Cleveland Pelvic Wellness Center

11/17/2025

Vulvodynia is a chronic pain disorder that affects the v***a or external female genitalia. Symptoms include burning, dryness, irritation, stinging, and sometimes sharp shooting pain. These symptoms then lead to further dysfunction like pain with in*******se, difficulty wearing certain types of underwear from sensitivity, and pain with wiping after voiding.

A retrospective study conducted by Kiesner and Bittoni demonstrates the association of oral contraceptive use and prevalence of vulvodynia. This study showed that 50% of the participants that used oral contraceptives complained of pain in the v***a. Women who take combined oral contraceptives are 5x more likely to experience vulvodynia while those that take progestin only contraceptives are almost 3x as likely to experience vulvodynia.

Oral contraceptives cause hormonal changes which affect the health, lubrication, and vascularization of va**nal tissues. Depletion of these hormones causes dryness, irritation, and pain in those tissues. Access to oral contraceptives is VERY important and provides many individuals control over their own lives and body. But just like other medications, it is important to note that they can have negative side effects as well. These symptoms may be a side effect of oral contraceptives, but you do not need to suffer. Our therapists can help to assist with these issues and improve quality of life if this applies to you!

11/06/2025

Menopause: When even your pelvic floor needs a fan 🪭... No, not that kind of fan. The other kind of fan. 📣🥇🤩

Menopause causes estrogen depletion. Estrogen is an important hormone to v***ar, va**nal, and pelvic floor muscular tissues. Estrogen supports healthy blood flow, collagen, elasticity, and tone to your tissues. When estrogen drops during menopause, this causes thinning of va**nal tissues, va**nal dryness, and decreased elasticity leading to tightness and weakness in pelvic floor muscles. Outside of hormonal changes, decreases in bone density and muscle mass contribute to pelvic instability and weakness. These changes can cause an array of symptoms including va**nal tissue changes, urinary and bowel changes, and s3xual dysfunction.

During menopause, your pelvic floor needs you to be its #1 fan by supporting it through hormone replacement therapy, resistance training, healthy hydration and diet, and of course - PELVIC FLOOR PT!!! 😉

10/22/2025

Our own, Dr. Belle Panza presented a community education presentation at Progressive Insurance Training Center in Mayfield Village this week. She presented on workplace ergonomics and pain related to prolonged desk sitting for the employees. Her talk consisted of recommendations for modifying the work environment to improve ergonomics and exercises to improve neck/back pain related to prolonged desk sitting.

At Cleveland Pelvic Wellness Center, we offer free educational talks for businesses and communities. We have also presented on other topics like menopause and pelvic floor anatomy and dysfunction. We work together with the businesses and communities to discuss what topic would be best to address to prioritize your specific interests and demographic! Our clinicians all have a passion for teaching and educating the public regarding orthopedic and pelvic health physical therapy.

If you are interested in one of our therapists presenting at your business, church, library, etc. Please contact us by email or call. We would love to set something up 😁

Email: info@clevelandpelvicwellness.com
Phone: (216)200-6959 - Eastside location (216)200-6978 - Westside location

09/18/2025

We're thrilled and humbled to have received 99 five-star reviews! 🎉 Thanks to anyone who took the time to leave the most kind and thoughtful words for us, we love reading each and every one of them. 🥰

A huge thank you to every patient who has trusted us with their care. We love what we do because we get to work with such amazing people like you! 🤍

If we've had the honor of treating you in the past and you had a 5-star experience, maybe you could be our 100th?!? 🌟Just sayin’... 😉

09/11/2025

When most people think of those that suffer from urinary leakage, most people think of pregnant women, postpartum women, or the elderly. However, urinary leakage can affect a lot other individuals like younger athletes.

At least 1 in 4 high school or college female athletes experience urinary leakage. Those that participate in high impact sports especially those with a lot of landing like volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, runners, long jumpers, etc. are more affected. Urinary leakage is not only a physical issue, but can affect the athletes performance as well as their mental health.

