Protecting your package

Testicular Pain in Men after exercise

There is no denying the numerous benefits that exercise has to offer. It helps to increase your energy level, improve muscle strength and helps to maintain a healthy weight just to name a few. For some men a high impact or high intensity workout is your way of reaping those benefits. But as a physical therapist who specializes in Pelvic Floor dysfunctions, I remind my patients to protect your package.

What do I mean by that? Some of these high intensity or high impact exercises can lead to testicular and groin pain in men. It can be accompanied with symptoms of increased urinary urgency, frequency, difficulty to initiate urination, painful intercourse and constipation. Plus there can also be some abdominal pain or discomfort.

Although, it is important to rule out more serious causes like a hernia, testicular torsion, epididymis etc. often times the injury is from a musculoskeletal cause such as abductor muscle sprain, strain, pelvic floor muscle injury or spasm which can be aggravated by heavy exercise. There can also be altered body mechanics or posture which can put your muscles in compromising positions which make you prone to injury.

So What Do You?

• Visit your doctor to rule out serious pathology
• If there is a sprain, strain or pelvic floor spasm, visit a physical therapy clinic with a pelvic floor PT. 
• Wear cotton breathable supporting underwear to reduce irritation from sweat and help minimize excessive movement 

Here are some stretches that might help you if tight abductors or your pelvic floor is the cause:

Butterfly Stretch

Happy Baby

Frog Stretch

Piriformis Stretch 

What we do at Duffy and Bracken 

• We are a team of sports, orthopedics and pelvic floor physical therapists who follow a team approach to use our skills to your benefit
• Our Pelvic Floor physical therapists work with you for pelvic pain and urinary/constipation symptoms
• You are assessed for proper mechanics and posture using wearable sensor technology called dorsaVi
• We help to improve your movement patterns to eliminate the cause of pain and/or injury

Bhavti Soni, PT
Pelvic Floor Therapist
bhavti@duffyandbracken.com

The "Magic" of Physical Therapy

Physical therapy (PT) can deliver positive thoughts into motion when summoned. One popular aspect is when the beneficial outcome surrounding a successful PT encounter is mutually celebrated by all parties involved. However, sometimes there seems to be a general disconnect on the understanding of what makes a fruitful PT experience actually successful. After speaking with several patients and the general public, it seems that there's an abundance of confusion as to what physical therapy actually is and how it tends to work its “magic.”  

Throughout my frequent long days of working in an outpatient PT facility, I often hear patients erroneously utter the words "fix me” in various ways. Poor phrases tend to circulate the clinical atmosphere such as: "I need you to fix me." "Thanks for fixing me." "You fixed me, but I managed to screw it up again." I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but love to be the presenter of truth. The truth is that the aforementioned sayings are all misnomers and highlight an unfortunate epidemic plaguing the world of physical rehabilitation. This epidemic primarily relates to passiveness of patients in their rehab process. It is a passiveness created around erroneous expectations of physical therapists and misconceptions about therapist job requirements and abilities.

Contrary to popular belief, physical therapists don't really fix people. It's not a therapist's job to fix anyone, nor do therapists possess the superhuman qualities to fix anyone. What therapists actually do is coach. What we actually are, are coaches. We are health coaches, bio-mechanic coaches, musculo-skeletal coaches that develop a patient-specific plan of care consisting of various treatment techniques and therapeutic exercise to help restore functionality. The reason why it comes off as a “fix” is because when physical therapy is performed correctly to a treatable case, it allows for the augmentation of function and reduction/elimination of symptoms. We make people feel better, but we do not fix people. We provide the tools to help people fix themselves. These tools allow patients to be active participants in their rehab process and not passive mummies that view PT to that of a spa treatment. We provide the program, we provide encouragement, we provide help. Work is required for both parties involved. That is the fix, that is the magic. However, magic only happens when each party owns up to their role in the game.

Now, it is quite true that there are many useful techniques (manual, instrument-assisted, or modality treatment) employed by a PT that seem magical but are impossible to be duplicated by a patient. Although these therapist-applied treatments are beneficial, the true magic is formed when patients follow the therapist-scripted blueprint on how to keep those results attained from whatever the PT is solely capable of providing. What may feel like a fix will be disappointingly short-lived if active participation is neglected on the patient's part. The true magic of physical therapy is centered around the human experience and not from any form of spellbinding magical PT prowess in any case. Physical therapy uses the skill of the therapist combined with the wants and needs of the patient to bring the best attainable results possible. Active engagement is 100% required for all. Physical therapy may seem magical, but only due to all the unspoken intangibles involved around when humans interact together positively. Great communication and being on the same page highlight the true magic of physical therapy. Physical therapy is individualistic. It's altruistic. It's an art.

