We’re excited to share with you information and resources provided by SP partners, professionals, specialists and consultants to support you throughout the perinatal experience. The videos, interviews, and resources found on this page should not replace the advice of your healthcare team. Please check with your care provider and chiropractor or physical therapist for more in depth evaluation and assistance.
Dr. Erica Boland
Dr. Erica Boland is a passion driven woman and very much a movement and pelvic floor enthusiast. As a chiropractor, Erica thrives in connecting with women and children to help them move better and feel better on this journey. Much of her practice is focused on healing the core and pelvic floor in the prenatal and postpartum period. After over a decade of doula work, she is now a student midwife and looks forward to deeply integrating her passions for movement and birth as a chiropractor and midwife. She teaches other professionals across the globe how to set a higher standard of care for the parenthood transition and it is her mission to educate and empower women and lead transformation of current postpartum protocols. She refills her cup through listening to live music, playing guitar, dancing, fitness, and best of all spending time with her husband Kyle and their four beautiful boys.
Scar tissue heals thicker than regular tissue and can form adhesions, or stick to, the surrounding tissues and layers. The first step in healing abdominal scar tissue begins with breath. Using a full core breath allows the layers of tissue to expand and begin to move more freely. Scars house emotion and always come with a story. This can be a part of why it may be difficult to look at or feel your scar. Following breath, begin with gentle touch, a mirror while lying down or seated, and set a timer for a few minutes to explore your scar.
Use the mobilization techniques shown in the video once the scar has healed. From the very beginning, starting with breath, scar tissue work should be done daily. It is important to remember that numbness is also a symptom and we highly encourage finding a provider local to you to assist with professional soft tissue mobilization. This is often a chiropractor and/or PT.
The Round ligaments are like a tether on a hot air balloon. On your body you can locate them by placing your index finger on the bony prominence of your pelvic bone and drawing a line towards your belly button. can cause pain for the pregnant person and can also restrict movement for the baby. Pain in the round ligament usually occurs on one side or the other and is felt when rolling in bed or turning to the side. Doing self release as shown in the video, coupled with full core breath, daily is very beneficial. It is recommended that you see a chiropractor to address any sort of restriction in the pelvis that can also cause round ligament to be tight.
The pubic symphysis is a thick pad of cartilage in the dead center between your two pelvic bones. As pregnancy progresses and relaxin sets in, this pad of cartilage becomes more lax/mobile. Pubic symphysis dysfunction or pain in the pubic symphysis can range from mild to debilitating. Typically this pain is felt when rolling over in bed, stepping into or out of a vehicle, side lunge position, or after a long walk. The best way to help relieve this pain and fix the underlying cause is to increase core stability and increase glute function, specifically glute med.
Typically this pain will resolve after birth but occasionally it does not start until postpartum.
If you start to experience symptoms, be sure to use the recommended movements as a warm up and cool down to your daily movement practice or workout.
In addition to the videos provided, working with a chiropractor and pelvic health physical therapist for alignment of joints and soft tissues is highly recommended.
Join Dr. Erica Boland and Coach Carolina as they talk about the Functional Progression and how it's the vitamin supplement of movements for our body. They also dive into the details of the Fourth Trimester Bundle and how it works and why it was created.
The Functional Progression is for every body. This video aims to help you understand why it is so important to not only improve your core and pelvic floor strength but also reducing/avoiding other injuries and ultimately helping you make gains in your fitness.
You can find the full Functional Progression in the Warm Up and Mamas sections of my.streetparking.com and of course, as part of the 4th Trimester Bundle.
Dr. Jessie Carter
Dr. Jessie Carter is a 2001 graduate of the University of Evansville in Evansville, IN, where she earned both her BS and Masters degrees in physical therapy. In 2014, she completed the Executive Program in Private Practice Management through Evidence in Motion and earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) through the EIM Institute of Health Professions. She has trained extensively in the area of pelvic physical therapy over her 18 years in practice including numerous courses in the management of the obstetric client, pelvic floor dysfunction in men and women across the lifespan, biofeedback, visceral mobilization, and orthopaedic management. Last year, she started serving as a lab assistant for the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute for their "Male Pelvic Floor Function, Dysfunction & Treatment'' course. She hopes to serve in a teaching capacity more in the future. Jessie grew up in Columbia, IL, a suburb of St. Louis, MO, but currently resides in Clarksville, TN, where she owns High Pointe Physical Therapy, an outpatient clinic offering physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for adults and children.
