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.

Q & A with two of our physical therapists who are using Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging

Angela Listug-Vap, DPT, FAAOMPT
Tara Mund, DPT, Women’s Health Specialist

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What is Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging (RUSI)?
Quite simply it is a tool we can use to see your muscles in action. For women, it is similar to your OB using ultrasound technology to see your baby. Physical Therapists can use different settings to look at muscle layers and determine if they are working properly.
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What muscles do you look at?
Right now we are both using it to look at core muscles including the pelvic floor, transverse abdominus, obliques and multifidus. Over the next several months we will additionally be using it to assess many other muscles around the hip and deep muscles in the neck.

Does it hurt?
Not even a tiny bit. It’s fascinating to see what your body is doing or not doing, then and gain control of these muscles in an accurate way. Gone are the days when you keep wondering – am I doing this right?

How is this helpful?
We all learn differently but for most people vision is a very strong learning tool. For example when we are first learning a new exercise watching ourselves in the mirror helps initially. Learning a motor skill such as contracting the correct muscles is similar. RUSI gives us that visual feedback to know if we did it correctly or incorrectly. It’s our mirror for muscles deeper than the surface.

When would this be appropriate?
It would be helpful in any of the following conditions:

• Back Pain
• Pelvic Pain
• Hip and Groin Pain
• After you have healed from any abdominal surgery
• Post-partum
• Incontinence issues (bowel or bladder)
• Any condition that you are suffering in which core strength is an important component

If someone is being treated by another PT would they have to switch?
Absolutely not! At Alpine we are used to collaborating with each other which allows our patients to benefit from the various specialties of individual PTs. We extend this same service to our colleagues around the area. A person can schedule 1-2 visits to focus on training their core using RUSI and incorporate what they learn into their plan of care with their primary PT, wherever they may be.  Alpine PT is the only clinic in Western Montana and potentially the state that is offering this advanced training tool and we want to help as many people as possible in their healing efforts.

What should I expect from a treatment session?
Before your visit you are asked to not urinate for 1 hour prior and drink 1-2 glasses of water in that same hour. Wear something with a comfortable stretching waistband. We keep the lights low so you can see the screen easily and you’ll be on your back with your knees bent for part of the time and on your stomach or side to visualize the deep back muscles. We sometimes will use things to help you get a better contraction like a ball or a wedge. By the end of your treatment session you will given a list of things to practice on your own. It takes at least one hour visit and sometimes requires 2 visits depending on how many areas we are examining.

What are some interesting things you’ve seen so far?
None of these are 100% true but we’ve seen a few trends.

• More men than women get an automatic co-contraction of the transverse abdominus with pelvic floor contractions (Kegels).
• We have to move back and forth from looking at the screen and closing your eyes to feel it in your own body to make change in your muscle activation.
• Often the change isn’t drastic in the visit but that evening when you go home and practice; when you return for the next visit there is significant change.
• Putting someone in a slightly rotated position often results in a better multifidus contraction on the painful side and then carries over to neutral immediately after.

Will this ‘cure’ my painful condition?
A professor once told me that if someone tells you this cures everything, walk away. After 10 years of practice, I believe that more than ever. Restoring musculoskeletal health to alleviate pain requires a strong foundation, appropriate flexibility and movement strategies that do not continuously over stress tissue. RUSI helps us in the foundations and building strength from the inside out!

For more information, call Angela or Tara at our north clinic at 406-541-2606.
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Visit our clinic website by clicking here.

Alpine Physical Therapy congratulates Tara Mund, DPT, for attaining national certification in her specialty area, women’s health physical therapy. She was notified this week by Darla Cathcart, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT the Director of Education for the Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association.
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Darla commended Tara by writing: “Your successful attainment of the Certificate of Achievement – pelvic floor (CAPP –Pelvic) . . . signifies your dedication to women’s health physical therapy and to patients and clients that you serve.”

Having attained this advanced certification, Tara is the sole physical therapist in Missoula who performs examinations and treatments at this advanced level,  enabling her to skillfully address pelvic diagnoses in women (and men) of all ages. Having a certified women’s health specialist in physical therapy working at Alpine Physical Therapy strongly expands our existing outreach in the area of women’s health physical therapy.

Tara is the Director of the Her Health program at Alpine Physical Therapy (www.HerHealthMT.com). Whereas she’s been able to grow this program over the past four years, her attainment of this certification yields numerous benefits. Certification places Tara at the top of her field in our community, enabling her to communicate comfortably and with authority to area doctors and other referral sources. Additionally, her patients are directly benefiting from Tara’s advanced training as a specialist.

For more information on Tara, as well as women’s health physical therapy services at Alpine PT, click here.

Our thanks to Women’s Health Specialist Tara Mund, DPT of Alpine Physical Therapy for this blog post.

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Urinary incontinence is very common among women, especially following childbirth. It is also a subject that most people are reluctant to talk about. Because it is common, it gets mistaken for “normal,” when in fact it isn’t normal and it can be easily treated. 
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Talking about you leaking is actually the best thing you could do. Telling your doctor or physical therapist is the first step toward taking control of you health and being proactive about your treatment.

