Home   »   Team  »  Allyson Augusta Shrikhande, MD, CO-FOUNDER, CMO

Meet Our Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Allyson Shrikhande

Dr. Allyson Shrikhande is a board certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, Chief Medical Officer of Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine, and an expert in women’s and men’s health and sexual health.  A leading expert on pelvic health and a respected researcher, author and lecturer, Dr. Shrikhande is a recognized authority on female and male pelvic pain diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Shrikhande is passionate about this cause and dedicated to helping women and men 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 an office-based, cutting-edge approach to the treatment of pelvic pain and pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. With an extensive background in women's health and musculoskeletal(sports) medicine, she has applied these concepts to non-operative pelvic pain management. She has published many peer-reviewed articles on PRM’s unique treatment for pelvic pain in academic journals and actively speaks at medical conferences about the outcome data in decreasing pelvic pain patients' pain and improving their quality of life. 

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.

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”

WHY DID YOU CO-FOUND PRM?

After suffering from persistent pelvic pain myself, I was left feeling unseen by the healthcare system - which led me to develop the protocol that is used nationwide by the pelvic pain specialists at PRM to help stop the suffering patients have to endure. I founded PRM to serve chronic pelvic pain patients - a population that is often silent and silenced. As a physiatrist treating pelvic pain, I developed a treatment protocol that focuses not on a single organ system but on the interplay of the different organ systems in the pelvis with each other and with the muscles and nerves. The treatment I created is safer, more comfortable, and efficacious. The best part? It’s safer for women (who are a majority of PRM's patients - such as those with endometriosis), as it avoids radiation and offers the ability for patients to receive treatment and go on with their day. PRM is proud to be the only national organization of pelvic pain specialists that offers a unique and comprehensive ultrasound-guided approach to the pelvis - the first of its kind in the country. I love being able to work with every single PRM provider across the country as they learn the protocol and I am proud to say I am the first patient for every new pelvic pain specialist in each office, too!

WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO TREATMENT?

A lot of listening, trying to understand their unique journey. I’ve also been a patient, and I can relate to the destruction that the pain causes in all aspects of life including work and relationships.  I try to connect with my patients and in my line of work, I really get to know my patients and have the ability to change their lives.

WHAT MAKES YOU MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT HELPING PRM'S COMMUNITY OF PATIENTS?

Our patients at PRM have often been dismissed by the healthcare community and are seeking answers and information. I feel like the healthcare system overall has failed our patient population. 
 
I’m passionate about validating their symptoms and letting them know they aren't alone, even if they feel they are. I help them connect the dots to come up with treatment plan to get them on their way to living their life again, along with educating them and reminding them that the pain they’re feeling is not in their head, that this is real, and this is our plan to get them on a better path. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?

I feel humbled and honored to have the opportunity to have a positive impact on women’s health in the United States. To be part of the journey and the movement to have our voices heard and no longer ignored. I’m proud to have the opportunity to hear what patients have to say, listen to their stories, and see PRM’s reviews of how we’re making a difference in their lives. 

WHAT DOES PRM'S MISSION OF "DECREASING THE TIME PATIENTS ARE SUFFERING WITH PELVIC PAIN" MEAN TO YOU?

At PRM we are on a mission to stop the suffering our pelvic pain patients have to endure. As a pelvic pain patient, I realize it is miserable to have to live with lower abdominal pain, severe menstrual cramping, pain with intercourse, urinary symptoms that keep you from sleeping and living an active life, and bowel symptoms such as pain, frequency, bloating, and constipation.  At PRM we have a unique, safe, effective office-based procedure that has been shown to help and we want patients to start feeling better sooner – and not be tossed around the medical system seeking assistance.

DO YOU DO ANY NON-PROFIT OR PHILANTHROPIC WORK?

 PRM supports the Endometriosis Summit and Endo Black. As many of our patients have Endometriosis, these made sense for us, both non-profit organizations are doing amazing work.  In addition, I talk to local hospitals, non-profit organizations or mom's 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 IS SOMETHING YOU ARE PROUD OF THAT PRM HAS DONE?

PRM has started our own Clinical Advisory Board, made up of national leaders, to help publish, discuss, and move the field of pelvic pain forward – all over the country and in multiple specialties.  I’m proud that people want to join this board, that they believe in PRM, in our mission, and progressing our field.  Additionally, PRM puts a lot of time and energy into efforts in research and quality, and into setting up a national data collection for pelvic pain in the states we are in. We are leading the path in collecting data and we publish on PRM’s office-based procedure outcomes, which our doctors are presenting at national meetings and Grand Rounds across the country. 

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

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:

• The Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland Medical School
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School
• NYU Langone Medical Center/RUSK Institute

PHYSICIAN LICENSE

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