On one hand, the notion of pelvic pain may seem a bit “off topic.” On the other, if you have it, you’re not alone and you deserve answers.
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Were you aware there are two specialized physical therapists in Missoula who offer help for this condition? Tara Mund and Morgan York-Singer, both Doctors of Physical Therapy at Alpine Physical Therapy, continue to help area women with a host of different conditions. They are compassionate and caring experts in the treatment of pelvic pain as well.

Here’s an excerpt from the Her Health webpages on the topic of pelvic pain.

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Pelvic pain can be described as an ache, burning or sharp discomfort located in the abdomen, pelvis, or perineal area.  It usually is present for greater than six months and may prevent or interrupt sexual intercourse and may make gynecologic pelvic exams uncomfortable.

Pelvic pain can be caused by several problems including muscular imbalances within the muscles of the pelvic floor, trunk or hips, pelvic joint dysfunction, tender points or trigger points located in the deep hip muscles or pelvic floor, pressure on nerves through the pelvis or dysfunction of the muscles related to bowel and bladder function.  It can also be attributed to the presence of scar tissue after pelvic or abdominal surgery.
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Patients may describe pain through the pelvis, hip, back or tailbone including difficulty sitting or wearing tight clothing. Patients with pelvic pain may also experience disruptions in bowel or bladder habits such as frequent urination, incontinence, constipation, or straining with bowel movements.

Physical therapists are trained in the assessment and treatment of muscular imbalances, movement analysis, and joint dysfunction. They commonly treat impairments including joint restrictions or instability, muscular tightness and weakness, as well as motor control difficulties.  The Her Health physical therapists at Alpine have additional specialized training in the assessment and treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction.

A thorough examination is necessary to design an individualized plan of care for the patient suffering from pelvic pain.  Treatment may include manual techniques to address muscular restrictions as well as motor control and breathing strategies for relaxation. Targeted strengthening may be included to improve strength, muscular endurance, and correct faulty muscle recruitment patterns during the rehabilitation process.
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For more information on the services available through Her Health at Alpine Physical Therapy, click here.

On one hand, the notion of urinary incontinence may seem a bit “off topic.” On the other, if you have it, you’re not alone and you deserve answers.
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Were you aware there are two specialized physical therapists in Missoula who offer help for this condition? Tara Mund and Morgan York-Singer, both Doctors of Physical Therapy at Alpine Physical Therapy, continue to help area women with a host of different conditions. They are compassionate and caring experts in the treatment of urinary incontinence as well. #AlpinePT

Here’s an excerpt from the Her Health webpages on the topic of urinary incontinence.

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Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine.  There are several types of urinary incontinence:

Stress Incontinence is the leakage of small amounts of urine when there is increased intra abdominal pressure.  This can happen with exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing, lifting or other activities.

Urge Incontinence is the leakage of urine when a person feels the sudden strong urge to urinate.
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Mixed Incontinence includes symptoms of both stress and urge incontinence.

Because many symptoms of urinary incontinence are caused by pelvic floor weakness and/or dysfunction a thorough examination by a specially trained physical therapist is appropriate.  Her Health physical therapists will evaluate your pelvic floor muscles and design an individualized plan of care to help you gain control over your urinary symptoms.

Treatment will include: proper motor control activation and relaxation of pelvic floor muscles and exercises to stretch or strengthen the pelvic floor and other important muscles.  Additional treatment may include education on dietary influences on bladder irritability, ways to decrease urinary urgency and frequency and possible advice on modifications of behaviors that may aggravate your urinary symptoms.
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For more information on the services available through Her Health at Alpine Physical Therapy, click here.

Providing specialized care for women in Missoula is a passion of the Her Health physical therapists  at Alpine PT.

Her Health therapists Tara Mund, DPT and Morgan York-Singer, DPT are the inspiration of this clinical specialty and provide excellence in this burgeoning field.

Tara has long had a special interest in focusing her career on the expressed health needs of women. Her spirit and genuine caring leadership have infused the team, and Alpine is now recognized by doctors and clients as a leader in providing physical therapy services for women.  Morgan holds this same passion and commitment in the treatment of women’s health needs.  She returned recently to her hometown after establishing a similar practice in Bozeman, Montana, to join the Her Health team to expand this outreach in Missoula and our surrounding communities.
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For more information on Her Health, click here.

Providing specialized women’s health physical therapy requires extra education, experience, and drive to provide passionate and considerate care. Meet women’s health physical therapy expert, Tara Mund, DPT.

In a recent interview, Tara described new and helpful science that she applies in her work with her growing women’s health patients at Alpine Physical Therapy.

In the interview, I asked Tara this question: When people think of women’s health, are they aware what a specialist in women’s health physical therapy does to help their patients? She replied: “I think it’s becoming mores, but I think there’s a lot of people who just don’t know that [certain] physical therapists can help address these issues and that were out there to help.”
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Which issues? Stress and urge incontinence, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse, fecal incontinence, among other conditions.

To discover what a specialist in this area can do, join Tara’s interview by clicking the video player below.

The causes of low back pain during pregnancy are individual and can be numerous. Through an individualized evaluation performed by one of Alpine’s Her Health physical therapists we can get to the bottom of your pregnancy-related low back.

Possible solutions that we may provide include core strengthening, postural retraining, instruction in sleep position modification, manual therapy, fitting for a prenatal pelvic support brace, pelvic floor training, and instruction on a safe prenatal exercise program.

Also, water exercise, Pilates, and CoreAlign feel good on a pregnant woman’s body. Thus, we take advantage of our knowledge of these treatment choices to help provide a safe alternative to your pre-pregnancy exercises.
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Tara Mund, DPT, the Director of Her Health at Alpine, describes in the accompanying video what physical therapy can do to help when low back pain occurs during and after pregnancy. Click on the video player below to view.

My thanks to Tara Mund, DPT, women’s health specialist in physical therapy and Director of Her Health at Alpine Physical Therapy for submitting this informative article.

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Pelvic floor strengthening or Kegel exercises are terms that are familiar to most women when preparing for and recovering from child birth. Kegels or pelvic floor muscle contractions also play a large role in rehabilitation for incontinence (leaking of urine or feces) prolapse, or even various pelvic pain conditions. But how many should you do, how long should you hold them, and how often should they be done in a day? The answers to these three questions are paramount in treating the conditions for which Kegel exercises are prescribed.

Three things need to be determined before an accurate prescription can be given for pelvic floor strengthening. First, we need to know how strong or weak the muscle is, Second, we need to know how long the pelvic floor muscle contraction can be sustained, and third, we need to know how many contractions can be done prior to fatigue. Based on these three factors, an individualized prescription can be given for pelvic floor muscle strengthening that is both effective and tailored to address the specific problem you may be experiencing.

Physical therapists can be specially trained to evaluate the pelvic floor muscles and determine each of these three factors on a personalized basis. If you are experiencing problems associated with pelvic floor dysfunction I encourage you to seek individualized treatment from a physical therapist to ensure you are not only performing the exercises correctly but that you are following the prescription that is right for you.
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Additional information on this topic and others is available on our clinic website at www.HerHealthMT.com.