• HIS THERAPY PT and PELVIC HEALTH
Visit our Location
42 St Mark Rd, Taylors, SC
Give us a Call
(864) 534-1780
Send us a Message
office@histherapy.net
Office Hours
By Appointment Only

Author: Sabina Kapasi

His TherapyArticles by: Sabina Kapasi
By Sabina Kapasi Pelvic Floor, Pregnancy

Pelvic Floor Issues During and After Pregnancy

To all expectant or postpartum mommies. 

Take care of your pelvic floor! Women who have had multiple births, instrumental births, severe perineal tearing or large babies are often at a greater risk for pelvic floor muscle damage. The pelvic floor muscles can sometimes become too loose and weak.  This is a common problem for women because of pregnancy and childbirth. Pelvic floor dysfunction due to pregnancy and delivery can cause stress incontinence, urge incontinence and/or lower back pain. Extra pressure on the pelvic floor muscles can effect proper function, elasticity and strength of these bands of muscle tissue. Pelvic floor muscles work to support your womb, bladder and bowel. Strain on these muscles can result in pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder leakage, constipation, and sexual dysfunction. However, they can be successfully restrengthened with pelvic floor muscle training. Julie Janes, a pelvic floor physical therapist in Arlington, Va, says, “In France, women receive ten sessions [with a physical therapist] starting in the hospital after every vaginal delivery.” Many women seek pelvic floor physical therapy throughout the duration of their pregnancy and many achieve easier deliveries, faster recovery, and less pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms. Check out the article linked below in the Washington Post. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/a-hidden-epidemic-millions-of-women-suffer-pelvic-floor-disorders-silently/2015/12/22/f5997966-a6d5-11e5-b53d-972e2751f433_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1ff44a6209c9

By Sabina Kapasi Osteoporosis

Do's and Dont's with Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes a persons bones to become thin and weak over time. Osteoporosis is more likely to occur in women after menopause because the estrogen hormones are declining. Estrogen helps women maintain bone strength, so with declining estrogen levels the bones can become weaker and more fragile. Since the bones are so fragile and thin, it can be easy to injury oneself or break a bone. However, there are things you can do to keep your bones stronger and prevent further bones loss. First, it is important to assess your risk factors and learn how bones change over time as you get older. Next, make sure your diet has enough calcium, avoid alcohol, and do not smoke so your bones can stay as strong as possible. Lastly, get plenty of exercise and make sure you are living in a safe environment so you can prevent any accidents from happening.  Also, talk to a healthcare professional about the ways you can fight bone loss and osteoporosis. 

Do’s
walk or climb stairs when possible 
pay attention to proper posture
when standing in one place for a long period of time, keep the knees and feet about hip width apart
bend from the hips and knees NOT the waist 
Don’ts
walk or exercise of slippery surfaces
wear backless bedroom shoes or shoes with slippery soles 
slouch when standing, walking, or sitting
sit in a deep cushioned chair or couch 
move too quickly
engage in activities that require a twisting of the spine or bend from the waist(sit-ups, toe touches, golf)
finish a task if you feel short of breath, fatigued, or in any pain
sit in a chair or bed for an extended period of time

By Sabina Kapasi Incontinence

Stop Stress Incontinence!

Stress incontinence (involuntary urinary leakage) is a condition, usually in women, in which you involuntarily urinate when pressure in the abdomen increases. This involuntary leakage may occur while coughing, sneezing, jumping or running as a result of weakened or damaged muscles in the pelvic floor. A statistic from Phoenix Physical Therapy states, “Stress urinary incontinence, the most prevalent form of incontinence among women, affects an estimated 15 million adult women in the U.S.” (“Urinary Incontinence in Women Statistics” n.d.). Many active runners, boot camp members and active women struggle with this condition. Unfortunately, many think a little leaking is normal. A statistic from Phoenix Physical Therapy states, “On average, women wait 6.5 years from the first time they experience symptoms until they obtain a diagnosis for their bladder control problem(s).” People tend to think it will just go away. The problem is that it isn’t like a cold. It won’t go away, it will just escalate.
 
To help prevent stress incontinence healthcare professionals recommend these three basic things, avoid constipation, be careful lifting heavy objects, and exercise with care. These small changes can make a big difference for your pelvic muscles and bladder leakage. It is very important that those who suffer with stress incontinence see a physical therapist trained in pelvic floor therapy. A pelvic floor PT is trained to identify and treat musculoskeletal conditions such as stress incontinence.
 
