat every individual’s mechanical capacity (how your tissues and joints move), neuromuscular function (how your system stabilizes itself, and the coordination of muscle activation), and motor control (how an individual moves and performs daily tasks). Furthermore, we assess and retrain how these three individual components interact to ensure each person can return to the tasks/activities they need and love to do.

What this means is, when a new patient walks through our door, we don’t just focus on one small area, such as only the knee in which you report pain. Instead, we will look at the big picture by assessing your strength, amount of limb and segmental motion available to you, posture and alignment, and movement, which can be as simple as getting out of a chair, or a higher level activity such as running, weight lifting or other sport-related activity. This will allow us to get a thorough impression of what impairments you might have, and will help us determine what the cause of your symptoms and functional limitations is (what is the driver?). From here we can figure out the most effective approach to your treatment, and will apply progressive interventions that help to ensure continued benefits from each session. We have found that this approach commonly gets you back to your activity or sport faster!

Now you may be asking yourself, “Well this sounds interesting, but why does it matter?” Looking at the whole person and treating your system overall, allows us to make lasting changes, not only to a specific body part that is causing problems for you, but also with your habits of how you hold yourself and move. By becoming more aware of your body and moving with more efficiency, you will find day-to-day activities, and even sporting activities, are easier for you to perform. Furthermore, and most importantly, if you are able to move and live in a more efficient way, you are decreasing the risk of future injury.

So whether you are experiencing incontinence, pelvic pain, low back pain, or a shoulder injury, having a knowledgeable therapist work with you, can make a significant impact on your function and quality of life.

 

Navigating Life with Chronic Pain: Part II

On By bbpt1In BBPT Health Tip, bladder, bowel, breast cancer, cancer, constipation, education, Endometriosis, health awareness, meditation, multiple sclerosis, Painful Bladder Syndrome/IC, Painful Sex, Pelvic Pain, prostate cancer, prostatitis, sexual health, Uncategorized, vaginismusLeave a comment

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Fiona McMahon, PT, DPT

Welcome back to our discussion on chronic pain. In our last blog we discussed why one might experience chronic pain and some common missteps and pitfalls that have occurred in our understanding of chronic pain. If you haven’t yet read part one of this blog, I highly recommend checking it out first so you can get the most out of this post. Click here to read it now.

For chronic pain we have drugs, surgery, mental health therapy, physical therapy, and what is called complementary alternative medicine (CAM), which includes modalities like yoga, acupuncture, and mindfulness meditation. We discussed earlier about how some opiods may actually be harmful in treating chronic pain. Unnecessary surgery can also have risks of actually increasing pain post surgically, because it can change the brain’s sensitivity to pain. Because, for most musculoskeletal conditions, a course of conservative treatment is recommended for a period of time before turning to surgery, we will focus on non-surgical, and non medical approaches to chronic pain.

Before we dive into specific treatments, let’s talk about what puts a person at risk for chronic pain. We can divide these risks into modifiable and non modifiable risks. Non modifiable risks are situations or characteristics about ourselves that we can not change. They include socioeconomic status, where you live or have lived, cultural background and genetic factors. Unfortunately, we can’t change these things, but things like alcohol intake, nutrition, and obesity are all things we can change and have been generally understood as modifiable risk factors for chronic pain. Now that we have that in mind, let’s explore different approaches for the management of chronic pain.

 

Mindfulness Practice as Pain Management

Have you tried mindfulness practice? I ask this question a lot. When I ask it, I am careful to frame it in a way that does not give the patient the impression that I think their pain is all in their head, but rather, I try and present it as part of an adjunct to the current physical therapy treatment they are receiving from myself or any of the other PT’s at Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, and any other medical intervention they may be receiving.

Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation are somewhat based on eastern meditation practices.  Not all mindfulness programs are the same, but the basic premise is to allow  the participant to to observe their thoughts, feelings, sensations, and attitudes without judgement. Giving them the opportunity to reframe their thoughts in a positive manner.

It may sound like a small change, but research is really starting to bear out that changing your frame of mind about pain can have some very real results. In a meta-analysis done by Hilton  and colleagues, mindfulness programs were found to have statistically significant positive results on pain, depression, and quality of life.

There are a lot of ways you can incorporate mindfulness into your day to day life. Apps for your phone are really helpful. I recommend both Calm and Headspace. I personally like Calm a bit better, but both are excellent. Headspace is a good starter because it breaks up meditation into more digestible nuggets, which can be a good way to start your meditation practice. Calm, as the name implies, is more soothing.  There are also guided classes you can attend in your area if that’s more up to your speed.

Be patient with mindfulness, I definitely suggest giving it the old college try. Stick with it for a week or two. If it isn’t for you, that’s perfectly okay. It’s not a moral failing, or a psychological one it’s definitely a case of different strokes for different folks.

Psychological Intervention

In a study performed by Macrae and colleagues, it was found that patients who engaged in catastrophizing type behaviors experience post surgical pain at a significantly higher rate. Catastrophizing is envisioning a situation to be far worse than it actually is. A good example for this blog would be a patient with low back pain, jumping to the conclusion that her back pain will prevent her from being able to work and she would end up on the street, secondary to her her lack of ability to secure an income. Although this is a possibility, it really isn’t a realistic one and it fails to entertain the possibility of the back pain remaining stable or getting better.

