Happy New Year! Welcome to the greatly anticipated demise of 2020 and the renewed hope and possibilities of 2021! You did it! We did it! We survived into the new year but sadly at a cost due to the multiple crisis of 20201, apparently God was out of locust. Now that we are here at the dawn of a new year, what is our next step? One of the most common traditions is to set goals of things you want to accomplish in the new year, also known as New Years Resolutions. This sounds great but are largely not long […]
Stress and the Holidays
Yeah!!!! The holidays are here! Oh Shit!!!! The Holidays are here! I will say it again, this year has been a challenge for all of us! I have yet to see anyone skipping down the road singing “Zippidy Doo Da” this year, except maybe in January. Regardless of your political views, health views, etc… we have all had more than our fair share of challenges and a lot of us are looking forward to the holidays but they too come with a certain level of concern due to uncertainty. Some of us look forward to seeing friends and families while […]
We are in the home stretch…we think. What has been the toll?
2020 is almost over and thank God! We see a light at the end of the tunnel and are hoping it is not the next train barreling toward us as we travel what seems to be an endless tunnel with one crisis after another; COVID, BLM, the election, and a number of other stressors to deal with in our lives as they dramatically change from what we use to consider our “normal” lives. Our stress reaction has evolved to surge in the moment. We are presented with a threat, real or imagined does not matter. Our very fast subconscious reptilian […]
What is Normal Anyway
No doubt the world is changing quickly these days for all of us! We are being asked to, wear a mask, wash our hands, social distance at least 6 feet, and for those of us who have been lucky enough to keep our job, a lot of us are being asked to work from home which then means working while the kids are in virtual class and/or our partner(s) are home working too. With so many changes happening so quickly it is easy to lose track of what normal feels like and in the confusion we can lose sight of […]
Do you pee in Morse Code??!?
September is prostate awareness month which is why I decided to focus on it for a moment. Most people have some level of awareness of prostate cancer, so I will start there. It has a very high survival rate in part because men get checked regularly after the age of 50 or 55, depending on the comfort of your PCP, other health risks and family history. I must take a moment to remind all of my trans women friends that regular prostate checks apply to you too, because the prostate is not removed during a vaginoplasty. The prostate starts out […]
Who’s Driving this Bus Anyway?
How much are you in control of your day? The decisions you made earlier today? Do you remember getting dressed this morning? Watching TV, catching up on the news, checking email? Was it pretty much the same routine as yesterday? Think about how you got dressed this morning. What went on first? Was it shirt, socks, or underwear first? Try reversing the order one day and see how awkward it feels. See how much longer it takes to get dressed. Do you brush your teeth before or after getting dressed? Where does showering fit into the routine? How long have […]
The Knack!
Have you ever had this happen to you? You are on a zoom call with friends of yours, you have some wine (or if you are a real rebel, you actually go to their house! You actually sit on their sofa and pet their pussy cat while casually/discretely lifting your N-95 mask to sip your chardonnay or nibble on a cracker or some cheese)….then it happens….a joke, a funny moment or some antics happen and then the dreaded guffaw and laughter ensues! You feel it coming but there is nothing you can do! I am not talking about the bursts […]
Is your bladder working normally?
Seems like an odd topic for a physical therapist to bring up, but then I am not your ordinary physical therapist! I see people with bladder issues as a pelvic physical therapist all the time, even if they are coming to me for another problem, such as E.D. back pain or pelvic pain, as they are all related! The pelvic floor muscles control how we pee, poo and have sex. They are the muscles at the bottom of our torso and are suppose to play well with the back and abdominal muscles, but sometimes they argue over who has what […]
Fusion 2020
Baltimore can get cold in the winter! Mind you, I said can get cold, but lately it seems to be more temperate – maybe it’s the fake news of “Global Warming” conspiracy by the Democrats …oops! Anyhoo … Who here remembers leaving the outside water tap open just enough to allow a trickle of water when temperatures got below freezing? We did, but why? Exactly! If the water sits still in the pipe during freezing temperatures then the water will freeze and burst your pipes, and who wants that disaster? If the water is moving, even at a trickle, it […]
What is a discectomy?!?”
It doesn’t happen overnight. You have exhausted your Google searches and You Tube videos and now the over the counter have stopped working. The pain gradually gets worse until you can’t ignore it anymore. You need to do something about the pain in your back that is now radiating down your leg (or maybe it is numbness, or even tingling, either way it is NOT normal). You see your PCP, then off to an ortho who recommends a discectomy. You are now thinking “What is a discectomy?!?” Before we dive into what a discectomy is, let’s start with the disc. […]