Diastasis Recti Information and Assessment
Diastasis recti abdominis (DRA), or simply diastasis recti (DR), is a widening and thinning of the connective tissue between the two heads of the rectus abdominis muscle (your 6-pack muscles). It is a normal occurrence for mamas during pregnancy but can also occur in men. While it is normal to have a separation of the rectus abdominis muscles during pregnancy, seeing coning or doming (or even a sinking in between the rectus musculature) can be unnerving and often brings up questions about what movements are safe and smart to perform. When should DR resolve? When should you modify your workout movements to respect the altered function of the abdominal muscles? In this 4-video series, Jessie teaches us what DR is (Video #1), frequently asked questions about DR (Video #2), how you can check for diastasis recti on yourself or others (Video #3), and how to perform the balloon test to assess function (Video #4).
Video #1 - What Is It?
Video #2 - What Do We Know
Video #3 - How To Check
Video #4 - The Balloon Test
Dr. Jessie Carter sits down with Coach Carolina and takes some time discuss navigating fitness and urinary incontinence. She demonstrates with her anatomical model of the female pelvis and points out all of the parts of this incredible system and how pregnancy and birth can impact the structure and function. She dives into all things incontinence and she even shares a few techniques for learning how to manage some of these symptoms on your own.
To learn more about pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic floor physical therapy, check out this SP Mamas Newsletter for a Q&A with Dr. Carter!
Urinary leakage or incontinence (otherwise known as "peeing with double unders") is not typically caused by one thing - there are usually many factors that contribute beyond technique and pelvic floor dysfunction. We all can take simple steps daily to lessen the chances of leakage and pelvic health issues. In this 3-video series, Jessie dives into the importance of having a bowel movement correctly (Video #1), how to do this (Video #2), and bracing techniques specific to postpartum mamas or women dealing with or suspecting pelvic organ prolapse (Video #3).
Effective Bowel Movements - The Why
Effective Bowel Movements - The How
Effective Bowel Movements - Bonus Features
Urinary leakage or incontinence (otherwise known as "peeing with double unders/running/jumping/lifting etc.") is not typically caused by one thing - there are usually many factors that contribute beyond technique and pelvic floor dysfunction. We all can take simple steps daily to lessen the chances of leakage and pelvic health issues. In this 5-video series, Jessie introduces the importance of behavioral habits and their impact on leakage. She will teach you how to fill out a bladder diary (Video #1) and then interpret the information from the bladder diary (Video #2). If you find you are peeing too frequently and spending way too much time in the bathroom, you can try simple delay techniques to completely fill the bladder (Video #3), positions and strategies to completely empty the bladder (#4), and eliminating bladder irritants which may be contributing to leakage and frequency (Video #5).
Bladder Diaries - How to Complete
Bladder Diaries - What is Going On?
Completely Filling the Bladder
Completely Emptying the Bladder
Bladder Irritants
In this video you’ll find more information on what pelvic physio and pelvic floor physical therapy is and what you can expect from a visit with a qualified provider.
How to Find a Pelvic Physical Therapist
So you’ve decided you want to try pelvic physical therapy - yay! Now what? How do you find a highly qualified, competent provider in your area? How do you know he/she is the right fit for you?
Word of mouth
This is usually the best way to find “that provider” in your area who has positively impacted others you know and trust. Do you belong to a group you trust that might offer guidance? This might be a parent’s day out program, Sunday school class, parent organization, or a Facebook group with other like-minded individuals. These groups are often a wealth of information as pelvic physical therapy has become more mainstream.
