Success Stories: Male Pelvic Rehabilitation

Read through real client testimonials about Male Pelvic Rehabilitation to see how much Orthopedic & TMJ Physical Therapy Center can make a difference in your life.

As a post-prostatectomy patient, I experienced significant urinary urgency. After seeking help from a myriad of healthcare professionals, I finally made my way to Carol Conrades, P.T. Through the use of biofeedback and caring, supportive counsel from Carol, I was able, after almost a year, to nearly eliminate this extremely annoying problem from my life. Her approach focused more on the relaxation response rather than the typical pelvic floor tightening which, although helpful in controlling urinary incontinence, did not address my particular problems. I would highly recommend Carol and her clinic to anyone with a similar problem, who is willing to be patient and persistent in healing this malady.

– LM

I was diagnosed with non-bacterial prostatitis by a urologist after a few weeks of multiple symptoms, which included frequent/urgent/incomplete urination, dysuria (burning), perineal and tailbone pain, and rectal discomfort. My profession involves a lot of sitting, which was becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. Although there was microscopic blood in my urine, tests were negative for infection. Somewhat of a hypochondriac by nature, I was very anxious about the possibility of having undiagnosed prostate cancer. My urologist followed the usual protocol of prescribing a month of strong antibiotics, and said he did not think I had prostate cancer because my PSA was very low, although he said my prostate felt “boggy”. The usual protocol would have been to prescribe more antibiotics, and undergo invasive exploratory tests to rule out various causes. However my urologist seemed to be saying that he really didn’t have much to offer in the way of actual help for non-bacterial prostatitis.

I began to do my own research and learned about men with my symptoms that were prescribed years of antibiotics with no relief. Some people reported that such invasive procedures as prostate massage and cystoscopy were painful and made things worse. I read that antibiotics are often wrongly prescribed for this condition because urologists are at a loss regarding how else to treat, using the rationale that there might somehow be undetectable bacteria. I learned that many men suffer with this condition. Luckily, I came across the work of some Stanford University urologists who believe that “non-bacterial prostatitis” is not initially a problem originating in the prostate, but instead a condition caused by chronic constriction of the muscles of the pelvic floor. The muscular condition can cause prostate related symptoms due to constriction around the organs which rest on the pelvic floor. I highly recommend reading “A Headache in the Pelvis,” by Drs. Wise and Anderson. It is very readable, holistic, and does a great job of making sense of a confusing, and sometimes controversial condition (if you have been online, you know what I mean).

I discovered a Portland physical therapist named Heather Hannam, an Orthopedic and TMJ PT, who is versed in the kind of trigger point release prescribed by the Stanford doctors. Heather helped me to recognize the pelvic tension that had silently existed for a long time. She is very knowledgeable, proficient, down-to-earth, and compassionate. She was willing to explain things and even to train my partner in some of the massage techniques. Over the past few months my symptoms have greatly reduced and some have been eliminated. Some of the work has involved working on my anxiety, as the pelvic muscles are one of the main sites that the body stores tension. It is fortunate that Portland has physical therapist Heather Hannam, who is familiar with the ideas and treatment found in the book I talked about above.

– JD