Office treatments may include learning proper exercise techniques, biofeedback, and more to help prevent stress incontinence. Exercises and muscle training has been proven to work best with patients in order to prevent stress incontinence in place of estrogen therapy, drug therapy, or electrostimulations. Biofeedback machines are used to identify and control the pelvic muscles so people know how to control those muscles. All of these treatments help women learn to control their pelvic muscles and prevent stress incontinence. The American Physical Therapy Association states from a study that, “pelvic floor muscles training and bladder training resolved urinary incontinence in women, as compared to drug therapy, electrostimulation, medical devices, injectable bulking agents, and local estrogen therapy.” Kegel exercises and other exercises that include contracting, holding, and releasing the pelvic floor muscles are the most effective in preventing and treating stress incontinence. Don’t believe that as we get older or because of different conditions, we should learn to live with leakage and stress incontinence. 

By Sabina Kapasi Dry Needling, Pain

Dry Needling for “Trigger Points” aka Myofascial Pain

Trigger points are irritable, hard “knots” within a muscle that may cause pain over a large area, leading to difficulty performing everyday tasks. When a person has painful muscles and trigger points, it is sometimes called myofascial pain syndrome.
 
Myofascial trigger points are a common type of pain. The word myofascial means muscle tissue and the connective tissue in and around it. These trigger points are usually the result of a muscle injury, resulting from repetitive strain. They are painful when pressed on and can create pain in another area as well, which is called referred pain.
 
Dry needling is a treatment that involves a very thin needle being pushed through the skin to stimulate a trigger point. Dry needling releases the tight muscle bands associated with trigger points and leads to decreased pain, improved function, and speeds up the recovery process.
 
Dry Needling is becoming a popular modality in medical practices, as musculoskeletal complaints are one of the most reported reasons to seek medical attention. Because contractures and trigger points are invisible to X-rays, MRI, CT’s, a Dry Needling Therapist can “feel” with the needle and utilize it as a diagnostic instrument. Contractures deep in the muscles can be felt with the needle via feedback on the quality of the tissues that it is penetrating.

By Sabina Kapasi Cash Based

Cash Based PT Cost vs Traditional PT

The question is not ‘Will my insurance cover this?’ but ‘Whom can I trust to give me the best care for my money?’ This is the pressing question many are asking themselves more and more as healthcare becomes difficult to afford. Insurance may pay only after deductibles have been met and even then may only pay a percentage of your bill.   

At His Therapy, we are a cash based practice. We believe we can give you more care for less. To understand our value we have put together a chart to demonstrate the affordability of a cash based practice.  

Imagine a practice that doesn’t demand your insurance card and ID before they say hello. Imagine a practice where money doesn’t get in the way of patients getting to know their therapist. 

By Sabina Kapasi Bladder Problems, Incontinence, Physical Therapy

What Does a PT Do for Urinary Incontinence

As many of you may know that a physical therapists can help people to exercises with weights to help with strengthening or they can teach someone how to use crutches after surgery to help them walk. But how can physical therapists help with bladder or bowel problems like incontinence?

The pelvic floor muscle is a skeletal muscle just like other muscles in our body and they respond to

the same training techniques. Some physical therapists have developed special skills in

training the pelvic floor muscles. These therapists are called pelvic floor therapists.

If someone wants to strengthen their biceps arm muscle they have to learn the correct

exercises. Then they perform the exercises with the correct difficulty (not too hard, not too

easy) for the correct duration of time (it takes 4 to 6 months to increase the size of a

muscle). Pelvic floor muscle training is the same. First you have to learn the correct

exercise. This is challenging as it is an inside muscle and sometimes hard to find. In

fact, 40% of people are doing the exercise wrong. The best way to tell if you are doing

the exercise correctly is by palpating inside the vagina or rectum. A trained physical

therapist can measure the muscle by palpating just inside the vagina or rectum and asking

you to squeeze. This usually not painful but gives a lot of information about the muscle

How big is the muscle?

 Can you feel the muscle?

 Is the muscle painful and tense? – it is very important to relax and this may be the primary reason exercises do not work.

 Can the muscle elevate and support the organs – especially important when the organs are sagging?

 Can the muscle squeeze tight – to stop urine leakage?

 Can you hold the contract – long enough to get to the bathroom?

 Does the belly muscle work with (or against) the pelvic muscle?

 Does the breathing work with the pelvic floor muscle?


All these things are helpful in developing the correct exercise program. In many cases

the exercises are difficult to learn and additional information is needed. EMG

biofeedback can help. This device allows you to see the muscle contraction just like the

EKG allows you to see the heart contraction. To monitor the pelvic floor muscle a sensor

is placed inside the rectum / vagina or stuck to the outside of the rectum. If the

contraction is strong the line goes up (and stays up). If the contraction is weak the line

does not go up very high and fall quickly. Seeing this can help you to activate the correct
muscles and keep them activated increasing the effect of the exercises.