Trusted healthcare provider
Do you have a trusted healthcare provider who might offer a referral? Typically, this would be an ob-gyn, urologist, midwife, or primary care provider. Don’t get discouraged if your provider is not familiar with a pelvic physio in your area - sometimes they may be unfamiliar with the services provided by a physical therapist or there may not be a pelvic physio in your area (especially true in rural locales).
Search engine on a trusted website that offers training for pelvic physical therapists
The Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute and the American Physical Therapy Association are two of the most established organizations in terms of educating pelvic physical therapists. Both organizations maintain records of therapists who have undergone additional training beyond the traditional education required of all physical therapists. Both organizations offer search engines linked below to help you find a provider in your area.
Herman & Wallace - you can search by location or practitioner name (easiest search engine)
American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) - this does require the therapist be a member of the APTA (the official professional organization of physical therapists in the US) (more complex search engine but you can search by location, practice setting, and specific problem you want addressed)
Once you locate a potential provider, do your research! If a website does not list its providers and at least offer a brief bio on the provider, this should raise some questions:
Will you be seeing the same provider(s) during your episode of care?
Does this facility experience high turnover - so much so they would constantly be
redoing their website?Do their “pelvic physical therapists” have specialized training in pelvic health?
What do their reviews say?
Is the pelvic physio mentioned by name in any reviews?
You can typically get a really good feel for a provider based on their web presence. Check out our video “Pelvic Physio - What to Expect” to get a better idea of what to expect at your first visit and beyond. It is important you feel safe, listened to, and empowered by your visit with a pelvic physio so if that is not the case, it’s okay to keep looking for the right provider for you!
This is a discussion and Q&A with Dr. Jessie and Coach Carolina on all things male pelvic health. Dr. Jessie explains some of the most common issues and concerns related to male pelvic health and shares simple tools and suggestions for management or recovery.
Kim Perez, MA, NTP
Kim Perez is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, owner of Root and Branch Nutrition, and her proudest endeavor, new mom to her baby boy, Henry. She is passionate about teaching, empowering, and supporting women to reconnect with their bodies, live in tune with their natural ebbs and flows, and nourish themselves body, mind, and soul- which she does through the lens of functional nutrition and holistic wellness. While she focuses on all things women’s health and hormones, her own recent pregnancy and postpartum journey ignited a spark in her to more deeply help other women through the beautiful, sacred, yet often overwhelming and unsettling transition into motherhood.
The menstrual cycle is an important, powerful, and complex phenomenon that unfortunately, most women aren’t fully educated on-- but to no fault of our own. Most popular messaging around the cycle tells us that symptoms like PMS, cramps, and fatigue are just something we need to deal with and that irregular, symptomatic periods are normal, while failing to tell us what’s really going on in our bodies.
Instead, if only women were taught about the intricacies of our hormones and other changes throughout the cycle, we could learn to honor our bodies more deeply and tap into the power of these shifts. If only we were taught that many common symptoms related to our cycles are not necessarily normal, we could be empowered to address root causes so that we can regulate and improve our cycles and as a result, our hormones, fertility, and overall vitality.
Women’s bodies are not the same every day, and we essentially operate according to the ebbs and flows of our menstrual cycles. The changes that occur in our bodies throughout the cycle impact our energy, motivation, strength, endurance, coordination, appetite and cravings, and more. Instead of trying to ignore these changes, or fight or “push through” them, we can actually lean into them and utilize them to our advantage, especially when it comes to our training.
In this video, Kim Perez, FNTP chats with Coach Carolina about the various changes that occur during the menstrual cycle and why it’s so beneficial to tune into these fluctuations and take advantage of them. She answers some of the top questions we receive often about the impact of the menstrual cycle on exercise and nutrition.
To learn more, follow Kim on Instagram and visit her website for more information about her services.
