Category Archives: What We’ve Been Up To

Meditation Retreat: Part 1

Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, and Miriam Graham, DPT (December 2017) with Dr. Boorstein’s books Happiness is an Inside Job and Pay Attention for Goodness Sake.

Current neuroscience states 8 minutes of meditation a day will change brain structure positively!

Meditation is about choosing an object on which to REST your mind. The mind frequently wanders to the past or to the future. GENTLY bring your mind back to REST on the chosen object. Typically, you will go through several cycles back and forth, starting and restarting in any one session. That IS meditation, the exercise that brings about resilience. Just like exercise for your body, meditation requires effort and repetition.

The phrases used in meditation help gather and direct your attention. You can sit, stand (or walk slowly if it is more comfortable to be on the move). If possible, close your eyes while sitting or standing, this will help you bring your attention inward. Comfortably support your spine. It is helpful to have a timer to set for 2, 4, 5 or 8 minutes. Try this mindfulness phrase to exercise being in the present for 2 minutes:

Breathe in: May I be present in this moment.
Breathe out: May I meet it as a friend

Once you feel comfortable with 2 minutes, challenge yourself to 4 minutes. Remember the exercise is to bring yourself back to the phrase and breathing. You ARE doing it RIGHT if you have to redirect yourself back from wandering onto your grocery list or starting to fall asleep… That is the exercise!

Last December I attended a 6-hour meditation retreat lead by Sylvia Boorstein and Sharon Salzberg. Both women were engaging speakers and I appreciated how simply they presented “Metta” or “Loving Kindness” meditation. Metta is a Pali word that is translated as “loving kindness,” fierce compassion or freedom of heart. Next installment we will introduce a cycle of phrases to practice a Metta Meditation. Until then, enjoy the respite of taking just a few minutes to withdraw and rejuvenate in this moment.

Written by Miriam Graham, PT, DPT, MBA

RM Hosts DMV Pelvic Floor Study Group

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Restore Motion hosted the DMV Pelvic Health Study Group Saturday, January 27th. There were over 23 attendees from DC, Maryland, VA and WV! Our guest presenter was Dr. Rachel Rubin a urologist who specializes in sexual health. We were thankful for the chance to discuss scholarly articles and challenging patient care issues with Dr. Rubin.

One sensitive topic discussed was the general outrage about the sexual abuse by USA Gymnastics Team physician, Larry Nassar . His actions put legitimate treatment of the pelvic floor in questionable light for the general public. (See link to article below by a pelvic floor PT and doctor of Physical Therapy.)

This determined group of therapists and physician want to speak out for the necessity of pelvic health and sexual health education for all ages. We also enjoyed catching up with and meeting our colleagues and friends. Always good to put a name with a face!

We plan hold more events that bring our network of colleagues closer together to help our patients. It often takes a team of practitioners to heal pelvic dysfunction and sexual trauma. Physicians (urologists, gynecologists, colorectal, gastroenterologists), physical therapists, mental health therapists, nutritionists and sex therapists refer to each other to promote each patient’s healing and well being.

Written by: Miriam Graham, PT, DPT, MBA

Nassar’s Atrocities Stigmatize A Legitimate Medical Treatment article by Lori Mize, PT, DPT

International Pelvic Pain Conference 2017

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Restore Motion physical therapists Carrie Cothran, Patrick Wenning, and Reshma Rathod attended The International Pelvic Pain Society Conference held in Washington DC October 11-15th. When asked to summarize her “take home discovery” from the IPPS Conference, Carrie Cothran replied, “Pain can be viewed as a neuro-immune response. Structures within the body that aren’t injured may still undergo an inflammatory reaction due to the tissue changes associated with pain. This in turn contributes to long-term protective responses that affect resting muscle tension and ability to do work. The protective responses that occur with pain make the body more vulnerable to injury.”

Patrick Wenning remarked, “At the conference, there was such enthusiasm for better understanding scientific knowledge of the pelvic floor. Most of the time, pelvic floor rehabilitation is new to people and to other PTs mainly because it is an area of the body that people don’t want to talk about. Discussion with fellow participants was frank and enlightening. They made me feel that I had something to contribute and that I made the right decision to pursue this specialty. I still have a lot to learn as the science continues to uncover more useful information!”

Reshma Rathod added, “Opioids don’t work with Fibromyalgia or chronic pain since the endogenous opioid receptors are already occupied due to changes associated with chronic pain. When opioids are given for acute pain, they interfere with mood, sleep patterns and contribute to headaches. Ironically, patients may want to continue on the opioid medication to address their depression, difficulty sleeping and headaches. The body’s dependence opioid medications ‘stick’ with the person making it more difficult to discontinue and cause more problems in the long run.”

Reshma taught Muscle Energy Technique to Women’s Tennis Association Physical Therapists and Miriam taught Sex Therapy U at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in D.C.

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Reshma and Miriam dedicated time to help others in their professional development in January and February. Reshma taught a nearly full day webinar to physical therapists of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) February 4^th. The topic was Muscle Energy Technique (MET), an osteopathic manipulation technique where the action of a muscle is used to improve joint range of motion and the ability of muscle to fire. Reshma and Miriam started their study about and using MET in the 1990’s at Michigan State University School of Osteopathic Medicine CME. Reshma is one of a hand full of primary health providers in the world for the WTA!

Miriam also spent February 4^th teaching for Sex Therapy U at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in downtown Washington, DC. The topic was Women, Sex and Therapy: Ongoing Sexual Pleasure and Couples Interventions for Healing – Treating Pelvic Floor Issues with PT and Sex Therapy. She presented various issues that affect pelvic floor and sexual function and how physical therapy can help those dysfunctions. The students got to practice breathing into the pelvic floor, and using racquet balls to roll out muscular trigger points in the legs and back and tips to help their patients understand pelvic floor function. They also learned ways to help their clients experience and explore communication through touch.

The staff of Restore Motion is planning to offer a pelvic floor and manual therapy continuing education course for Physical Therapy CEUs in the near future – “watch this space.”