Book Appointment - Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine

Allyson Augusta Shrikhande, MD, CMO
Dr. Allyson Shrikhande, a board certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, is the Chief Medical Officer of Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine. She is also the Chair of the Medical Education Committee for the International Pelvic Pain Society. She is working with other experts in the field of chronic pelvic pain to develop training modules for residents and physicians interested in learning about the diagnosis, treatment, and management of chronic pelvic pain. A leading expert on pelvic health and a respected researcher, author and lecturer, Dr. Shrikhande is a recognized authority on male and female pelvic pain diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Shrikhande is passionate about this cause and dedicated to helping men and women with pelvic pain who often suffer without anyone willing to listen, understand or find the cause of their pain. That’s why she has traveled the world to work with expert gynecologists, urologists, physiatrists and interventional pain physicians. Dr. Shrikhande has distilled this global expertise into a minimally invasive, cutting-edge approach to the treatment of pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. With an extensive background in mainstream clinical medicine, she also makes use of many alternatives, holistic and homeopathic approaches. She has published peer-reviewed articles on the treatment of muscle pain in academic journals and works closely with renowned pelvic pain gynecologists and urologists. Taking a team approach, she works with specialists in pelvic floor physical therapy, kinetics and movement, as well as acupuncturists, nutritionists, cognitive behavioral therapists and functional medicine physicians. Dr. Allyson Shrikhande currently teaches fall and spring remote courses at the Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute.

Get To Know Your Doctor

Why did you become a doctor?

My female mentor as a child was my pediatrician, so that is what I originally set out to become. I saw how she was able to make such a positive impact and help children feel better and to me she seemed like a real life super hero.

What is your approach to medicine?

Treat every patient as if they are your close family or friend, “listen, listen, listen”

How would you define patient care?

I am very lucky as the field that I am in allows me to really get to know my patients, and really try and understand them as a whole, therefore I define patient care as “caring for people as a whole”

Do you do any non-profit or philanthropic work?

Most of what I do are talks to local hospitals, non-profit organizations or moms groups to help raise awareness about the pelvic floor and pelvic pain and options for treatment. I am also heavily involved in the International Pelvic Pain Society which is a non-profit organization for medical professionals treating pelvic pain.

What events/topics/presentations for PRM over the last 2 years are you most proud of and why?

I am most proud of my Grand Rounds presentation at Mt Sinai Medical Center OBGYN group, as the questions and high-level conversation was one of the most stimulating and thought-provoking conversations I have had the privilege to be part of. It spurred new questions for me to try to answer and tackle and I always love a challenge. I am also extremely proud of being asked to speak at this years AAGL meeting in Vancouver, Canada regarding educating OBGYNs about taking care of Endometriosis patients from the physiatry perspective, specifically treating Central Sensitization. I am particularly proud of this because I am the first physiatrist ever asked to be asked to speak at this annual meeting, combined with the fact that I will be speaking alongside some of the most brilliant international minds and thought leaders in pelvic pain.

Education

Formerly affiliated with Weill Cornell, Dr. Shrikhande helped to found the Weill Cornell Medical Center Women’s Health Musculoskeletal Outpatient Clinic and she is the founder of Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine. She received her training at:

Physician License

New York New Jersey Maryland Michigan Florida Texas Illinois Georgia

Laura Koch, CNM-FPA, WHNP-BC
Laura Koch, CNM-FPA, WHNP-BC is a dedicated pelvic pain specialist serving patients in our Chicago, Illinois office. Laura is passionate about helping our community of patients because she has seen firsthand many women who have had invisible chronic pain that they have ultimately just accepted as their normal level of functioning. She wants them to know that there are effective treatments available. In her time taking care of women in her midwifery role, she has frequently encountered women that have been bounced around from one provider to another without any appropriate diagnosis or treatment for their pelvic pain. For Laura, her mission is listening and believing patients when hearing their experiences in their own bodies, validating that what they feel is accurate, while it may be common to have pelvic pain, it does not need to be their normal.

GET TO KNOW YOUR DOCTOR

WHY DID YOU BECOME A NURSE PRACTITIONER?

I became a nurse practitioner because I loved being a person that can be confided in and helping patients learn more about their physical and sexual health and partner with them towards wellness

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?

The honor of being witness to patients who are empowered, educated and making progress towards their health goals. Helping to dispel shame and helping build confidence in patients to be more present and confident in their own bodies.

