Dr. Melissa Cioffi, PT, DPT - Physical Therapist

07/13/2021

If I had to put a number on it, I'd say about 75% of my 1:1 clients have tried physical therapy before: 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝟓% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐓.⁣
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Real talk: I am not going to bash conventional therapists (well, the honest ones anyway). PT school sets us up to be generalists: we learn about a ton of conditions and ways to treat things like joint pain, muscle injuries, balance issues...things you generally think of when you hear "physical therapy." If we are lucky, we get 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 a few weeks in pelvic health, which covers basic anatomy and not much about evaluating and treating pelvic health conditions. That's it.⁣
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So when I see PT clinics advertising that they treat pelvic floor issues or I see a p*er on Facebook asking how to assess someone for leaking, and none of these people are formally trained, I rage inside.⁣
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Here's the deal: if you'e experiencing any of these, seeing a pelvic floor PT over a conventional PT down the street will be your best bet!
💦Leaking. Anything, anytime, any age.⁣
🏃‍♀️Feeling like you have to p*e all.the.TIME but your lab results are negative.
💩Chronic constipation.⁣
🤰Pregnancy and postpartum (yes, even if "just" for back or hip pain. Even if you're "not having any issues”).⁣
👄Painful seggs or pain with insertion.⁣
🏋️‍♀️Prolapse.⁣
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You're also going to want to ask whether your PT was trained in internal assessment; even if you waive this part of the exam, your person should know how to assess this way! They should also be trained via Herman & Wallace or the APTA. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔!⁣
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This isn’t meant to scare you, but “pelvic floor" is the new hot topic; too many unqualified "healthcare" providers are preying on people who don’t know what to look for. Don't let them waste your time, energy, or money.⁣

06/21/2021

If you've been hanging out here for awhile, you know that kegels aren't always the best course of action when it comes to pelvic floor conditioning. For those with certain signs and symptoms, kegels may actually not do anything to help with stuff like leaking, pain with $&x, or chronic constipation.⁣
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Just like any other muscle in our bodies, the pelvic floor needs a good amount of 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 AND 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚; unfortunately, the flexibility piece gets lost amidst trash exercise prescription given out by those who don't know any better.⁣
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You would never be happy about living life with restricted/tight hamstrings, right? The same goes for your pelvic floor. Learning how to lengthen AND strengthen the muscles "down there" will be your course of action in overcoming issues down the line whether you're 18, 80, had a v@g!nal delivery, had a c-section, or have not born children: because pelvic floor health affects EVERYONE regardless of age and lifestyle.⁣
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These are 3 of my favorite positions to help add some flexibility to your floor. Add in some diaphragmatic breathing (one of your true core muscles), and you get double bang for your buck. Even MORE awesome: if you’re feeling stressed out, these are great nervous system down-regulators to help combat that fight-or-flight feeling you might be experiencing as a response.

This is just one piece of a very intricate puzzle, but an often overlooked one.⁣
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Give them a shot and let me know what you think!*

*not medical advice nor to be used to treat specific conditions. For informational and educational purposes only*

04/22/2021

No matter what you call it (leaking, p*eing your pants, incontinence), not being able to control your bladder is VERY common but never normal. No matter how many kids you've had or how old you are.

If you've been doing your bazillion kegels and are still leaking, this video is for you.

No matter what you call it (leaking, p*eing your pants, incontinence), not being able to control your bladder is VERY common but never normal. No matter how ...

04/20/2021

Let's clear the air for a second.⁣
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Unless you've had a traumatic injury, your glutes don't just "turn off." If you can control your sit/stand to and from a couch, if you're walking around without issues, and if you're climbing stairs without a worry, your glutes are working just fine.⁣
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Can they use a little more TLC in regard to conditioning? Possibly.⁣
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But one way that ain't happening is by squeezing your cheeks together as you navigate your life 𝒂𝒏𝒅 your workouts. Instead of doing what you think this is doing (avoiding compensations, getting a better butt workout), this may actually be causing 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 compensation. Staying in a clenched state like this may:
👎🏼Take load off the muscles we actually want to work and place it on other areas to pick up the slack they shouldn’t be taking on (I’m looking at you, pelvic floor).
👎🏼Contribute to a hyperactive nervous system aka your body is in a constant state of stress.
👎🏼Create a 𝒉𝒚𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 pelvic floor, aka your muscles don’t know how to relax. This could lead to things like leaking and pain with pe*******on.
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🥵A good glute workout doesn't require you consciously squeezing the crap out of your butt muscles.
🤩A good glute workout 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 fire up your butt muscles with the motions that are prescribed, without you having to crack walnuts in your butt crack.⁣
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Trust me.⁣
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Your glutes, your pelvic floor, and your nervous system will thank you!

