I don’t know if you’ve realized it– but the pelvic floor has become crazy popular! This article by The Guardian was published 2 months ago. 3 different patients and a few friends forwarded it to me, as it highlights just how popular pelvic floor rehabilitation has become. And I’m not surprised. When I first started treating pelvic floor disorders, nearly every patient who came in the door had never heard of the pelvic floor, let alone, a physical therapist who treated the pelvic floor. They would look at me with a perplexed and nervous gaze as I would do my best to explain the anatomy and why there really was a GREAT reason that their doctor had recommended them to come see me. This situation repeated itself again, and again, and again.
But now, it’s actually a much more foreign experience. For the most part, my patients have some level of knowledge about the pelvic floor muscles. The internet and social media has allowed people more access to knowledge– including experts who make informative Tik-tok videos, infographics and blog posts 🙂 on their diagnoses and treatment options. This has created more informed consumers who are learning more about their health, care about their wellness, and are seeking to find the best answers for their care.
In fact, it now very rare for for someone to come in and tell me they’ve never heard of pelvic floor rehabilitation. And that is AMAZING my friend.
When I first moved to Atlanta in 2014, I could count the number of pelvic PTs in the area on one hand. Now?? The last time I counted, there were more than 30 of us. I’m sure that number is closer 50 or even more (I know this because nearly every level 1 pelvic floor course I teach has at least a few Atlanta based people in it!!). And while, again, this is amazing– it’s only barely scratching the surface of what is actually needed!
The reality is that pelvic floor problems are super common, and people dealing with pelvic floor problems are often struggling to find care! Look at some of these numbers:
Approximately 10% of people experience fecal incontinence
So… while we are serving so so many more people than we used to, we are just scratching the surface! If you are new to this blog, and want to read a little bit more to start learning about the pelvic floor, check out some of these posts:
Also, if this is resonating with you, and you’re feeling like you may need some help, reach out and let us know!! You don’t need to be one of those statistics– you can get relief, you can feel better! And if you’re not ready to see someone in person, check out some of our mini-courses online on pelvic floor topics!
If you would have told me two weeks ago that I would have closed the doors to my clinic, Southern Pelvic Health, a week later, and shifted my practice to a virtual one, I would not have believed you. Maybe I was naive (yes, I probably was), but this change came quick to me. It almost happened overnight. And, here we are. I am moving into my second week of working with my patients online. While for many, that seems incredibly scary, I actually think that shifting to an online platform for a while is going to do a lot of good.
Last week, I worked with a few other colleagues to host a webinar on bringing pelvic health online– basically, how do pelvic floor PTs treat most effectively without actually touching their patients? It was a quick production–one built out of necessity–and it sold out in 24 hours because rehab professionals everywhere are trying to figure out how we can still be there for our patients and help them get better during this time. (For my colleagues out there, if you missed it, it’s still available as an on-demand purchase!) I brought together 5 experts from various corners of the country and the world, and we spoke for nearly 2 hours about how we assess the pelvic floor, evaluate patients, and actually help patients get better in a virtual setting. It was full of creative ideas, and also challenged some of the current practice patterns. As you know, I work hard to always question my own practice–learn more–do better– and I’m excited to see what this next period of time does for me as I learn to better and more effectively treat my patients, to be creative with self-care treatments and home strategies, and to use movement to help patients move when my hands are unable to. I will share what I learn with you here, of course.
Pelvic PTs are not the only professionals taking their skills online! Last week, my daughter and I joined a “Frozen Sing-A-long” through a local princess parties company. I have been thrilled to see some incredible resources for people with pelvic floor dysfunction hop online, and I am excited to share some of those with you today!
So, what can you join virtually this week?Â
Yoga for Pelvic Health
My dear friend and colleague, Patty Schmidt with PLS Yoga, is incredible and specializes in therapeutic yoga for pelvic floor dysfunction. She is bringing several awesome classes online! AND, they are cheap– $15 per class (which honestly, is a HUGE value for the expertise she brings!) So, I do hope you’ll join in:
Yoga to Ease Chronic Pain (including Pelvic Pain): Tuesday March 24th at 5p.m., Monday, March 30th at 5p.m.
Gentle Yoga (Via Vista Yoga)– this really could be great for anyone with persistent pain, I think!: Tuesday, March 24th at 12p.m., Thursday, March 26th at 10 a.m.
Patty also is teaching private sessions virtually at $30 for a 30-minute session. This is a steal, believe me!
I also need to share with you all of the FREE yoga resources through another friend and colleague, Shelly Prosko. Shelly has this incredible library of Yoga options for pelvic health, all available right here.
I hope you are able to partake of these awesome resources. Remember, we are in this together my friends! I’ll leave you with a quote from a much-loved movie in my house, Frozen II, “When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.” Let’s all try to do the next right thing amidst this craziness!
