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Hi All,
Hapy New Year !
Its been 6+ months for me being in this treatment. Really thankful to Dr B for all this. I would appreciate if I can get few opinion on doing PT
1. What have been your sitting symptoms like and their severity (pain/discomfort upon sitting) or pelvic discomfort symptoms from the start of the treatment and till date ?. Do you still use cushion at bottom & what has helped you most with the sitting ?
My most bothering symptoms have always been pelvic discomfort and deep seated ache upon sitting on even slight hard surface. Discomfort has improved a lot thanks to this treatment but dull cahe is worsening.
2. Did you receive any physical therapy during the treatment with Dr. B's approval. I guess doing PT on inflammed tissues won't be good but then can inflammation/trigger points be totally cured by this treatment only .Upto what level treatment has helped you with this ?.
3. Did PT diagnosed any muscles/tissues impairments or trigger points ?. Not sure upto what level even trigger points can be removed just doing this treatment with no PT at all ?. My PT told that I should take physical therapy sessions even though I plan to do this treatment. Also she told me that even after resolving pelvic sitting/discomfort issue, pelvic floor can remain sensitive/prone to some flares
Thanks
Sid
Hi Sid
Hi Sid
Good questions!! Curious what others will say...
This whole pt thing is very interesting.
Dr. B told me not to do PT because it can really stirr things up down there.
The physical therapist is going to tell you (honestly, from her experience) that people can be prone to flares after some of the pain is resolved. This is her paradigm. This is her training and practice. But how many of Dr. B's IC patients has your PT worked with? The one study that my PT showed me on reducing IC symptoms with pelvic floor PT was done with a very small cohort, and was not done with IC patients in treatment with Dr. B. It does sound like maybe you have some pelvic floor muscle challenges. The question is, how do you safely address them during treatment?
I did see a pelvic floor rehab PT for two sessions before I started working with Dr. B. She did find some trigger points in my pelvic floor. (as a side note, I experienced vaginal itching and discharge after the visits. Yucky.) She did say that about 1/3 or more of her patients with IC symptoms were Ballet Barre Class enthusiasts (that would be me!) This means chronically tight pelvic floor muscles. However, there are MANY, MANY people (barre/pilates enthusiasts included) with chronically tight pelvic floors (read: anyone in the western world that sits most of the day!) and they do not have IC!!!
I personally would want to be very low, low symptoms before working with a PT, to be sure I was not at risk of triggering more pain down there.
If I were you, I would read up on Katy Bowman's (Biomechanist) work on the pelvic floor. Restoring and maintaining a good length for pelvic floor muscles requires some gentle stretching of the right muscles, and learning how to stand and sit with a neutral spine and pelvis to maintain that proper muscle length. She is also a huge fan of standing, in alignment, for large parts of the day, as sitting is not the best for our health anyway!! Here is a link to her PF DVD:
http://www.amazon.com/DOWN-THERE-WOMEN-Katy-Bowman/dp/B004FCWHPA/ref=sr_...
There is also an Iphone app for this content!
You can also search her blog for free info on pelvic floor health.
http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/
Work on gently lengthening your hamstrings and IT band. Make sure that when you can sit, you are sitting on your sits bones (never on your tailbone, even in the car), with a neutral spine and neutral pelvis. Search "neutral spine" on her blog. It is not what you think it is. I learned a TON from her blog alone. Roll a firm towel for the back edge of your car seat, to gently tip your pelvis forward so you can sit on sits bones even in the car. Car seats are the worst for tight pelvic floors
I hope you will try the stretches that Katy Bowman recommends. Of course, double check with Dr. B. This seems like a safe way to proceed without PT that may give you some relief but is not at all invasive. It is also a good investment in pelvic floor health going forward.
Feel free to PM me if you have more questions about Katy's work.
If we don't excel at health, the only other option is disease.