04/07/2021

Were you always told to squeeze your butt when you're standing around?

Were you told to kegel because you're leaking?
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Just like our brains and the rest of our body, our pelvic floor and deep core (think abs) need a break as well. Just because you're leaking does not mean that your pelvic floor muscles have a weakness issue: they may have a tightness issue as well. Especially if they are compensating for other areas that are either 𝒕𝒐𝒐 flexible (yes, this is a thing!) or on the weak side (think hips, lower back, butt...the list goes on).⁣
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Do you go through your workouts squeezing your butt cheeks together as if you were squeezing juice out of an orange? This is probably why you never seem to "get stronger," or see the results you want from your workout program 🤷🏼‍♀️⁣
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Finally Floored unveils all the 🗑 myths that the fitness and even the medical industry have been throwing at folks with va**nas for decades. Together, we learn how to work the basics of our core and pelvic floor, building upon each week to form a comprehensive, total body program leaving you feeling amazed at what you never thought your body could ever do.⁣
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Doors are open until 8PM EST Sunday 4/11. Head to the link below to learn more and grab your spot!

https://finallyfloored.thinkific.com/courses/finally-floored

04/05/2021

I know you've searched for calorie burn amounts of several workouts and then scheduled ones whose burn amount was the highest.⁣
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I also know you're not getting the most out of your body...⁣
🙈That your back still feels stiff when you get out of bed in the morning.⁣
🙈That your hips always feel tight when you're sitting on the floor with your kids.⁣
🙈That your calves are on fire after a long hike with your friends.⁣
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You're like "but I don't get it; I workout all the time!" and then you chalk it up to one of the many downfalls of being a woman over 25.⁣
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Since we are old enough to feel body shame, fitness culture sucks us in, making us believe that the only way to measure how "good" a workout program is is by the amount of calories it burns. That the only reason you need to exercise is so that you can shrink your body into a smaller pants size. So that you achieve the sole goal of looking “pretty.⁣”
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At the end of the day, these aesthetic-chasing programs don't ACTUALLY do you any service.⁣
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😥You're still disconnected from your body because you're not taught how to use it.⁣
😥You're chasing 1-dimensional goals (ie, shrinking) when you're a multi-dimensional human.⁣
😥You're missing the point in how capable and amazing your body can be.⁣
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And THIS is why you believe the rhetoric that your body goes to s**t after a certain age. Or after having kids.

Or even just being a person with a va**na.

Finally Floored is my 12-week conditioning program for folks with va**nas who want to confidently navigate their body both in their life and during workouts, while never having to question what's "going on down there" or settling for sitting on the sidelines of life thinking "it just is what it is."

There are 3 seats left, so head here to claim yours: https://finallyfloored.thinkific.com/courses/finally-floored
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We take back ownership of our damn bodies 4/18! Because we are on 🌎 to do more incredible things than just sit back and look pretty 🤘🏼⁣

