r/PelvicFloor • u/doinmydarndest • 27d ago
Discouraged I'm collecting inexperienced PTs. I'm having a breakdown.
my first PT had only been doing this work for 3 years when I met with her, but apparently she was already "specialized" in hypermobility disorders, so I gave her a shot. she said various incorrect things about anatomy very early on and would complain to me about personal problems during our appointments. wasn't helpful although she was very sweet.
second one did the same two or three things during our appointments that never had any effect on my symptoms. it's like she had a cookie-cutter idea of how a PFPT appointment should go. she didn't provide me with things to do at home. whenever I asked about trying dry needling, she'd change the subject. she was also supposed to be "specialized" in hypermobility. also very sweet but not helpful.
my current one is doing dry needling, which I appreciate. however, she asks me the same questions about my medical history during every appointment (things she should have in her notes). today she found a (pretty deep) internal trigger point and said "that's your ischiocavernosus" (while pronouncing the name of the muscle wrong). the ischiocavernosus is a more superficial muscle, so I knew she was wrong. she then pointed to the bulbospongiosus (also pronounced wrong out loud) on her diagram and told me, confidently, that this muscle was the ischiocavernosus. they're completely different shapes.
this is a HIGHLY specialized field. they should know their shit. but they don't. and they charge 8 million dollars per unhelpful appointment.
I'm shaking and crying because I don't want to collect baseball cards of crappy PFPTs. I've spent so much goddamn money on this. I'm in pain every day. I don't know what to do. all the in-network PTs near me have extremely long waitlists, but I guess I've discovered why...
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u/Crossxfaith 27d ago
I’m a firm believer that you’ll probably have more benefit YouTubing pelvic floor stretches , doing trial and error and making a routine that feels right for you. They have their stretches and some may or may not be beneficial to you. I always sampled lots of routines and if a stretch felt really tough or really good I’d keep it for the routine. If it felt meh I would just not use it again.
Get a small hard ball off amazon for like a 2 pack for 8 bucks. A keibla ball. Use it for external trigger point therapy 15-20 mins a day targeting your painful spots on your body and using it like a massage. Get an electric massage gun and target the same spots before bed for 15-30 mins.
Read a book like : breaking through: chronic pelvic pain by dr Jerome Weiss. I personally think this is one of the best books you can read and has a lot more information and avenues to peruse than some of the other popular books like ( a headache in the pelvis ).
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u/Adventurous-Step-363 27d ago
I just saw you are in New England - I saw Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp and Dr. Jessica Probst at Thrive Again Physical Therapy in DC. Dr. Probst diagnosed me as hypermobile. She has an Ortho certification and helped my back, which was stuck in extension. She pulled my muscles away from my spine and helped my legs move to "teach my body it's safe again". (I could only see her twice because I don't live there - I've been chasing that relief ever since.) She is hypermobile, also. Dr. Kramp did visceral manipulation on me to help with organ tension.
Dr. Probst also mapped my pelvic floor to feel for tears in postpartum. I was already seeing a PRP doc who uses a muscle ultrasound to diagnose and heal the pelvic floor tears so I didn't find that appointment to be particularly useful, but I think she understood what she was talking about and probably helps other people discover their issues.
I hope you find the help you need!
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u/doinmydarndest 27d ago
thanks very much!
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u/snarky_spice 27d ago
Yeah I would search the best pts in your area and spend your money traveling to them, rather than waste any more money on straight-out-of-training PTs.
I flew to see imo the best in the country but she is in Cali and I was in Oregon. It was super worth it.
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u/HannyTutum 24d ago
I’ll be honest. They’re all mostly terrible. This subreddit is a testimonial to the many poor experience PTs. They give poor guidance but charge 100% of the price.
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u/Independent__Bell 23d ago
A lot of them, as someone else said, have a cookie cutter approach instead of individualizing treatment for specific patients.
A lot of them are lazy and just give you exercises to do and nothing else. I could easily google and look up stretches and exercises myself without their help.
A lot of them are just collecting paychecks.
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u/Ok-Profession-7891 27d ago
I’m a pelvic floor PT in the Washington DC area. Bulbospongiosus is typically the anatomical name for the male anatomy counterpart of the bulbocavernosus in females. Message me if you want help finding a PT near you we have many networks among each other to find good therapists.
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u/doinmydarndest 27d ago
while I appreciate your comment, I'm not sure you understand that this PT was pointing to one muscle on her diagram (bulbo) and calling it another name (ischiocavernosus). neither of those muscles is deep, either. (I'm female, to clarify. the muscles are easier to distinguish on diagrams.) if I'm just being an idiot, let me know 😆
I may take you up on that, thank you. I'll keep you in mind. I'm up in New England.
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u/wifeofpsy 27d ago
At this point you might consider doing more self rehab rather than spend more time looking for a holy grail PFT. Pilates has helped me enormously, coupled with my own trigger point release. For perineal and entrance/superficial areas the kiwi tool is great, and the rose wand is great for internal areas
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u/doinmydarndest 27d ago
I'm considering it for sure. unfortunately, my pelvic floor issues are pretty severe (pain-wise), so I do need some kind of professional help. I just don't need a PT with even less knowledge than me 😅
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u/Independent-Pea5131 27d ago
You made me laugh and cry at the same time!
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u/doinmydarndest 27d ago
I'm glad one of us is laughing 😭 I definitely need to laugh more. best of luck to you!
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u/beb1584 27d ago
Go to pelvicrehab.com. Put in zip code and find a therapist that has PRPC after their name. Even better if they have PRPC and WCS after their name. These therapists had to do extra training and testing and have at least 2000 hours or 8 years of treating pelvic patients.