Christine Papaspiridakos, MSN-APRN, A-GNP-C
Christine Papaspiridakos, MSN-APRN, A-GNP-C is a compassionate, patient-centered, and highly experienced nurse practitioner. Christine graduated from Saint Vincent’s School of Nursing in 2007 and earned her BSN from Adelphi University in 2009 while working full time at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. Christine predominantly specialized in critical care, pain management, and primary care during her early years in nursing. The treatment and care of patients at all stages of life with complex physical and emotional needs in addition to her experience as a Primary Care Provider facilitated Christine’s evolution as a proficient Practitioner in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with widely diverse needs. The combination of Christine’s experience as a multi-specialized, expert RN combined with her work as a Primary Care Provider advanced her skill and knowledge in the referral process to get the most targeted treatment for every patient. After graduating Magna Cum Laude with her Master's of Science Degree in both Primary Care and Adult Gerontology Advanced Practice Nursing, Christine further built on her diverse experience gained through traveling with ATC Travel Nursing and Cross Country Travel Corp., where she gained the knowledge to treat patients in surgical ICUs, level I trauma, post anesthesia care, neurosurgical ICU, and chronic illnesses. She was also instrumental in gaining access to pain management for all her patients in need. Christine’s goal is, and has always been, to provide the highest quality of care to her patients and to have the knowledge and resources to help her patients gain access to multidisciplinary care that will lead to the best possible patient outcomes. Christine is nationally certified by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, an active member of several professional organizations, a volunteer and mentor for novice registered nurses with the American Nurses Association and does philanthropic work with breast cancer patients, survivors, and their families. Always passionate about furthering her knowledge for her patients’ gain, Christine is currently pursuing her Certification as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner and is a member of the International Pelvic Pain Society (IPPS) and is part of the Medical Education Committee for the IPPS.

Get to Know Your Provider

Why did you become a nurse practitioner?

I am passionate about providing an environment where my patients feel heard, understood, safe, and respected. I have been a patient and have not always felt like my providers were listening to my concerns which was upsetting and made me feel hopeless. As a nurse practitioner I provide compassionate care, create a safe space for my patients while providing personalized treatment options and plans of care. I believe in a mind, body, and spirit approach to care incorporating holistic, integrative care and Western medicine.

What is your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of my job is helping patients, listening to their concerns while offering treatment options using a whole person approach rather than simply treating their symptoms. I work with the best team at PRM, we work together to provide optimal, multi-modal care to every patient. I strive to provide my patients with the care I would want for myself and my family.

What is something you would like people to know about pelvic health?

Pelvic health is often overlooked but the pelvic floor is our true core. Chronic pelvic pain is real, it is not “all in your head” as you may have been told. As someone with chronic pelvic pain I know that pelvic pain is frequently undertreated or not treated at all. My daughter has suffered with chronic pelvic pain for several years. While she was hospitalized for a pelvic pain crisis her pain was ignored and undertreated, she was told it was due to anxiety. No one acknowledged that her pain was real, she was discouraged and felt hopeless. With treatments and pelvic floor physical therapy she is steadily improving.

Jennifer Navon
Jennifer Navon is a certified Functional Health Coach and has a passion for helping people find the root cause of their symptoms to heal from their chronic conditions. She believes that no one should suffer from unwanted pain or symptoms, especially if it is having an impact on their everyday life. In 2017, Jennifer graduated from East Stroudsburg University with a degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education. She went on to teach high school math for 5 years but felt like she was meant to do more. In Spring 2022, she enrolled in Metabolic Mentor University to become a certified Functional Health Coach. Jennifer joined the team at Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine in 2023 to help patients nationwide, offering services via telehealth. Having seen the benefits of nutrition for chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis firsthand, as well as through the lives of her clients, she is excited to apply these principles to overcoming chronic pelvic pain. Jennifer loves learning new things, her favorite place to be is on a beach with a good book and lifting weights makes her happy!

GET TO KNOW YOUR COACH

Why Did You Become a Health Coach?

I have been on my own health and fitness journey for quite some time now. 4 years ago, I started having serious symptoms and decided it was time to take control of my health. Throughout my journey, I have grown a deep passion for functional health practices. Because of this passion, I left my job as a high school math teacher and decided to pursue becoming a functional health coach full time!

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

My ultimate goal is to spread the word and help others get their lives back through functional health coaching. I want to empower women to take control of their health by finding the root cause of their symptoms and to help them build the confidence they need to heal.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love connecting with people from all over the world and giving them comfort in the sense that they are not alone and giving them someone who will listen and believe in what they are going through. When working with these clients, it makes me happy when I see them develop lifelong habits while healing.

What’s something you would like people to know about diet and pelvic health?

Food and nutrition can have a very big impact on pelvic pain and a healing trajectory. Dialing in on the foods that make you feel good and that will support your body can make the biggest difference in your journey!