04/02/2021

People will often ask what kinds of things I treat as a pelvic floor PT. The non-exhaustive list usually includes leaking (💩 and 💦), pain with penetrative $€x/tampon use, prolapse, etc.⁣
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Their follow-up comment is usually "oh good, I don't have any of that so I don't need to work my pelvic floor."⁣
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Not to rain on anyone's parade, but 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕, 𝒔𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆.⁣
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And we all know that ain't the case.⁣
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Just like the glutes, the pelvic floor is a set of very important muscles that are literally part of our core structure. Many of us think that kegels are the only way to condition them and that if we aren't p*eing our pants, then we don't have to worry about them.⁣
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𝐈𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.⁣
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Here are some quick ways to tell if you need to give your floor a little more TLC*:⁣
🌹Can you perform a kegel without holding your breath, clenching your butt, pushing out your belly, or squeezing your thighs together? And do you feel it from your cl****al area towards your anus?⁣
🌹Can you relax your pelvic floor without pushing like you're gonna have a bowel movement?⁣ Again, assess your breathing (you shouldn’t be holding your breath) and whether your belly pops out.
🌹Do you clench your jaw, butt, ANYTHING for long periods of time throughout the day or during workouts?⁣
*These are just 3 of the many ways to assess your own pelvic floor function*.
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If you answered "yes" to any of these, there is work to be done.⁣
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This is one of the many concepts we tackle in Finally Floored, a 12-week total body conditioning program that literally gets your body moving from the inside out. Doors are open now for a limited time! Click here for more info 🤘🏼: https://finallyfloored.thinkific.com/courses/finally-floored

03/22/2021

I know you've gauged the effectiveness of your workouts based on whether you're sore afterwards. Based on how much sweat poured off of you. Based on how much air you were sucking during it.⁣
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I also know you've never stuck to any of these programs long term: and you've blamed yourself for it.⁣
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There is a time and place for sweat and soreness, however, how much you're experiencing from your exercise program does not determine whether it's effective or not. At the end of the day, your workouts should be challenging YET something that's not so difficult and torturous that you drop it in a few weeks, drowning in feeling like a failure, only to start the process again in 6 weeks 🙄.⁣
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Sometimes, simple is best. You don't need to be jumping all over the place, bouncing off the walls, walking across the room on your head in order for a program to be effective 🤷🏼‍♀️⁣
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Finally Floored is for people with va**nas who have been led to believe that the more awful the workout, the "better" it is...and are absolutely tired of it. Who have been doing all the cardio and "toning" exercises but not feeling any stronger or any more confident that their back won't give out the minute they bend down to unload the dishwasher. Who have been doing all the kegels to "tone their pelvic floor" but have no idea why the hell they're doing them or whether they're doing them right.⁣
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If you're on the waitlist, keep your eyes p*eled on your inbox this week for more info! Doors will be open to the rest of you next week, so stay tuned 🤘🏼

03/21/2021

The answer: absolutely!⁣
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But how?⁣
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Just because you haven't delivered va**nally doesn't mean that your pelvic floor was left out of the equation. A lot of postpartum p*eps are not educated on what exactly could be compromised after a c-section and how you may be compensating when going about your daily activities (and it goes WAY beyond scar massage).⁣
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Being that your pelvic floor is literally part of your deep core, it's no wonder that something like an abdominal surgery, like a c-section, would impact how you use this part of the body. But if you've had this procedure years ago, is it too late?⁣
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Not at all.⁣
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Just like you can start lifting weights beyond your 20s, the same goes for your pelvic floor and core: you can start any time you're ready! Learning how to connect to/engage that part of your body will be key in getting the most out of your workouts, your joyful movement, and your life in general.⁣
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If you've never learned how to care for your c-section beyond rubbing vitamin E along the scar, I gotchu: Finally Floored is coming, a program that literally starts from the most basic movements of the core and pelvic floor, building outward to bring you up to sp*ed on a full-body fitness plan that FINALLY allows you to use your body as an entire damn system instead of piece-mealing random moves together and praying for the best. The waitlist closes tonight at 8pm EST, so make sure you get on there to get first dibs on the program as well as a deep discount!⁣
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Link is in my bio 💜