                                        

Clifford Civil, PT, DPT

clifford@duffyandbracken.com

Six Reasons to See a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist Postpartum

Having a baby is a joyful and fulfilling experience but also can take a heavy toll on your body. Growing and carrying a baby for nine months followed by delivery might cause new aches and pains that a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist can help you address. 

Here are six reasons you may need to see a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist postpartum

1.      Musculoskeletal pain

-          Growing and carrying a baby for 9 months really can take a toll on our musculoskeletal system. Some common postpartum issues include: tight hip flexors, poorly activating abdominal muscles, low back pain and instability through the pelvis.

2.      Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM)

-          Pelvic floor weakness can lead to symptoms such as poor or weak orgasm, urine leakage and/or a feeling of “falling out” vaginally.

3.      Prolapse

-          “falling down” or “downward displacement” of the bladder, uterus and/or rectum

-          This can happen in varying degrees and symptoms can include “falling out” feeling vaginally or even vaginal tissue extending externally.

4.      Diastasis Recti

-          The separation of rectus abdominis muscle which can happen during pregnancy.

-          You might notice you have this if you attempt to do a crunch and see a half football shaped bulge vertically on your stomach.

5.      Incontinence

-          Urine leakage, a common compliant post-partum, is another reason to see us!

-          Prolapse, weak PFM and poor neuromuscular control of PFM can all cause this annoying symptom.

6.      Scar sensitivity

-          A sensitive scar can be the cause of painful intercourse, can limit your ability to perform a kegel and/or can cause tension in pelvic floor muscles leaving you with pain.

We, at Duffy &Bracken PT, have the skill set and tools to help you feel like yourself again. We use biofeedback equipment to measure pelvic floor muscle strength, manual skills to treat pain and our skill and experience to teach and encourage you along the way. Let’s not forget what our bodies went through over the last nine months! We need to take care of ourselves and be proactive about our health and wellness; after all we are now responsible for a little one. See you soon!



Candice Amat, PT, DPT

P3 Pregnancy Program: Don't Become A Statistic!

P3 is a program I developed after my first pregnancy to help women achieve their full potential as moms to be and new moms!

Let's back track a few years, after I gave up my stint with the sports world where I spend almost a decade of my career......and settled into my current Downtown NYC clinic!

Every day we saw women for pregnancy related headaches, shoulder, back and knee pain and then two years later I found myself pregnant...... and I decided "NOT ME", I'm not becoming a statistic.

So the P3 pregnancy program was born four months after the birth of my first child and of course I repeated the program again when I had my second.  

So come along with me on this journey through my blog where I will share tips, secrets, and honest truths plus teach you how to have the best pregnancy journey ever!  

Stay tuned and check out an overview of the program below.

Renuka Pinto, MPT, PGDR, CSCS, CES

The P3 Method: Plan, Prepare, Prevent

The P3 Method is tailored to your particular needs and is even covered by some health insurance plans. The class is held by appointment only, and can be scheduled at your convenience.

Your custom program may include the following:

MANUAL THERAPY

One-on-one, hands-on approach to address musculoskeletal changes

PELVIC MUSCLE RE-EDUCATION

A technique that uses computerized equipment to measure baseline pelvic floor strength at onset of pregnancy and then re-train pelvic floor post delivery

PELVIC FLOOR EDUCATION

Kegel and breathing techniques to facilitate integrity of pelvic floor

POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION AND MOVEMENT TECHNIQUE

A visual and proprioceptive feedback is utilized to adapt to bodily changes

 

STRENGTH BUILDING

GRAVITY small-group personal training is a non-impact tool to help build muscle strength and cardio efficiency

CUSTOM SHOPPING

Individualized education on baby products in relation to your body type and muscle strength (e.g. sling versus carrier)

BABY TRAINING

Specific stretches and strengthening exercises to prevent post-delivery musculoskeletal breakdown when caring for your newborn

GETTING YOUR BODY BACK

Post-delivery exercise program to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight

Q&A

Tips on how, what, when, and where while pregnant, immediately postpartum, and post-labor

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