Monique Bogni CNC, CHHC
Monique Bogni is a certified nutritionist and health coach who has a passion for helping people rethink the way they eat and use food as a tool to become healthier and happier in their everyday lives. She is a strong believer in the power of diet to restore balance in the body to holistically address chronic pain and a variety of other health issues. Monique’s approach to helping people heal is rooted in the idea that everyone can take control of their own health – she doesn’t simply prescribe solutions, but works to empower people and give them the confidence to make the best decisions for themselves. Monique was raised on healthy food and had an interest in the effects of diet for most of her life. This was one factor that eventually led to her attending the Natural Healing Institute of Naturopathy to study clinical nutrition, gaining her certification in 2013. She went on to study health coaching at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Monique has synthesized this background, as well as specialized chef’s training, into Naughty Food Made Nice, a brand dedicated to offering people healthy and delicious alternatives to classic comfort foods, which she created in 2015. She joined the team at Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine in 2022. Having seen the benefits of a healing diet firsthand as well as through the experiences of her clients, she is excited to apply these principles to overcoming chronic pelvic pain and dysfunction. When not helping her clients, Monique enjoys traveling, beach days, cooking for her friends, and playing with her two cats.

Why did you become a nutritionist/health coach?

I’ve always been passionate about healthy eating, and when I started dealing with some of my own health issues I began to really research and look into eating habits and the way they can affect your overall health. By making changes to my diet I lost weight, reduced my symptoms, and majorly improved my energy levels. It made me aware of the ways that not eating well had affected me. I realized that I wanted to do this for other people – help them figure out what works best for them.

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

I like to start by getting a sense of people’s relationships with food throughout their lives. Usually when people start seeing me for nutrition and coaching, they’ve already tried a lot of things in the past, so I like to start by getting a sense for what their diet has been like throughout their lifetimes, what food intolerances they may have, symptoms, and what their main health goals are. It’s important to me to understand my clients’ relationship to food first and foremost. From there the goal is to help people heal and feel better, not just learning what and what not to eat but also gaining confidence, removing guilt around food, and becoming empowered to heal themselves. A lot of diets focus on weight loss as the end-all be-all, but to me it’s not so much the goal as a natural result of improving your health.

What is your favorite part of your job?

It makes me really happy when I’m able to put people on a trajectory towards healing. I love it when I share some information with someone and then further down the line they come back and tell me that it changed their life. I also just really like sharing recipes with people and really blowing their minds with how good eating healthy can actually taste.

What’s something you would like people to know about diet & pelvic health?

Food can be such an important tool in healing pelvic pain. Diet is very often linked to pelvic pain and pelvic health symptoms, and anti-inflammatory foods can make a really massive difference in rebalancing and healing the body.

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Get To Know Your Doctor

Why did you become a doctor?

What is your approach to medicine?

How would you define patient care?

Do you do any non-profit or philanthropic work?

What events/topics/presentations for PRM over the last 2 years are you most proud of and why?

Education

Physician License

GET TO KNOW YOUR DOCTOR

WHY DID YOU BECOME A NURSE PRACTITIONER?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?

Get to Know Your Provider

Why did you become a nurse practitioner?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What is something you would like people to know about pelvic health?

GET TO KNOW YOUR COACH

Why Did You Become a Health Coach?

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What’s something you would like people to know about diet and pelvic health?

Why did you become a nutritionist/health coach?

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What’s something you would like people to know about diet & pelvic health?

When would you like to request an appointment?

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Start Your Path
To Healing Today

Please select preferred location

Please Select a Reason for Your Visit

I would like to see

Get To Know Your Doctor

Why did you become a doctor?

What is your approach to medicine?

How would you define patient care?

Do you do any non-profit or philanthropic work?

What events/topics/presentations for PRM over the last 2 years are you most proud of and why?

Education

Physician License

GET TO KNOW YOUR DOCTOR

WHY DID YOU BECOME A NURSE PRACTITIONER?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?

Get to Know Your Provider

Why did you become a nurse practitioner?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What is something you would like people to know about pelvic health?

GET TO KNOW YOUR COACH

Why Did You Become a Health Coach?

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What’s something you would like people to know about diet and pelvic health?

Why did you become a nutritionist/health coach?

What are the goals of your approach to health coaching?

What is your favorite part of your job?

What’s something you would like people to know about diet & pelvic health?

When would you like to request an appointment?

Personal Information

Will you use insurance?

How did you find us?

Please confirm that you are not a robot

Start Your Path To Healing Today

Start Your Path
To Healing Today