Alcove Education

Alcove Education Small Classes. Big Ideas. Alcove Education provides continuing education courses to medical practit

Offering both online and in-person courses that streamline the learning process for pelvic health professionals. Our unique approach concentrates on breaking down complex pelvic health diagnoses into a clear, easy-to-follow framework that simplifies assessment and treatment.

🦴 Did you know the obturator foramen can be palpated externally?With the patient supine, the leg slightly externally rot...
02/26/2026

🦴 Did you know the obturator foramen can be palpated externally?
With the patient supine, the leg slightly externally rotated and supported on a pillow, the anterior window just lateral to the p***c bone allows skilled palpation of the obturator region. This position helps reduce guarding, improves access, and gives meaningful information about hip–pelvic interface tension.
This is an advanced palpation skill—and it matters when you’re connecting hip mechanics, pelvic floor behavior, and symptoms like pain or urinary urgency.

🎓 We teach this hands-on in Diving into the Pelvic Floor: Lab Component.
Want to level up your assessment and clinical reasoning?

👉 Check out the link in bio to learn more.

🧪 The Cotton Swab Test and why millimeters matterThe Cotton Swab Test is a gentle, systematic exam used to identify wher...
02/24/2026

🧪 The Cotton Swab Test and why millimeters matter
The Cotton Swab Test is a gentle, systematic exam used to identify where v***ar pain is coming from, not just that it exists.
Using a cotton-tipped applicator, light pressure is applied to very specific points around the v***a and vestibule. What we are mapping is location, precision, and pattern of pain.

And here’s the key part 👇

Even 1 millimeter matters.
Pain just outside Hart’s line involves skin tissue with different nerve endings and different treatment considerations.
Pain just inside Hart’s line involves vestibular mucosa that is more densely innervated and commonly associated with vestibulodynia.

That tiny shift in location can completely change
✨ the diagnosis
✨ the treatment plan
✨ and the clinical reasoning behind care

This is why the Cotton Swab Test is not a quick poke or a “does this hurt?” exam. It must be precise, intentional, and anatomically informed.

🎓 For PTs and OTs
If you want to learn how to be this specific in your testing and clinical reasoning, check out Alcove Pelvic Health Education’s course offerings—especially Vestibulodynia An OrthoPelvic Approach.

This course is designed to help you integrate
🦴 orthopedics
🧠 nervous system reasoning
🌸 vestibule anatomy
and clear diagnostic algorithms

Level up your pelvic health game and move beyond vague exams and generic treatment plans 💪✨
👉 Link in bio to learn more.

Image credit: https://hormonally.org/the-v***a/

02/19/2026

Join Our Hands-On Pelvic Health Course in Austin - March 28 🏥

🧠🫁 Prostatectomy outcomes are influenced by more than just the surgery itself.Understanding bladder neck preservation, s...
02/17/2026

🧠🫁 Prostatectomy outcomes are influenced by more than just the surgery itself.

Understanding bladder neck preservation, sphincter function, and pelvic floor rehabilitation allows patients to take an active role in their recovery 💪.
The more you understand your anatomy and your options, the better prepared you are for what comes next.

💬 Informed questions
➡️ Better preparation
➡️ Better outcomes

Knowledge is not extra.
It’s part of the treatment. ✨

🎓 Ready to strengthen your approach to vestibule pain?
Register now — link in bio or visit alcoveeducation.com.

🫁 Most people think breath is just about oxygen.But breathing mechanics directly influence✨ your nervous system✨ your pr...
02/12/2026

🫁 Most people think breath is just about oxygen.
But breathing mechanics directly influence

✨ your nervous system
✨ your pressure system
✨ and pelvic floor behavior

📖 In Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, James Nestor explains that at a normal breathing rate, our lungs absorb only about 25% of the available oxygen in the air.

When we slow the breath
when we lengthen it

🌬️ more oxygen is actually absorbed.
🚣‍♀️ Think about it like rowing.

Short choppy strokes won’t take you very far.
But fewer longer more efficient strokes
move you powerfully
and sustainably.

Your pelvic floor is responding to this rhythm every single day.
Change the breath and you change the environment the body is living in.

🎓 Ready to strengthen your approach to vestibule pain?
Register now — link in bio or visit alcoveeducation.com.

💡 Did you know the hip and v***a share the same nerve origins?The innervation of both the hip 🦴 and the v***a 🌸 comes fr...
02/10/2026

💡 Did you know the hip and v***a share the same nerve origins?
The innervation of both the hip 🦴 and the v***a 🌸 comes from overlapping spinal levels, specifically the lumbar and sacral plexuses 🧠. These upper lumbar and sacral nerve roots supply sensation, movement, and coordination to both regions.

💥 Light bulb moment.
This is why you see so much emphasis on thoracic and lumbar mobility and pelvic stabilization exercises in rehab. There is a real, finite push–pull relationship between the spine, hips, and pelvis 🔄.

Understanding nerve supply is just as important as focusing on muscles and joints when it comes to hip function. The same is true for the v***a, where innervation plays a major role in sensation, pain, and pelvic floor health.

✨ When we zoom out and look at the whole system, we can better address conditions like pelvic pain, v***ar pain, and hip-related dysfunction—not just chase symptoms.
If you or someone you know is experiencing discomfort in either area, reach out for a comprehensive evaluation.

📍 In Central Texas? Come see me at Alcove Pelvic Therapy.
Link in Bio.

Together, we can create a tailored plan to improve your quality of life 🌟

02/09/2026

Are You Cliterate? It’s Time to Lift the Crown—Correctly.