03/19/2021

I know you've Googled "Are squats bad for me?".⁣
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Squats have been demonized by the medical community.⁣ Why? I have yet to get a straight answer from anyone who perpetuates this rhetoric (and you know your girl asked 🤷🏼‍♀️).⁣
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I have 2 theories:⁣
🤓Squats are what's called a 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕: basically, this translates to "there's a ton of s**t going on here." We need to look at the back, the hips, the knees, the ankles, and yes, even your feet! And while I don't believe that one squat set-up is appropriate for all bodies, there is a general blueprint to follow that not many understand.⁣
🤓Over-training. Any exercise, no matter how beneficial, can be done in excess. Too much weight, too many reps, not enough rest: all are a recipe for potential injury. Remember, injury happens when load > capacity, aka you're asking too much from your body at a point in time where it may not be ready for it.⁣
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𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆: there is absolutely NOTHING dangerous about squats if you know how to fit them in to your programming. We literally squat every day: getting on and of the toilet, getting on and off the couch, so not building resilience in this movement pattern...THAT is what will ruin your knees and your back. Not the squat itself.⁣
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And if you're compensating during a squat via clenching your butt/abs and/or holding your breath, your pelvic floor is screaming right now.⁣
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Confused AF about what's "safe" for your body? Especially when you're dealing with stuff like leaking or pain with $€x? I gotchu. The waitlist to Finally Floored is open until Sunday 3/21: this program will teach you everything about your core and pelvic floor, building outward to incorporate a total body exercise program so that you never have to worry about whether you're doing more harm to your body with your workouts. We dig through all the bulls**t to finally get you comfortable in using your body, even though you may feel a little lost in it right now.⁣
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Space is limited. Doors open to the waitlist first, so make sure you get on there to get first dibs on this as well as a discount! Link in bio 🤘🏼

03/17/2021

At the end of the day, the effectiveness of your exercise program comes down to 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.⁣
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You absolutely need to check in with your body in order to get the most out of your workouts. Some key questions I ask my clients during our sessions:⁣
📝Is anything hurting?⁣
📝Are you leaking with certain moves or at certain points in the move?⁣
📝How is your breathing?⁣
📝Do you feel your belly doming?⁣
📝Do you feel challenged by this or can you do it all day long with your eyes closed?⁣
📝Do you know where you should be feeling this? Where are you actually feeling it?⁣
📝Are you rushing the movements just so you can check this off your list?⁣
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Look, I am all for gentle yoga and long walks in the park, BUT I also know that you need to add in the more difficult stuff so that you can continue working in the garden without your back killing you or going out on a hike with your family without worrying about having to change your leggings because you leaked AGAIN.⁣
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The most successful clients of mine are those who are present during their workouts. You can do it too: you just need a little guidance. Finally Floored is opening soon: a program that builds your body from the core/pelvic floor and outward. You'll learn exactly what you need to do but more importantly, WHY you're doing it. You'll never have to guess whether an exercise is "bad" for you ever again, because you'll have the tools to answer that question for yourself and feel so confident with your body's capabilities…FINALLY.⁣
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The waitlist is open until Sunday. Link in bio 💪🏼 @ Westchester County, New York

03/15/2021

You've tried everything.⁣
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🥦The superfoods.⁣
👩🏻‍⚕️The MDs.⁣
☕️The home remedies.⁣
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But you still can't poop.⁣
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What gives?⁣
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Medical and GI issues aside, your "chronic constipation," aka difficulty being able to have a bowel movement may be linked to a restriction in your pelvic floor.⁣
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And pooping pellets doesn't actually count as a good go 💁🏼‍♀️.⁣
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So what can you do?⁣
➡️Bowel massage: starting right above your right hip bone, perform mini circular motions upward until just under your ribs. Then, move across to the left side, and finally down towards your left hip bone. This follows the course of your digestive tract and can (literally) help move things along!⁣
➡️Invest in a squatty potty (or something to rest your feet on). Ideally, your feet should not be dangling as this may increase tension in the legs and therefore the pelvic floor.
➡️Learn how to relax your pelvic floor! A cue I've heard is like you're trying to blow bubbles through a straw with your va**na (this one stuck w me), so the effort is GENTLE and not like you're pushing for dear life. This will probably be difficult for you, so next time you’re up for a 💩 try inhaling and filling your belly up with air while simultaneously relaxing your pelvic floor. Then on the exhale, push slightly (again, we NEVER push for dear life).⁣
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Having difficulty pooping is common but not normal: for anyone! This is one of the cases where kegels might actually be doing you a disservice 😉.⁣
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Not sure whether you "need' kegels or not? I gotchu. Finally Floored is coming, a comprehensive program that teaches you the literal ins and outs of your body and how to use it in ways YOU need, eventually tying everything together for an entire exercise program that will keep you present in your family's life instead of sitting it out on the sidelines. The waitlist is open until Sunday 3/21. Sign up now to get first dibs on the program, as well as a DEEP discount! Link is in my bio 🤘🏼