resources
Chronic Pain
Videos: Explain Pain Series
Constipation
Product: Squatty Potty
Video: The Poo in You —Video explaining constipation in terms that children can understand (but also very useful for adults)
Children’s book: There’s a Zoo in my Poo by Rob Craw and Felice Jacka
Endometriosis
Book: Beating Endo by Iris Kerin Orbuch, MD and Amy Stein, DPT
Incontinence
Book: Womens Waterworks by Dr Pauline Chiarelli
Product: Finess —disposable, single use alternative to pads for bladder leaks
Product: Speax —underwear for absorbing bladder leaks
Products for fecal incontinence: Butterfly Pads (for mild symptoms), Coloplast-Peristeen Anal Plug (for more severe symptoms)
**Do not use menstrual products for incontinence
**There are so many factors that influence incontinence and there are multiple types of incontinence. Sometimes kegels help and sometimes they do not. When they don’t, seek pelvic PT.
Interstitial Cystitis
Book: Interstitial Cystitis Solution by Nicole Cozean, P.T., W.C.S. and Jesse Cozean
Lubricants and Moisturizers
Information: Everything You Need to Know About Vaginal Lubricants —including the pros, and cons of the different types
Information: Slippery Slope —information on the pH and osmolarity of lubricants
Commonly Recommended Lubricants: Überlube, Slippery Stuff, Sutil, Desert Harvest, YES (by no means is this a comprehensive list)
Commonly Recommended Moisturizers: Vmagic, Replens, Desert Harvest, YES, Damiva (by no means is this a comprehensive list)
**Please do not use intimate washes or douches
**Vaginal moisturizers should not be a replacement for topical estrogens if prescribed by your doctor
Menopause
A Good Place to Start: The 5 Best Menopause Books You Should Be Reading in 2021 | Heather Hirsch MD - YouTube
Book: Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals Through Menopause and Beyond by Stacy Sims
Pregnancy and Postpartum
Book: The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality by Kimberly Ann Johnson
Book: Your Best Body after Baby: A Postpartum Guide to Exercise, Sex, and Pelvic Floor Recovery by Jen Torborg, PT, DPT
Book: Your Best Pregnancy Ever: 9 Healthy Habits to Empower You in Pregnancy, Birth, and Recovery by Jen Torborg, PT, DPT
Book: Your Pelvic Health Book: A Guide to Pelvic Floor Awareness, Bladder Health, Bowel Health, Sexual Health, and Changes throughout Your Lifetime for ... Uterus by Jen Torborg, PT, DPT
Belly Support Products: Underworks, BLANQI, Baby Belly Band, The Baby Belly Pelvic Support, and so so so many more
Pelvic Pain
Book: Pelvic Pain Explained by Stephanie A. Prendergast and Elizabeth H. Akincilar
Book: Nutrition for Relieving Pelvic Pain by Jessica Drummond
Book: On the Sneak Tip: The Male Pelvic Revealed by Becca Ironside
Product: Ohnut —worn on the penis to limit penetration depth for those with deep pelvic pain
Prolapse
Personal Trainer: Power Over POP
Product: Femmeze —for splinting the vaginal wall to assist with defecation with a prolapse
Product: Poise Impressa —over-the-counter pessary
Product: Underworks
Product: V2 Support
Maternity Product: Baby Belly Band has compression add-ons
**Pessaries that are fit by your physician are superior to over-the-counter options. There are multiple types.
**PT treatment for a prolapse should include more than “kegel exercise” and should explore how your body manages abdominal pressures (for example: with lifting, with movement/exercise, breathing, coughing/sneezing/laughing, and defecation)
Self Trigger Point Release
Product: Theracane, Body Back Buddy, or similar products for self trigger point release
I’m also a fan of foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and many self massage tools!
**It might sound counterintuitive, but the point of these tools is not to “get rid of trigger points.” They are used to reduce the sensitivity of the skin, muscles, and tissues. In fact, trigger points are normal and do not have to cause pain.
Self Trigger Point Release-Pelvic Floor
Product: Intimate Rose Pelvic Wand
Product: TheraWand
**Do not use off-brands for internal trigger point release
Sexual Wellbeing
Book: Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D.
Book: Becoming Orgasmic: A Sexual Growth Program for Women by Julia R. Heiman, Leslie Lopiccol, Joseph Lopiccolo
Book: Reviving Your Sex Life After Childbirth by Kathe Wallace, PT, BCB-PMD
Book: Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
Book: Boys & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
Book for Preteen Audience: Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up by Heather Corinna