This book presents paradigms and programs for pelvic health conditions over the lifespan from childhood to senior years, with medical pearls and storytelling. It includes new concepts and practices with the integration of Medical Therapeutic Yoga and Pilates into rehabilitation prescriptions, sexual medicine, and strategies for healing pain and trauma. The contributors have a wealth of clinical experience, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and the client care focus is with manual therapy, exercise, education, and compassion based treatment. Physical therapy, Yoga and Pilates are woven together to provide evidence based platforms for health care intervention for pelvic pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, sexual medicine, and trauma sensitive care. Medical professionals as well as body workers, fitness trainers and community educators can glean critical health care knowledge as well as strategies for teamwork for client care. Health conditions pertaining to the pelvis are often under recognized, disregarded by most medical practitioners, and suffered in silence, humiliation and shame by most clients. The text will support global health care education and empowerment regarding pelvic health conditions and conservative care options. The text is integrative in considering the biopsychosocial model as well as current medical standards in pelvic rehabilitation treatment, as well as health promotion with nutrition and supplements.
Dr Maureen Mason is an integrative physical therapist with a holistic practice. Her specialty certifications include Women's Health Specialist, (WCS), and the 900 hour medical training in Professional Yoga Therapy (PYT). She strives to optimize client health with the big wheel of mind, body, and spirit care, and she offers clients meditation and mindfulness training, with attention to the application of breath awareness throughout the day. She has a passion for helping women over the perinatal and menopausal transition times. She is a specialist in interventions for male and female clients in pelvic self-care, regarding bladder, bowel, GI, pain management, and sexual health. She is an enthusiastic educator with student mentoring, in-services, frequent blogging, and teaching in aspects of integrated PT care as well as practitioner self- care. She is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, Professional Yoga Therapy Institute, the National Institute for Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine, American Urogynecology Association, and the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine. She offers yoga therapy and physical therapy in San Diego at Function Smart Physical Therapy, as well as for private clients in a home-based settings. Maureen has served as a research therapist on 2 research studies : Randomized Multicenter Clinical Trial of Myofascial Physical Therapy in Women with Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome, Journal of Urology 2012, 187(6); and Noninvasive Treatment of Postpartum Diastasis Recti Abdominis: A Pilot Study, Journal of Women's Health Physical Therapy 2018, 42(2). Maureen is the proud parent of two daughters, and in her spare time practices yoga, hiking, organic gardening, chicken wrangling, and home improvement with her husband of 31 years! http://www.functionsmart.com