A proper exercise program includes the answers these questions:

 How long to hold the contraction?

 How long to rest between? – rest is as important as hold

 How many to do at a time and how many times to do them in a day? – studies tell us that you must do more than 45 per day to get results

 What position should the exercises be done in?

 How do you breathe during the exercises?


If you want more information about this or any of our services please call us at 864-534-1780.

By Sabina Kapasi Pelvic Floor, Physical Therapy

Pelvic Floor Therapy and Prostate Cancer

Men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer or have other medical problems related to their prostate may have some symptoms that a pelvic floor therapists can help them with. Many men suffer from urinary incontinence, urgency and retention issues and many more things that affect their way of life and every day function. Both pre and post therapy is very beneficial to these patients. Treatment may include:

1) Education on the anatomy of the pelvic floor and physiology of micturition process

2) Bladder retraining including assisting patients with proper bladder voiding schedules and avoiding bladder irritants

3) Education on proper posture and body mechanics

4) Manual cueing and biofeedback training on proper pelvic floor contractions

5) Biofeedback for pelvic floor training

6) Core stabilization exercises

Outcomes are fantastic! Patients gain the control they need of their bladder. Many men decrease the amount of pads they have to use secondary to leakage, wake up less at night to void, have less urgency and overall feel better with a more active daily lifestyle!

Please call His Therapy for more information. 864-534-1780 or visit our website for more information     www.histherapy.net

By Sabina Kapasi Pain

Don’t Let Another Month Go by in 2016 Feel Better with Less Pain and More Control of Your Life

Feel Better with less pain and More control
 
Let 2016 be a new year for you!
At His Therapy we have physical therapists who specialize in pelvic health and wellness. Using Biofeedback and other manual treatment, we can assist with pelvic floor relaxation and strengthening to help gain bladder and bowel control and pain. We also have dry needling services, myofascial release and deep soft tissue massages to help with chronic or acute muscle and joint pain. Our services are affordable and are open flexible hours.  Free babysitting is available for our clients. Check out our website and blog for more information.

Our Mission is to help people and give God all the Glory!
 
Philippians 4:13 
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” 
Luke 1:37 
“For with God Nothing Shall be Impossible.”
 

His Therapy3921 South Highway 14 Suite A
Greenville, SC 29615
www. Histherapy.net
sabina@histherapy.net
864-534-1780

By Sabina Kapasi Painful Intercourse, Physical Therapy

Painful Intercourse and Physical Therapy

I have people who ask me all the time how a physical therapists can help someone who has painful intercourse.  Pelvic floor therapists are trained with the pelvic floor muscles which have a major function for intercourse. Physical therapists can help patients understand the role of these muscles through education, biofeedback training and manual cues. Therapists can also help with soft tissue massage/myofascial release of the pelvic floor muscles which are tight and have trigger points. People who have pain usually have problems with relaxation and tense up their muscles during intercourse. Teaching relaxation techniques and stretches are also a significant part of the therapy. Treatment can be very beneficial and even after 3 or 4 sessions patients began to have significant relief.

For further questions please feel free to contact me at Sabina@histherapy.net or 864-534-1780

By Sabina Kapasi His Thearpy

How and Why Did I become a Pelvic Floor Therapist

I graduated from PT school in 1998 with my Masters.  Jobs were hard to find during that time and I struggled for months without employment. I finally landed an interview in a small hospital for a women’s health director in Sylva, NC in 1999.  I was given a description about the program and expectations of women’s health. I had no prior experience but felt very pulled towards the job. The director sent me to a course in Tennessee and that was  my first time ever being introduced to the pelvic floor. It was quite a long weekend performing pelvic floor examinations and learning so much. 

Despite my lack of experience, it did not scare me away from the field. In fact, I was very comfortable with both the exams and treatment. I clearly had landed into the part of physical therapy that became a part of my life. Even now, after 17 years it the most rewarding type of therapy that I provide.

I love the every part of being a pelvic floor therapist. I enjoy working with all the different types of patients that come for therapy:

  *The geriatric patients who suffer with bladder and bowel dysfunction.
  *The young athletes who are unable to perform their sport secondary to UI dysfunction.
  *The young children and parents who are dealing with bedwetting and other bladder  and bowel issues
   *Couples who are not able to have to have intercourse secondary to pain.
   *Men who are dealing with having urinary problems secondary to prostate cancer

In just a few visits patients see amazing results and are able to have more control and less pain with everyday function. It is truly so rewarding for me to see the happiness that is created in the lives of my patients and hope that they are able to receive.

For more information please feel free to go the following website.
www.histherapy.net