Recap: Pelvic Floor & More Continuing Education Course | Los Angeles May 2019

We wanted to create a course that we, as professionals with 78+ years of combined experience, would want to attend. Last month in Los Angeles, we did just that!

For a pelvic health physical therapist, it is not uncommon to find that one is often forced to choose between taking a course related to pelvic floor dysfunction OR one dedicated to orthopedics. Likewise, for an orthopedic physical therapist, treatment of the pelvic floor is almost never addressed. It is rare to find the two topics covered in a single course.

Recognizing patients' need for both, Pelvic Education Alliance is on a mission to change the face of pelvic health physical therapy. Bridging the gap between orthopedic and pelvic floor approaches to physical therapy, PEA offers hands-on, collaborative courses to PTs and PTAs searching for effective assessment and treatment strategies for their patients.

Below is a review and evaluation of our Pelvic Floor and More: Assessment and Treatment of Pelvic Pain course that took place at Mt. Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, CA last month.

Course Objectives

This is a course unlike any other one out there with a true integration of pelvic floor work, orthopedics and visceral manipulation. Our participants learned to evaluate and treat pelvic pain with an eclectic approach that gave them unparalleled results with their (current and future) patients.

This course was designed by physical therapists, for physical therapists. We also welcome physical therapy assistants and physical therapy students. It ensures that participants are comfortable with addressing pelvic health patients from both an orthopedic and pelvic floor approach immediately upon returning to the clinic.

Course Outline & Learning Objectives:

A review of the musculoskeletal role in pelvic floor dysfunction, postural assessment, and relevant pre-tests and post-tests used to gather objective clinical data
A breakdown of the types and categories of pelvic pain, explained with relevant anatomy, pathology, medical interventions, and the ability to identify red flag signs or symptoms
Instruction in internal and external vaginal examination as well as external evaluation and treatment of the coccyx as it relates to both pelvic floor and lumbosacral dysfunction
Specific osteopathic techniques to address the pelvis, hip, and sacrum, as well as an introduction to visceral mobilization of the bladder, uterus and rectum, and
Appropriate home program exercises based on your patient’s condition will also be covered.

Powerful Moments

What was particularly special about this course was the confirmation that physical therapists at any point in their careers (whether he or she has 0 years of experience or 30+) can benefit tremendously from this material.

We were thrilled to share our finalized manual with course participants, knowing that this tool—in conjunction with the lab-intensive instruction given over the weekend—would be enough to send them to their practice on Monday with an entirely new approach to treatment.

What to Expect After the Course

What can people who attend a course by the Pelvic Education Alliance expect with their new training?

The very next day a physical therapists returns to the clinic, he or she will go in with a whole set of tools to tackle the patients they’ve been seeing already.

“A common misconception is that people who want to get into the pelvic health field need to completely transition to a different patient population. That’s not the case. The idea here is that the patients you’re already seeing can benefit from your enhanced understanding of how the pelvic health and orthopedic worlds connect.”

Up Next

We’re currently working on our schedule for Fall 2019 and early 2020. Remember, you can take any of the Pelvic Education Alliance courses without having started with the Pelvic Floor & More: Pelvic Pain course. If you have any questions about which course would be a good fit for you, please contact us.

Set yourself apart. Join the Pelvic Education Alliance.

Subscribe for Updates

Interested in having our most recent blog posts straight to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe!

About Us

international pelvic floor physical therapy courses

The Pelvic Education Alliance (PelvicEA) is fueled by its mission to fuse together the worlds of orthopedic and pelvic floor physical therapy.

We believe that physical therapists treating the pelvis need expertise in both orthopedics and pelvic floor physical therapy in order to treat their patients through a wider lens with a more integrated approach.