Coach Kate Johnson
Kate Johnson is a CrossFit Level 2 Trainer and Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Coach in Greeley, Colorado. Kate coaches out of CrossFit Helix and runs her own personal training business helping people navigate core and pelvic health during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. Her passion is helping educate, guide and support people through common issues like Diastasis recti, prolapse, and incontinence so they can feel confident and continue doing what they love to do! Kate has extensively pursued ongoing education in regards to women's health and fitness over the last three years obtaining and/or currently pursuing certifications in Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism, Active Life Professional Immersion Graduate, Postnatal Fitness Specialist Graduate, The Female Athlete with Physio Antony Lo, POP Uplift Professionals Course (a pelvic organ prolapse- currently pursuing), and the Diastasis Recti Course for Rehab and Fitness Professionals (currently pursuing). Kate is a teaching assistant for Women's Health Physiotherapist Antony Lo and The Female Athlete Course. Kate is a mom to two fun, energy filled boys (ages 8 and 4) who love to help her workout in the garage gym (they love burpees!) when they aren't playing football or soccer.
This is a series of 4 videos from the SP Fall Focus Group on Core and Pelvic Health. In each video, Coach Kate takes an actual Street Parking workout and breaks it down with suggestions for how to customize for the various stages of pregnancy and postpartum as well as with examples and demonstrations of strategies for managing your core and pelvic health. Be sure to watch the video and read or download the corresponding PDF for a more in depth breakdown of how and why to customize. This series is a great resource for anyone looking to learn and understand more about how to get the most out of SP programming and continuing to train during pregnancy and postpartum, all while being really intelligent and intentional about your long term core and pelvic health!
Workout 1 - Pull Ups, Push Press, Goblet Lunges
View & Download Customizations and Strategies Worksheet HERE.
Workout 2 - Toes to Bar, KB swings, Double Unders
View & Download Customizations and Strategies Worksheet HERE.
Workout 3 - Run, DB Hang Squat Clean, Burpee
View & Download Customizations and Strategies Worksheet HERE.
Workout 4 - Hang DB Snatch, Box Jump, Run
View & Download Customizations and Strategies Worksheet HERE.
Dr. Terri Robertson Elder
Dr. Terri Robertson Elder (she/her) is passionate about collaborating with people experiencing uncertainty about pelvic, bladder or bowel symptoms to find understanding and relief, so that they may thrive and cultivate joy in movement and sport. Terri graduated from Georgia State University with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2014, following a decade-long career as a neuromuscular massage therapist and educator. She has spent the last 6 years as a Physical Therapist at a large hospital system, practicing in acute care as well as outpatient, with primary areas of interest in oncology treatment and pelvic health. She opened Thrive Physical Therapy to offer a personalized model of Physical Therapy, so that people may experience convenience and relief from the comfort of their own homes. Terri also holds certifications as a Kripalu yoga teacher and Pilates instructor, and is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. Dr. Robertson Elder also holds a position as part-time faculty in the Department of Physical Therapy at Georgia State University.
A brief overview and discussion of the Core and Pelvic Floor as a whole system and from an anatomical perspective. This is the stuff we all should have learned in health class!
A more in depth presentation from Dr. Terri on Core and Pelvic Health. In this video she expands on the “Basics” video and covers anatomy, common symptoms of dysfunction, and strategies for management.
This is a brief presentation from Dr. Terri on the anatomy and physiology of the entire system of the core as well as information on Diastasis Recti, what it is and how to manage it. Following the presentation, Dr. Terri and Coach Kate are joined by an SP Member who is struggling with some symptoms of core dysfunction. They walk her through a live virtual assessment and then dive into troubleshooting strategies for managing her symptoms.
A presentation on stress and urge incontinence, urinary frequency, support devices for leaking, and some suggestions for simple ways to troubleshoot these symptoms at home.
Watch Dr. Terri and Coach Kate explore some simple strategies for managing incontinence with exercise and then do a live virtual assessment with an SP Member. In this session you’ll get to see the member go from feeling tense, uncomfortable, and leaking with hop overs to feeling confident with a few simple adjustments to her movement for managing her symptoms, and then to feeling comfortable enough to even attempt some single unders which she had not done in over a year.
Pelvic Floor relaxation is a critical component of full functionality of the pelvic floor. It’s possible that the inability to effectively relax the pelvic floor may be related to some common concerns like incontinence and pelvic pain. This video is a presentation on the who, what, why and how of pelvic floor muscle relaxation.