What my physiotherapist found

[scoobysnacks]

Hey guys,

So I took the advice and tracked down a physio. Upon evaluation he found that my right sacral joint of the pelvis was rotated up and tilted forward a bit. He said this could cause all sorts of muscular tension over time. He said I would not necessarily know or feel anything while the problem built.

He thinks this is the underlying cause of my initial symptoms which were prostatitis. I had taken ephedrine hundreds of times with no problems, but this time, the muscles in my pelvis were tight and probably in spasm (but I couldnt feel them) and adding an alpha antagonist was the icing on the cake.

He then said this set up a pain cycle. The prostate pain finally led to the proliferation of the underlying muscle problem and thats why I'm left with spasms, urinary pain and a tenderness in the tailbone, with no perineum or prostate pain I can detect. (Keep in mind no bacteria was ever found in any cultures).

He said the pain cycle is a continuous problem and by reseting the sacral joint we should be able to get the muscles to calm down. However, this won't happen overnight and I have to do therapy and exercises. I have no clue if were on to something here or not, but it seems pretty odd that Id have both problems, and them not be related.

I'm just worried that it may take more inner manipulation to truly stop the pain cycle and if that is the case I still feel in my area I'm SOL. I remain hopeful though. I know that after every DRE I've ever had I ALWAYS felt better. Was that interupting the muscle spasms and pain cycle, very possibly it was. I'm going to discuss dre with my uro in conjunction with my therapy.

Its odd that Flomax helps my condition especially the urinary problem since this is for BPH, which I dont have. But Flomax also relaxes the muscles around the prostate that could be irritated by the spasms of my pelvic muscles from being basically tweaked for so long.

After reading this has anyone else had this similar problem or think I'm on the right track here. Thanks,

SS

[scotsman]

Upon evaluation he found that my right sacral joint of the pelvis was rotated up and tilted forward a bit

Very interesting - my physio also found that my pelvis was out of alignment, and we start each physio sessions with treatment to address that.

Re the inner treatment - this may be needed but you'll need an internal assessment for internal triggerpoints to find out. Is your physio trained in myofascial release?

Richard.

[scoobysnacks]

Scotsman,

I dont think he is trained in myofascial release and even if he is I know he not trained in it for internal application. If the intitial treatment doesnt seem to help hes going to call some contacts and see what we can dig up along the lines of pelvic floor specialists and EMG tests and biofeedback. I hope I'm on the right track here.

Do you think your misalignment contributed to your problem as well?

SS

[scotsman]

I believe it does/is.

When I didn't see my physio over the Xmas/New Year break I had a flare up (due to having the flu (which meant I didn't do my daily triggerpoint work), didn't stick with my relaxation, etc) - and when I went back to see him my pelvis was badly out.

I think that a lot of people suffer from such misalignment, but don't have our pain, so I'm not sure if it causes CPPS, but I think it certainly exacerbates the condition and needs treatment.

Richard.

[scotsman]

I hope I'm on the right track here

I think you're 100% on the right track.

[scoobysnacks]

I hope you are right.

SS

[scotsman]

The thing to remember though with PT is that it's not a quick fix.

I got off to a great start - with 20%-30% decrease in my pain from the first session, then relatively speedy progress to about 70%-75% decrease in pain and symptoms within 2-3 months (of PT once a week with my physio). Since then my progress has been slower - probably around 1-2% per week? (and I've lost a month with that flare-up).

However, I've not been putting as much effort into the relaxation side of the protocol that I should be, so I'm working on that this now. So, whilst PT is a must do part, don't forget to put as much effort and commitment into the relaxation side.

Richard.

[scoobysnacks]

what do you recommend for relaxation, I take one warm bath a day and try to relax along with some kava kava.

I'm relatively young, 26, and I'm in law school, but I'm not one of those high stress type people. So I've never thought that my condition was a result of being overtensed down in that region. How do you know that is a problem?

SS

[scotsman]

I don't think my chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome was caused by stress/anxiety - but I do believe any stress/anxiety exacerbates things (just as with the misaligned pelvis).

I use different relaxation CD's (I've just started trying http://www.openfocus.com as well) and do proper breathing exercises.

Have you got/read A Headache in the Pelvis ?

Richard.

[scoobysnacks]

I bought the book but have not had sufficient time with school and work to really devle into it. I was thinking over spring break, two weeks, learning the relaxation techs. Is that whay you were gonna suggest.

SS

[scotsman]

The book doesn't really provide any practical advice on how to do relaxation - but it will certainly explain why relaxation is an important component to the cure.

[nickybo]

Read Headache in the pelvis first.

After that I read Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient: The Physical Foundations of Mindfulness by Will Johnson

Plus I do Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga. Breathing exercises + Yoga = much relief.

I hope to start PT this month if I can ever get a referal. Been extremely tough to get a referal

Good luck

[Ddream]

Hi Nickybo,

Could you tell me what "Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient: The Physical Foundations of Mindfulness" is about and how that book helped you.

Thank you.