Pain Relief Without Pills: Ashlie Crewe's Guide to Treating Persistent Pelvic Pain

Ashlie Crewe, a Physical Therapist with a Psychology degree, embarks on a journey to help patients manage their chronic pain using neuroscience, only to find her own trial by fire as she discovers a unique way to challenge a patient's overprotective nervous system. "The beautiful thing, good and bad, is that physical therapists, we're not allowed to prescribe medicine in the United States. So I think one of the cool things about my job then is we're really taught to work with the human body, and we're not allowed to order imaging, we're not allowed to prescribe medications.” Ashlie Crewe is a Pelvic Health physical therapist and teacher/mentor to Pelvic Health physical therapists across the United States. She has a passion for neuroscience, psychology, and Pelvic Health, making her an expert in persistent pelvic pain. Ashlie Crewe found her true calling when she attended her first pelvic health class after physical therapy school. The class blew her mind and she knew the neuroscience of pain was the way to help patients with persistent pelvic pain. She quickly developed her skills and started to understand how to apply the neuroscience of pain to her practice. She creates a space with her patients to make them feel safe and trusts them to choose their own treatment path. She assesses their tissues, looking for any signs of adherence, and then checks their nervous system to see how it responds. Through this practice, she helps to rewrite the painful stories her patients have been told and shows them that physical therapy can provide them with lasting relief. In this episode, you will learn the following: 1. How does physical therapy help treat chronic pain and persistent pain conditions? 2. How does the relationship with a therapist impact a patient's improvement? 3. How can physical therapists use neuroscience to assess and treat pelvic pain? Resources: International Pelvic Pain Society - https://www.pelvicpain.org/ Drayer Physical Therapy for northeast USA - https://drayer.urpt.com/ Upstream Rehabilitation for across USA - https://urpt.com/ Other episodes you'll enjoy: Lichen Sclerosus and Overactive Pelvic Floor - https://youtu.be/mxQjC3jEoYg Dr. Rachel Rubin: Unlocking Clitoral Fusing Through Non-surgical Lysis - https://youtu.be/F5KO5LGXRx0 Vulva Checks for Lichen Sclerosus: Everything You Need To Know - https://youtu.be/E9fnXDh5up4 Connect with me: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lichensclerosuspodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQXU-nhfnn-nScR_5VyUdCQ Website: https://lssupportnetwork.org/ If this episode was helpful to you, we’d love your support so we can continue providing important education like this. Make a donation today at https://lssupportnetwork.org/donate. Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here: https://lovethepodcast.com/lspodcastMentioned in this episode:Finally Get Clear Answers About LS, Menopause, and Your TreatmentIf you’ve ever found yourself listening to this podcast searching for answers… trying to figure out why your body feels different… why your treatment isn’t working… or whether this is menopause, lichen sclerosus, or something else entirely… You’re not alone. And more importantly— you’re not the problem. Most people with LS are left trying to piece together a care plan from short appointments, conflicting advice, and hours of searching like this. That’s exactly why we created the Wholistic Healing Summit. This free, live event (May 11–15, 2026) brings together 12+ leading specialists to help you finally connect the dots between your symptoms, your treatment, and your next steps. Inside the summit, you’ll get answers to questions like: Why does my treatment stop working? Is this LS progression… or hormonal change? What order should I actually be using my medications? How do I navigate intimacy, pain, and changing skin? And if you choose to upgrade, you’ll also get access to exclusive Q&A sessions, where you can hear real questions from people just like you… and get expert answers you’d normally wait months (and pay hundreds) for. This is where the guessing stops. 👉 Register here: https://lssupportnetwork.org/whs If you’re tired of second-guessing your care… this is your next step. P.S. If you’ve ever wished you had more time with a specialist or left an appointment with unanswered questions, the All-Access Pass gives you direct access to expert Q&As you can revisit anytime.