I often describe my approach to treatment as “holistic physical therapy”. Recently I had someone ask me what I meant by holistic, as they always think of physical therapy as being holistic since we aren’t performing surgery or using injections. This is a great point, so I thought I would write a blog further explaining what I mean when I say holistic physical therapy.

When it comes to pain management, there are two things I commonly hear from patients. The first: “No pain, no gain”. The second: “I was having pain, so I didn’t do anything for 2 weeks”. These two statements sit on complete opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to pain management. And in my experience, neither of these patients end up feeling better from these philosophies.

If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you have heard of pelvic organ prolapse. Maybe you have seen someone talking about it on their Instagram page and you aren’t sure what it is, maybe you suspect that you may have pelvic organ prolapse, or maybe you’ve been diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse and want to learn more about how you can manage it. Read on to learn more about pelvic organ prolapse and how pelvic floor therapy can help.

Just this week, I saw a post in a Facebook group where an expecting mom was asking about perineal massage for pregnancy and a few women suggested pelvic floor therapy, and others asked what pelvic floor PT is. It made me realize that there are still so many people who don’t realize we can help them! In this post, I’m going to cover what the pelvic floor is, what pelvic floor (or pelvic health) therapy is, and what to expect when you see a pelvic floor therapist.

If you’re a mom or mom-to-be, chances are you’ve been warned about “peezing”. You’ve likely been told that once you have a baby, you’re probably going to pee a little every time you cough or sneeze. It’s just the cost of giving birth, right? No matter how many babies you have delivered, or how you delivered them, peeing every time you cough or sneeze is not normal or something you have to live with. Read the rest of the blog to learn why “peezing” happens, and what to do about it.

Whether a patient comes to me with neck or back pain, is pregnant and preparing for labor and delivery, or is postpartum and beginning to rehab, we almost always start treatment with diaphragmatic breathing. There are many reasons why learning how to breathe well with your diaphragm is important, and in this blog post I’m going to explain what diaphragmatic breathing is and why you could benefit from working on breathing.

When I first started Absolute Kinetics, I chose the out of network model because it aligned with my goals and vision for the business. Being out of network, I can spend more time with patients each session and provide any type of treatment I think will be beneficial. Check out this post to learn more about this model and to clear up some myths around out of network care.

While it’s true that all calories have the same unit of energy, calories from food don’t always have the same impact on our weight and overall health. That’s because foods are more than the calories they provide. The various components that make up foods (macronutrients and micronutrients) impact calorie absorption and utilization.

When it comes to pelvic floor physical therapy, many people are under the impression that they are just going to be taught how to do kegels. When I was pregnant with my first son, I remember seeing a folder on the wall in my OB’s office titled “kegels” with hand outs of how to do a kegel inside of the folder. This perpetuates the idea that when it comes to the pelvic floor, it’s all about kegels. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be doing a billion kegels.

Diastasis recti (DR) is a common diagnosis postpartum, and there are many myths around diastasis recti. One of the main things folks with DR want to know is what exercises they should or should not do. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about this topic, so let’s dive in and set the record straight.

Urinary urgency and frequency are common, and they are sometimes considered “normal”, especially in the postpartum population. Moms will hear things like “that’s the cost of being a mom - peeing your pants, having to pee all the time, or not being able to hold it for very long”. I’m here to tell you that no matter how many kids you’ve had, how far postpartum you are, or even if you feel like you have “always had to pee a lot, even as a kid”, this is something we can work to improve!

When most people think of physical therapy, they think of patients doing exercises with a band or on a table at a PT clinic after a knee, shoulder, or other orthopedic surgery. Over the past several years, people have realized there is also benefit in seeing a physical therapist before having surgery (“prehab”) or to help reduce injury risk. When I worked in a hospital based system where we saw a lot of patients after joint replacements, we were often referred patients for prehab exercises before their surgery. So if patients are being sent to physical therapy to physically prepare for surgery, why aren’t expecting mothers being referred to physical therapy to help them prepare for what will (most likely) be the most physically demanding event of their life?

Although c-sections are somewhat common, there is a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation around what c-section mama’s should expect and how they should manage their symptoms postpartum.

When most people think of physical therapy, they picture a clinic full of patients doing exercises, sitting with hot or cold packs, and/or therapists using manual treatments like scraping, dry needling, cupping, or taping. So what is “virtual” physical therapy, how does it work, and is it effective?

Have you noticed the satisfaction of checking off a to-do list item doesn’t feel as potent, as satisfying as it used to be? Maybe you have lists, you have post-its, a calendar, some are even color-coded …but despite all this, and your ability to rattle off what your child wants for their birthday, where THE favorite toy is in the house, what your partner’s greatest struggle is right now, and how much leftovers are in the fridge you find yourself quietly wondering “Why can I not do the things I want to do? Why is it so hard for me to carve out time for myself? Am I even on this list anywhere?! How am I ever going to reach the goals I have for myself when I can’t imagine adding one more thing?”

Urinary urgency, frequency, and other urinary dysfunction can occur in all genders, and there are usually a few factors involved. As physical therapists, we are always looking at muscle function and how it affects the body. If you see a pelvic floor physical therapist for urinary dysfunction, it is certainly important that they assess how your pelvic floor muscles are functioning and identify any muscle tightness, weakness, or issues with muscle coordination. However, looking at bladder habits and bladder irritants can also be key in optimizing bladder function.

“You need to niche down in business”. This has always felt like a nearly impossible task to me as an orthopedic physical therapist. The body is all connected: how could I possibly specialize in one region, population, or diagnosis and not be doing a disservice to my patients!?

As Absolute Kinetics continues to grow and expand, we are so excited to announce our new coaching services! These services will allow us to expand our reach to clients who are not local to our offices. There are several coaching services we are offering, including run coaching, pregnancy and postpartum coaching, pelvic health coaching, and fitness and injury prevention coaching.

If you have ever exercised, you probably have had local muscle soreness that pops up a few hours later and is very annoying. This soreness is commonly called DOMS which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. A high school coach may have expressed this as a reward for good performance. I can still hear one of mine in my head saying, “pain is weakness leaving the body.” There is some truth to that, but we will dive into that later.