Services & Conditions We Treat

The SI joints are the two dimples on your buttocks.  This is where your pelvis meets your sacrum.  Pain in this area can refer to pain in your buttocks and down your hamstring to your knee.  We will use a modified version of a manual therapy technique called muscle energy that we have developed specifically for the EDS population.  We will assess your SI joint and correct all of its dysfunctions using these modified muscle energy techniques.  Once we get your SI joint pain to 0/10, we will teach a family member only the techniques that are related to your specific pain so you can have 0/10 pain at home while you are performing your exercises.  

The number one misdiagnosis for low back pain is a bulging disc.  This pain is referred from your low back, down your buttocks, hamstring and calf to your feet.  Pain is usually only on one side (either the right or left leg).  Pain usually worsens with sitting and feels better with walking.  We will perform special tests to assess if you have a bulging disc (MRI is helpful, but not necessary), and we will develop a treatment plan accordingly, taking into account the other issues in your low back that are not disc-related.  We will also modify your exercises so that they will not hurt your bulging disc. 

Low Back & SI Joint Pain

People with EDS can have hip instability, causing pain either in the front of their hip, in the back of their hip/buttocks region, or in their groin area.  We will assess your hip instability and perform unique manual therapy techniques to decrease your hip pain.  We will also perform special tests to assess for labral tears.

People with EDS can have knee instability as well as patellar tracking issues.  We will first perform many special tests to assess for: meniscal tears, ACL and PLC tears, and MCL and LCL tears.  We will evaluate either the valgus or varus in your knee, as well as your degree of hyperextension (recurvatum).  We will determine the biomechanical cause of your knee issues and give you exercises as well as bracing suggestions if needed for your specific problems.  We can also perform manual therapy techniques, as well as McConnell taping techniques, to restore proper biomechanics in your knee, so you will have less pain.

Hip & Knee Instability

The majority of mid-back pain in most people with EDS is caused by rib dysfunction.  This pain occurs two inches lateral from your spinous process in your mid back, which is your costotransverse joint.  We have all been trained on assessing and treating rib dysfunction and will use manual therapy techniques to decrease your pain.

Mid-Back & Rib Dysfunction

The majority of pain in this area is due to poor posture.  Normal posture is defined as “ears over shoulders, over hips.”  For every inch that your head is forward, there is a ten-pound compressive force on your neck, which is squishing your neck and craniocervical junction. This can cause pain in your neck and down your arms, as well as cause headaches.  In our 5-hour evaluation, not only will we measure your forward head pre and post treatment, but we will also give you the exact areas of your body that are contributing to your forward head and how to correct it.  Not all of your neck pain may be coming from your neck.  Therefore, evaluating the entire body is crucial to determine how to best correct your posture and eliminate your pain.  

Neck & Cranio-Cervical Instability

People with EDS may have jaw pain, which is called TMJ dysfunction.  I worked with Dr. Mitakides, and he taught me how to evaluate and manually examine the TMJ in someone with EDS.  TMJ dysfunction can be associated with TMJ instability, poor posture, and/or craniocervical instability.  I will assess all of these three possibilities during the 5-hour evaluation.

TMJ Dysfunction

Most people with EDS have shoulder instability.  Instability of the shoulder can cause shoulder pain, mid-back pain, and/or neck pain.  It may also cause nerve pain down your arms to your hands.  We have developed both manual therapy techniques and taping techniques for the shoulder to relieve your pain as you are strengthening, and we can teach family members these techniques to reduce pain at home.

Shoulder, Wrist & Hand Instability

I have coined a term in my clinic called “POTS hands.”  I referred to this when I spoke at the ILC Conference in Canada in 2019.  POTS hands occur when a person with EDS gets dizzy while sitting.  When this occurs, they instantaneously place both their hands behind them, leaning all their weight into their palms.  This posture, while it helps you avoid passing out, also hyperextends your wrists and fingers as well as shifts your elbow in or out, depending on how you lean backwards.  This will cause elbow pain on either side of your elbow, as well as wrist and finger pain.  We will perform manual therapy techniques to correct all of these issues.  We can also teach family members manual techniques to correct this at home. 

Most people with EDS have flat feet.  This can cause pain in your feet, ankles, knees and hips.  We are specifically trained on how to properly align the bones in your feet.  We will tape your feet once all of your bones are aligned to simulate a custom orthotic.  We will then have you walk to determine if the newly aligned and taped feet will decrease your pain.  If it did, then custom orthotics would be appropriate for you.

Orthotics Screening

Book Your 5-Hour EDS Evaluation

For more than a decade, Kathleen Muldowney has been a trusted leader in screening patients with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) for tethered cord, a neurological condition that occurs at higher rates within the EDS community and is often overlooked.

Kathleen has developed a comprehensive and highly detailed screening process that combines an in-depth patient history, targeted clinical questions, and specialized physical assessments to determine whether tethered cord is a likely concern. When sufficient clinical evidence is identified, Kathleen guides patients step-by-step through the next phase of care—explaining which diagnostic tests are needed, what referrals are required and which neurosurgical specialists are most appropriate.

To support timely and effective care, Kathleen prepares a thorough clinical summary and recommendation letter for your primary care provider, clearly outlining her findings and the medical necessity for further neurosurgical evaluation and what tests or referrals will be needed.  

Navigating a possible tethered cord diagnosis can feel overwhelming and complex.  Kathleen’s role is to simplify the process, provide clarity and ensure nothing falls through the cracks—helping patients move forward confidently and efficiently.

Upon request, Kathleen is also available to educate and answer questions for family members or friends during physical therapy appointments, including discussions about the pre- and post-operative course, surgery considerations and rehabilitation expectations.

Kathleen is also the creator of the Tethered Cord Buddy Program. Once a patient has been formally diagnosed by a neurosurgeon and scheduled for surgery, Kathleen can pair them with a  “buddy”—a fellow patient who has already been through the experience and can offer firsthand insight, encouragement and support from someone who truly understands the journey.

In addition, Kathleen provides a customized physical therapy plan for both pre- and post-surgical care, designed to optimize recovery and achieve the best possible outcomes.

Through her deep clinical knowledge, compassionate guidance, and built-in support systems, Kathleen ensures patients receive not only expert screening and education—but also the confidence, preparation and support needed for a successful recovery.

What is unique about my 5-hour evaluation is that at the end of time together, I will have you record me performing all of the manual therapy techniques that reduced your pain during your evaluation with me that day. These videos of me were recorded during our 5-hour evaluation and are about your specific issues that we figured out during our time together.  Everything we do is not designed generically for all EDS patients, but rather specifically chosen to help your specific issues and decrease your pain.  All of our 5-hour treatment plans are individualized to each person’s unique problems.