Mindfulness meditation can help with catastrophizing behaviors, but sometimes you need a little extra help. Psychological interventions, like talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, can help you get a handle on these thoughts and address your current loss of function, secondary to pain in a more productive manner. Cognitive behavioral therapy as well as other forms of therapy have shown improvement in pain symptoms and quality of life in adults, and has shown even more robust effects in children.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient form of eastern medicine that is gaining a stronger and stronger foothold in the States. It has been shown to be effective in managing a number of conditions, and chronic pain is no different. Reviews of acupuncture in the scientific literature have found that acupuncture can improve pain and function. The same review found that electroacupuncture had even more robust results for pain and stiffness.

Yoga

Yoga is super hip right now. In fact it now has its own international day on June 21st of each year. It does for good reason. A consistent and solid yoga program has been shown to improve conditions such as low back pain, myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be a great option to continue to add consistent exercise and pain management into your life.

Physical Therapy and Exercise

Exercise is good for you, even if you have chronic pain. The old way of thinking was to put someone on days of bedrest when they have chronic pain. No more. Evidence has shown gentle movement progressing into more functional training can really help with chronic pain. In fact the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence’s (NICE)  osteoarthritis  guideline is  “exercise should be a core treatment… irrespective of age, comorbidity, pain severity and disability. Exercise should include: local muscle strengthening [and] general aerobic fitness”(NICE 2014) . Geneen and colleagues found in their review and meta-analysis of the current literature that just receiving the advice to exercise alone, is not sufficient to produce improvements in pain scales. That’s where the professionals like physical therapists come in, PTs have the knowledge and expertise to prescribe exercise that is not only safe and functional, but hopefully kind of fun. PTs also can diagnose and treat issues such as tissues with reduced mobility and poor alignment to ensure you get the most out of your exercise.

Data show that a prescribed and monitored exercise program by a physical therapist can have good effects on pain symptoms and can help facilitate the production of your body’s own natural painkillers.  Additionally exercise can help individuals lose weight, which can reduce the pressure on one’s  joints and further improve pain.

Aside from exercise and hands on work, we can use modalities like kinesio tape at physical therapy. Kinesiotape has been shown to improve not only pain, but decrease trigger points, improve range of motion and improve disability rates in individuals suffering with myofascial pain syndrome.

Conclusion

Chronic pain is complex. Rarely is there a silver bullet that will cure it. Treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach, which has been shown to be more effective than traditional treatment alone. Start small, where you feel comfortable when adding something new into your treatment approach. You will find what works best for you. A good place to start is here at Beyond Basics. Our staff not only has the expertise to treat you from a physical therapy perspective, they also have the ability to guide you towards other traditional and complementary treatments/practitioners that can help you reach your goal. Your treatment for chronic pain does not have to be and should not be passive, please call and make an appointment today to start your journey.  

 

Sources:

 

Achilefu A, Joshi K, Meier M. et al. Yoga and other meditative movement therapies to reduce chronic pain. J Okla State Med Assoc. 2017;110(1):14-16

 

Andersen T, Vægter H. A 13-Weeks Mindfulness Based Pain Management Program Improves Psychological Distress in Patients with Chronic Pain Compared with Waiting List Controls. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2016;12: 49-58

 

Ay S, Konak H, Evick D, et al. The effectiveness of kinesio taping on pain and disability in cervical myofascial pain syndrome. Rev Bras Reumatol. 2017; 57(2) 93-9

 

Eccleston C, Crombez G. Advancing psychological therapies for chronic pain [version 1]; referees: 2 approved]. F1000 Faculty Rev. 2017

 

Geneen L, Moore R, Clarke C, et al. Physical activity and exercise for chronic pain in adults: an overview of Cochrane Reviews ( Review).  Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017; 4

 

Hilton, L, Hempe; S, Ewing B. Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Behav Med. 2017. 51:199-213

 

Kamper S, Apeldoorn A, Chiarotto A, et Al. Multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation for chronic pain ( review). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014; 9.

 

Macrae W. Chronic post-surgical pain: 10 years on. Br J Anaesth 2008;101: 77-86

 

Mayer F, Scharhag-Rosenberger F, Carlsohn A. The intensity and effects of strength training in the elderly.  Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(21):359-64

 

Neira S, Marques A, Pérez I. Effectiveness of aquatic therapy vs land based therapy for balance and pain in women with fibromyalgia: a study protocol for a randomized trial. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2017; 18(22)

 

Perry R, Leach V, Davies P, et al. An overview of systematic reviews of complementary and alternative therapies for fibromyalgia using both AMSTAR and ROBIS as quality assessment tools. Sytematic Reviews. 2017. 6(97)

 

Saxena R, Gupta M, Shankar N, et al. Effect of yogic intervention on pain scores and quality of life in females with chronic pelvic pain. Int J Yoga. 2017. 10(1): 9-15

 

Singh P, Chaturvedi A. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Cancer Pain Management: A Systematic Review. Indian J Palliat Care. 2015. 21(1): 105-15