The good thing is that urinary leakage is very treatable with the help from a pelvic floor physical therapist!

09/10/2025

Can you relate to having symptoms like an itchy va**na and tests always coming back negative for yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, STDs?

Did you know that va**nal itching, irritation, or pain can actually be rooted in pelvic floor dysfunction. When all the testing comes back negative, the pelvic floor may be the cause of these symptoms.

09/08/2025

Our very own Dr. Karen Connor, PT was a coauthor to "Female S3xual Function, Dysfunction, and Treatment: A Biopsychosocial Multidisciplinary Approach" in The Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology (JMIG). All our practitioners are innovative and passionate about pelvic health. We have leaders in Female S3xual Health that work with other disciplines to optimize your plan of care.

We are so lucky and proud to have Karen a part of our team!

09/04/2025

Cleveland Pelvic Wellness Center takes pride in creating an inclusive environment for all genders. The research shows that pelvic floor therapy pre and post operatively for gender affirming surgeries, both top and bottom surgeries, can result in better outcomes. Bottom surgeries like vaginoplasties can affect the pelvic floor musculature tremendously. Vaginoplasties require the use of dilators to promote wound healing and maintain the va**nal canal. If this is not done correctly, this can result in pelvic floor dysfunction leading to pain with in*******se or pelvic pain (Fernando 2018). There is also a risk for urinary incontinence postoperatively due to weakness in the pelvic floor musculature (Hazin et al., 2021). A referral to a pelvic floor PT is important to assess pelvic floor dysfunction and implement a program to prevent postoperative complications and optimize postoperative outcomes (Jiang et al., 2019). Here at Cleveland Pelvic Wellness, we aim to create a safe space that considers your gender experience to provide the best care and allow you to reach your wellness goals!

07/14/2025

A recent study demonstrates that there is a stinky truth to your p**p and what it says about your overall health. The study shows that p**p schedule can be a determinant of overall health. Decrease frequency in bowel movements or constipation could lead to protein fermented bacteria build up in the gut which can be toxic. Those with diarrhea in the study were shown to have biomarkers in their stool that were associated with liver pathology. Your p**p can say a lot about your health!

At Cleveland Pelvic Wellness Center, our therapists treat bowel dysfunction every day whether it’s chronic constipation or looser stools. Schedule with us today, so we can help improve your bowel health thus improve your overall wellness!

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07/09/2025

Psst.... want targeted abdominal treatment and assessment?

At both locations, our clinics have Rehabilitative Ultrasound machines that provide real-time feedback on what your abdominal muscles are doing and how well you are activating them. Our therapists not only have the mad skills, but also the technology to assess core activation and use this information to create targeted treatment plans for each individual person.

Schedule with us today at www.clevelandpelvicwellness.com at both Eastside and Westside locations, so we can individualize your treatment plan to strengthen your core and improve your function!

07/08/2025

Our very own Dr. Jessica Jenkins and yoga therapist Polly Manke will be collaborating at The Heart Center this Wednesday July 16th at 6:30 pm to discuss and integrate active practice of pelvic health and wellness.

If you are interested in joining us, reserve your spot today at https://app.fitdegree.com/t/dashboard/registrables/3494296 or reach out to The Heart Center in Chagrin Falls.

07/08/2025

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THE HEART CENTER FOR YOGA WELLNESS is putting on a pelvic floor workshop on Wednesday, July 16th at 6:30PM featuring Cleveland Pelvic Wellness Center's very own, Dr. Jessica Jenkins, as the expert speaker.

Please join us!

The Heart Center
8456 E Washington Street
(Above Kitchen & Bath Etc.)
Chagrin Falls, OH 44023
(440) 769-0101

Wednesday, 7/16/25 - The Heart Center - Chagrin Falls, OH | A "Wellness Wednesdays" Event Join pelvic health expert Dr. Jessica Jenkins, PT, DPT, CLT and yoga therapist Polly Manke for an engaging, educational, and embodied evening of pelvic floor wellness. In this empowering presentation with Dr Je...