02/05/2026

✨ Why hormones matter in vestibulodynia ✨
The tissue at the vaginal opening is very hormone dependent 🧠
It has a high density of estrogen and androgen receptors.
And yes—that includes testosterone.
When hormone signaling changes (birth control, postpartum, perimenopause), this tissue can become more sensitive.
Your body responds the way it’s designed to… by protecting 💪
That protection can look like:
🔸 Muscle guarding
🔸 Pain with touch or pe*******on
🔸 Burning or irritation
This doesn’t mean you’re broken.
It means your system is responding to something that feels unsafe.
The good news?
When we support tissue health, calm the nervous system, and restore healthy muscle movement, things can change 🌱
💛 Patients: If you’re in the Austin area and need care, Alcove Pelvic Therapy specializes in complex pelvic pain—including vestibulodynia.
🎓 Clinicians: This exact framework is taught in my course Vestibulodynia: An OrthoPelvic Approach, where we connect tissue health, muscle function, the nervous system, and orthopedic drivers.
Pelvic pain is real.
And it’s treatable.
✨

🔥 SAVE $125 — Only 6 Slots Left!Vestibulodynia: An OrthoPelvic Approach📍 Louisville, Kentucky📅 February 28–March 1, 2026...
02/05/2026

🔥 SAVE $125 — Only 6 Slots Left!

Vestibulodynia: An OrthoPelvic Approach
📍 Louisville, Kentucky
📅 February 28–March 1, 2026

Join this 2-day in-person course for pelvic health clinicians and learn a whole-body, orthopedic-informed approach to evaluating and treating vestibulodynia. Strengthen your assessment and treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes.

💸 Use code 125OFF to get $125 off
🔗 Course link: https://www.alcoveeducation.com/vestibulodynia-a-pelvic-ortho-approach

📩 Message us at questions@alcoveeducation.com
for more details
⚠️ Only 6 spots remaining

🚫 Myth 🚫A tight pelvic floor is the problem.In vestibulodynia, the pelvic floor’s response to feeling threatened is ofte...
02/03/2026

🚫 Myth 🚫
A tight pelvic floor is the problem.

In vestibulodynia, the pelvic floor’s response to feeling threatened is often secondary and coming from somewhere beyond the muscles themselves.
When we try to force relaxation without addressing the true drivers including orthopedic, neurologic, hormonal, or pressure based influences we can actually increase pain and fear.

This is where solely stretching or downtraining may fail.
I like to think of myself as a symmetry investigator.

Yes, the body has asymmetry everywhere and that is normal.

The real question is
Where are the greatest restrictions and limitations?

Address those first and you are finally moving in the right direction for meaningful lasting change.
This exact framework is what we teach in

Vestibulodynia An OrthoPelvic Approach.

This in-person course is a game changer in your clinical practice.

For PTs and OTs with prior internal training who are ready to truly integrate orthopedics pelvic health and clinical reasoning.

👉 Check out the link in bio to learn more and save your seat.

02/02/2026

🧠➡️⚡ Groin pain? Think nerves.

Want an exercise that targets nerve irritation—not just muscles?

This neural glide focuses on the upper lumbar nerves, specifically the ilioinguinal and genitofemoral nerves, which:
• Exit the upper lumbar spine
• Travel across the abdominal wall
• Enter the groin and can refer into the testicular region

🔑 Key point:
Nerves like to be glided (flossed) — not stretched.

In this video, you’ll see controlled side bending and rotation with gentle, rhythmic movement:
✔️ No long holds
✔️ Just enough motion to tap into symptoms
✔️ Then ease right back out

This back-and-forth motion helps calm nerve sensitivity while improving mobility and tolerance.

👀 If this resonates, follow along for more real-world treatment tips.

🎓 Want high-level clinical skills for treating male pelvic pain?
Check out Alcove Pelvic Health Education for upcoming courses.

🧔‍♂️ Need treatment for male pelvic pain in Austin?
Find Alcove Pelvic Therapy through the link in bio.

GenitofemoralNerve InguinalNerve

01/29/2026

🚫 “Never do Kegels again.”

I hear this all the time—and today’s patient is the perfect example of why that advice can miss the mark.

He’s a male veteran with extensive military injuries, multiple hernia repairs, and every pelvic floor diagnosis in the book. For over five years, he’s only been told to lengthen, stretch, and relax his pelvic floor.

And yes—downtraining mattered.
But at some point… we have to circle back.

Because a Kegel isn’t “strengthening” in the way most people think.
It’s about coordination.
Timing.
Load management.
The ability to contract and relax when needed.

Muscles aren’t the enemy.
Dysfunction is about how a muscle moves, not whether it exists.

The pelvic floor is designed to:
➡️ lengthen
➡️ recoil
➡️ contract
➡️ relax

Telling someone to never use a muscle ignores basic biology.

Care should be individualized.
Some people need downtraining and strengthening—at the right time.
Precision beats blanket advice. Every time. ✨

If you’re a clinician wanting to sharpen this level of clinical reasoning, my Diving into the Male Pelvic Floor course walks through assessment, coordination, and when to appropriately reintroduce load—link in bio.

And if you’re someone dealing with pelvic pain, urinary, bowel, or sexual dysfunction, Alcove Pelvic Therapy is here to help. You don’t need another blanket rule—you need individualized care.

Muscles are adaptable 💪
Systems are complex 🧠
Movement matters 🔄

ClinicalReasoning

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Austin, TX
78701–78705, 78708–78739, 78741–78742, 78744–78769

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