Many people are familiar with Kegel exercises, and if you have been leaking you have also likely tried these exercises at some point in your life. Interestingly enough, the majority of my patients when tested aren’t doing them correctly or as effectively as they could be. Once you learn how to do the exercises correctly, it will take you less than 5 minutes of your day to train your muscles and put a stop to leaking.

By the time you have completed your treatment, this won’t be a subject you want to keep quiet anymore. You won’t be whispering to your friend about your embarrassing problem; rather, you will want to shout at the top of your lungs that you are dry and the treatment was easy, effective, and painless!

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Watch this brief video in which Tara details approaches used by physical therapists with advanced training to address this important aspect of care.

Alpine Physical Therapy congratulates Tara Mund, DPT, for attaining national certification in her specialty area, women’s health physical therapy. She was notified this week by Darla Cathcart, PT, DPT, WCS, CLT the Director of Education for the Section on Women’s Health of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Darla commended Tara by writing: “Your successful attainment of the Certificate of Achievement – pelvic floor (CAPP –Pelvic) . . . signifies your dedication to women’s health physical therapy and to patients and clients that you serve.” 

Having attained this advanced certification, Tara is the sole physical therapist in Missoula who performs examinations and treatments at this advanced level,  enabling her to skillfully address pelvic diagnoses in women (and men) of all ages. Having a certified women’s health specialist in physical therapy working at Alpine Physical Therapy strongly expands our existing outreach in the area of women’s health physical therapy.

Tara is the Director of the Her Health program at Alpine Physical Therapy (www.HerHealthMT.com). Whereas she’s been able to grow this program over the past four years, her attainment of this certification yields numerous benefits. Certification places Tara at the top of her field in our community, enabling her to communicate comfortably and with authority to area doctors and other referral sources. Additionally, her patients are directly benefiting from Tara’s advanced training as a specialist.
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For more information on Tara, as well as women’s health physical therapy services at Alpine PT, click here.

​Tara Mund, a Doctor of Physical Therapy at Alpine PT, recently completed a three-part training seminar leading to a Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy. With this advanced training Tara is able to evaluate and treat patients with pelvic health needs with effectiveness and expertise that is unmatched in the Missoula area.

Incontinence, pelvic pain, pelvic organ prolapse, and bowel dysfunctions, are all sensitive conditions that require specialized knowledge and training to address. Many people are unaware that trained Physical Therapists treat these conditions and can provide successful treatment results.

Treatments are individualized and will vary depending upon the person’s specific diagnosis and impairments. Notably, pelvic floor muscle retraining is commonly an integral component in treating pelvic health conditions.

We invite you to call for a free 10-minute consultation or to schedule an initial evaluation. Tara can be reached at our north office in Missoula at 406-541-2606.
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For more information on Missoula’s top choice for pelvic health physical therapy, please visit our Her Health web site at www.HerHealthMT.com.

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.

Upon completion of her third segment of a three-part series in advanced women’s health physical therapy, Tara Mund, DPT of Alpine Physical Therapy will have amassed all the credits and training required to attain certification as a specialist in women’s health physical therapy. She completed Level 1 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in spring of 2010. She then completed Level 2 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in fall of 2011.

By attaining her advanced certification, Tara will be the sole physical therapist in Missoula who performs examinations and treatments at this advanced level, a feat that will enable her to skillfully address pelvic diagnoses in women (and men) of all ages. Having a certified women’s health specialist in physical therapy woking at Alpine Physical Therapy strongly expands our existing outreach in the area of women’s health physical therapy.

Tara is the Director of the Her Health program at Alpine Physical Therapy (www.HerHealthMT.com). Whereas she’s been able to grow this program over the past three years, her attainment of this certification after completing her upcoming course will benefit her dramatically. Certification will place her at the top of her field in our community, enabling her to communicate comfortably and with authority to area doctors and other referral sources. Additionally, her patients will directly benefit from Tara’s advanced training as a specialist.

Tara is slated to attend Level 3, taught by M.J. Strauhal, PT, BCB-PMD, in Neptune, New Jersey, on March 2 through March 4, 2012. This course is approved by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and is sponsored by the Women’s Health Section of the APTA.

This three-day course will provide clinically relevant information and training for the evaluation and treatment of urinary incontinence, life span specific considerations, and individuals with neurological involvement. Labs will focus on EMG relaxation training and integration of complete examination procedures learned in previous coursework. Lecture will include the pathophysiology and physical therapy evaluation and treatment of patients, pediatric and geriatric populations, and pelvic floor intervention with neurologic patients. Changes in the pelvic organs throughout the lifecycle and interdisciplinary treatment of pelvic dysfunction will be reviewed. Course content is evidence based and will promote the use of the most reliable tests and validated outcomes measures.
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We extend in advance our sincere congratulations, Tara, on your upcoming achievement.

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.

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.