Ali Ece, DPT

As an Intergrative/Holistic Physical Therapist, I believe in a BioPsychoSocial approach to health and well-being. The human body is a complex system that has a natural drive towards health and integration; it just sometimes needs a little help getting there. I provide client-centered care that is both psychologically- and trauma-informed. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (including hands-on, manual techniques) , Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (focusing on psychological flexibility), Interpersonal Neurobiology (including Polyvagal Theory), Breathing and Mindfulness-based techniques are some of the strategies we can explore together. MALE PELVIC HEALTH: Digestion, excretion, and sexual function are all part of pelvic health. When these processes are disrupted, we become very distressed. Men rarely discuss these matters (even with professionals) out of shame and embarrassment. There is no shame in wanting good pelvic health! Pelvic Pain can include tailbone pain (coccydynia), testicle pain (orchialgia), penis pain, rectal/anal pain (proctalgia fugax), and saddle numbness (pudendal neuralgia). Pre/Post-Prostate Surgery issues, Urine/Fecal Leakage, Premature Ejaculation, Erectile Dysfunction, Constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Hard Flaccid are also complaints that can be helped with Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT). Simply gaining awareness of this region has helped many improve its functioning. PFPT includes education and retraining of muscle function/strength/control. It may involve some manual work to the abdomen/pelvic floor muscles/thighs as needed, but only to the extent that an individual feels comfortable with. CHRONIC PAIN: Pain is very complex, and is created when our brain perceives a threat to our well-being. Exercise is just one factor in treating pain. One also needs to consider how behaviors/beliefs/thoughts/emotions/experiences all play a part. I personally have decreased my own decades-long back pain by reexamining my beliefs about pain and engaging in movements/activities I had been avoiding out of fear of further injury. TRAUMATIC STRESS/ANXIETY MANAGEMENT: Physical Therapy is uniquely positioned to help with stress. Body-oriented interventions along with mental strategies can help you better regulate your body's response to stress, including breathing, touch, movement, mindfulness/mental-imagery/visualization (exercising 'the mind's eye"). Stress is our body's response to something important. When we have a deadline to meet, our stress response mobilizes us to get the job done. This would be considered Good Stress (eustress). Most of us have an issue with Bad Stress (distress). When under life's pressures, the body activates the fight-or-flight system (Sympathetic Nervous System). But if there's no immediate threat to life, this activation causes physical changes in our body that can be very uncomfortable. And, often, overwhelming life experiences from the past leave their mark in the present by means of somatic (body) complaints. HEALTH/WELLNESS PROMOTION: Perhaps you don’t feel that anything currently is dysfunctional, but you’re feeling stuck physically and/or mentally. Or, you’re feeling OK, but want to feel better. INTEGRATION is a concept where different aspects of our nervous system and body are encouraged to connect to create a system that is flexible, adaptive, coherent, energetic, and stable (as opposed to chaotic and/or rigid). A wellness visit can be a chance to go over aspects of your life that can be better integrated. MY PAIN STORY: My physical pain started when I was 18 years old. I was in a minor car accident that apparently caused a bulging disc. This accident triggered decades-worth of worsening pain. I believed (falsely, it turns out) that the disc in my back was only going to get worse with time. (In reality, bulging discs heal in about 9 months) So, I started limiting activities, and began guarding my whole spine more and more by avoiding movements and chronically tensing up my core muscles. Despite these efforts, the pain worsened. Compounding my pain was my worst-case scenario thinking and obsessive-compulsive tendencies (constantly checking, testing, and focusing on my pain/body sensations). Battles with depression and digestive issues round out my pain experience. Certain adverse early-childhood events led to a hypervigilance that made me perceive threats all around me. These events don't define me. But reflecting on them has helped me explain some of my issues and be less self-critical. I came to see that I was living a life driven by fear, making me feel unsafe in my own body and mind. My healing began when I started to appreciate that my body and mind were merely trying to protect me the best way they knew how. My systems were stuck in a state of defense. Learning to view symptoms, not as threats, but as signals to listen to (not problems to destroy) helped me be less fearful. Viewing my body and mind, not as an enemy, but as a friend to cherish, led me to find nourishing activities and beliefs that brought me out of a perpetual state of defense and protection. For me, this was the beginning of self-compassion: not judging myself for the (often) automatic processes that were attempting to help me. EDUCATION: Hunter College — Bachelor of Science, Physical Therapy 1999 Evidence in Motion/Purdue University - Post-Professional Doctor of Physical Therapy 2022 CERTIFICATIONS: Therapeutic Pain Specialist - Evidence in Motion/Purdue University Herman and Wallace - Male Pelvic Floor Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies - Trauma Research Foundation Transforming Anxiety and Stress by Integrating the Embodied Brain - Mindsight Institute Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Chronic Pain - Integrative Pain Science Institute