Recent Posts
From Carb Loading to Gluten Free: Field Notes from an Active Mom
What are the benefits of going gluten-free for female athletes and active moms? Please enjoy this guest post from Dr. Carolyn Dolan, DPT of Renosoar As a past college athlete and now an everyday athlete in the form of an active mom and occasional Crossfit...
Vulvovaginal Pain and The Immune System: Practical Steps for Vulvovaginal Pain Relief
It is well accepted that the nervous system is the ultimate “decider” when it comes to an individual’s pain response in any given moment. You have surely experienced this yourself when a paper cut feels like your whole hand is on fire, or when you wake up with a...
Being a Healer and a Woman During The Modern Healthcare Revolution
It is well understood that the Western Healthcare System is broken. A 2013 survey revealed that 60% of healthcare workers feel burned out in their jobs (Healthcare Traveler Newsletter, 2013). Hospital mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States...
Healthy Comfort Food: Italian Sausage Minestrone Soup Recipe
As the weather gets colder and we are knee deep in the holiday madness (I mean excitement!), it’s helpful to have a few recipes on hand to soothe your soul, your hormones, and your digestion. One of my favorite healthy comfort food recipes is my Italian Sausage...
Celiac Disease and Infertility
What is the impact of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease on unexplained infertility? A recent study prospectively examined the role of undiagnosed celiac disease in couples with unexplained infertility (Karaca et al., 2015). Several important pieces of information...
Have a Healthy Holiday Smoothie
This is a holiday recipe that I hope that you won't need. But, sometimes we all overdo it, push a bit too hard, eat a bit too much holiday sugar, sit next to the coughing guy on the plane, or end up on the receiving end of our kid's snotty sneeze. This recipe is for...
An Interesting Pilot Study on Diet and Exercise to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
It is well known that eating healthfully and exercising can help to reduce breast cancer risk. But, there are still many questions about what specific influences diet and exercise can have on cancer risk factors. Researchers performed a pilot diet and exercise...
The Future of Lifestyle Medicine: Health Coaching, Physiotherapy, Nutrition, Fitness, Bodywork, and Herbalism
It is well known that the global health crisis is being caused not by acute illnesses, but by chronic disease such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. Sixty percent of all global deaths are caused by chronic illness, and many...
Are Sunscreen Chemicals More Risky Than Sun Exposure?
Do sunscreen chemicals cause more damage or risk than sun exposure? Sunscreens are highly recommended by dermatologists, let's talk about safe sunscreen options. According to Stotarczek and colleagues, modern sunscreens use completely insoluble compounds that are...
Probiotics and Anxiety
When working with clients with pain, anxiety is often present as well. Personally, anxiety was the trigger that finally brought my own hormonal imbalance to my attention. Anytime the stress hormones are out of balance (and certainly chronic pain can trigger...
The Impacts of Air Pollution on Fertility
Fertility health is often indicative of general health. But, when women struggle with infertility for no apparent medical reason it can be extremely frustrating. It turns out that supporting the health of the planet is as essential as getting enough sleep and eating...
Inspiring Health through Beautiful and Delicious Pizza
Here at The Integrative Pelvic Health Institute we believe that it's essential for health and wellness professionals to understand the research (or lack there of) supporting their clinical practice. We encourage our professional students to participate in informal...
What Does It Mean When Your Pelvis Hurts?
What does it mean when your pelvis hurts? Pelvic pain is pain in the muscles, joints, nerves, or organs of the pelvis. It can be vague pain that is difficult to isolate to any particular organ, muscle, nerve or joint, or it can be related to a number of more specific...
How Fermented Foods and Probiotic Supplements Can Help Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain
There is a growing understanding that the microbial composition of the digestive system, urogenital system, and urine of women with pelvic pain conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), interstitial cystitis (IC), and chronic yeast infections varies from...
THE Chicken Soup for Women Recovering from Birth or Surgery
Recovery from birth or surgery both require similar care for the soft tissue to regain it's strength. Collagen is important for healing from surgical incisions, C-section incisions, and episiotomies or tears. Collagen is also essential for maintaining bone density...
The Ultimate Guide To Choosing a Prenatal Vitamin
Optimal nutrition support for our client begins before she even conceives. Birth control pills make it difficult for women to absorb some nutrients that are essential for a healthy pregnancy. Ideally, women who were previously on birth control pills will...
How to Take Care of Your Energy When You’re Traveling for Business
I just returned from an amazing opportunity. I spent most of last week at the largest national conference for physical therapists in the United States. In so many ways it was amazing. I had the chance to give a 2-hour presentation to my colleagues on using...
You are a powerful woman (even if you’re in pain.)
Do you choose to remain powerfully feminine when your pelvic pain hits? Do you even know that you have a choice? I will never forget one of the worst pain episodes of my life. I had endometriosis in my mid-twenties, and one afternoon I was meeting with some of the...
How to Teach Your Clients to Cook with Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients
Supporting your patients and clients to be more comfortable in the kitchen and learn how to cook with more anti-inflammatory ingredients is one of the best ways to help them to embrace the self-healing and self-nurturing power of using food as medicine. When your...
The Top 4 Causes of Amenorrhea: Guest Post From Nicole Jardim
Your period is missing! Where and why did it go? When will it come back? Why is this bothering you so much when you’ve wished countless times for your period to go away anyways? Anyone who has experienced Amenorrhea knows about the anxiety caused by our friend who...
How to Prevent and Relieve Back Pain: Guest Post from Dr. Joe Tatta
As clinicians we often think about how to treat a diagnosis. But, as we shift to thinking of our patients as clients and empowering them to take more responsibility for their health, we shift to thinking about how to help them build resilience in their physiologic...
Could Your Anxiety Be Related To Your Hormones?
Have you ever woken up from a sound sleep with a racing heart and sweaty palms, not even sure what scared you? Have you ever jumped into full-on, mama bear, fear and anxiety because your toddler tripped, or your third grader had a tough day at school, and felt the...
5 Ways to Quiet Your Mind, Inspire Your Family, and Reduce Your Pain
Yesterday I finally made it back to yoga. Actually, I put my toe in the water on Saturday by dragging my whole family to a family yoga class in the midst of a downpour. We were the only people there and it was a lovely bonding experience. Claire, my 10 year old,...
Are you always tired?
Last week I had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Angela Savitri, OTR/L. She’s a Freedom from Chronic Stress™ Coach and Occupational Therapist. We had a great discussion about Adrenal Fatigue. If you're struggling with being tired all of the time, tired in...