Wow- what a few weeks it has been! I don’t know about you, but it has felt completely surreal to me. My practice, Southern Pelvic Health, which has been steadily growing and serving people around Atlanta was suddenly put on hold, and many of my patients shifted to working with me in a virtual setting. Now, I know you may be thinking– how can you help people without actually touching them? I hope to expand on this in some future posts, because, honestly, I believe this is where we are going to be for a while (SO, WASH YOUR HANDS, and SOCIALLY DISTANCE, my friends!). But, this is heavy on the minds of pelvic PTs across the country. Thinking– how can we, as a profession, still help the people who need it? Make a difference in their lives? Help people control their bowels & bladder, have better and pain-free sex, live their lives without pelvic pain?
So, this post is for all of you PTs out there asking yourselves that! Earlier this week, I partnered together with some of the smartest, most innovative PTs I know– who are leaders in our field, and ALREADY practicing pelvic health in a virtual setting– and we are hosting a webinar to teach all of you how to do just that! So, join us tomorrow for this important event:
TAKING PELVIC HEALTH ONLINE!
LIVE Webinar Event: FRIDAY 3/20 AT 9PM EST
We are bringing an expert panel together to discuss how best to screen, examine, and treat patients with pelvic floor diagnoses—without actually being able to touch our patients! These experts have been ALREADY DOING THIS, with success, and we are so pleased to bring this to all of you!
Join me, Jessica Reale, PT, DPT, WCS, as I lead a discussion with Antony Lo of the Physio Detective and the Women’s Health Podcast, Sara Reardon- the Vagina Whisperer, Juan Michelle Martin- founder of the Zero to Telehealth Program, Julie Granger- virtual health and biz coach, and Susie Gronski- author and educator. We will discuss:
✅ How to get your ideal clients to see the value in virtual Pelvic PT care and convert in-person clients to virtual clients
✅ How to evaluate, screen, and provide pelvic health treatments without being able to physically touch or be present with clients.
✅ How to effectively help your virtual clients without manual therapy or internal examinations
✅ How to market your services in a growing and busy online market and build a practice that is sustainable in the long run.
Plus, Antony Lo has graciously allowed all participants to receive a BONUS link to a recorded virtual session of one of his clients with diastasis recti!
JOIN US FRIDAY 3/20 at 9p.m. EST! Registration is $49.
I am 2 weeks in to my new practice, and absolutely loving it! I was fortunate this past week to be a guest on the podcast series, Real Talk with the Pelvic Docs. Jenny LaCross has been a friend for a few years (we connected when she was in her residency program), and she’s doing amazing things for the pelvic health community! It was such a pleasure to talk with her about my experiences with pregnancy, childbirth and my own postpartum recovery. You’ll also hear more about my journey to private practice and my hopes and dreams for the future! I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I enjoyed recording it!
6 weeks ago, we welcomed our second daughter into the world. Mary Lynn was 6 lbs 10 oz of squishy, adorable, babyness. And she came into the world via a Caesarean birth. And it was amazing. And hard. But good.
In the recovery room right after Mary’s birth!
C-sections come with challenges, just like vaginal births do, and for me, these challenges included a significant blood loss that led to me fainting on the second day, a super low blood pressure due to a response to the epidural that contributed to the fainting but also meant going off of my epidural pain meds really early, and nerve pain that lasted for about a month after Mary was born. (We’ll y’all more about that another time.)
Since I am living the early postpartum life, I thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on my own rehabilitation journey (since, in many ways, each of my births has been a mini-case study for myself!).
So, let’s talk Cesarean rehab in the first 6 weeks!
Moving well after major abdominal surgery
I love when people imply that birthing via Cesarean section is somehow “the easy way out” compared to birthing via the vagina. Hello people, this is major abdominal surgery! All mommas get birthing badges– let’s support each other in our journeys, right?!
Initially after a Cesarean, movement alone can be challenging. Standing up from a chair. Rolling over in bed. Lying down in bed. But the good news is that with some easy tips, this movement can become much easier. First, as you are moving, bending, standing, etc. remember to “blow before you go.” This easy to remember phrase comes from my friend and colleague, Julie Wiebe. This means, begin to exhale before you initiate a movement. Breathing like this with movement helps to control pressures within the abdomen and pelvis, so it can significantly help you in your movement after having your baby- both in terms of ease but also in protecting your pelvis and abdomen.
When standing up from a chair, remember, nose over toes. Scoot to the edge of the chair first. As you go to stand, lean forward first. This puts your body weight over your legs and helps take the burden away from your core.
When you lie down or get up from lying down, channel your inner log. So, when you lie down, first sit on the edge of the bed. Slowly lift your legs onto the bed, then lower the rest of the body down, using your arms for support. If you need to roll over, bend your knees, then roll your body as a unit- like a log. Reverse these steps for getting up out of bed.
Abdominal Binders and Compression Underwear? It depends. It may be worth considering using an abdominal binder for the first few weeks after your birth, progressing to wearing compression underwear or shorts(ie Spanx, SRS recovery shorts, Core shorts). These types of garments provide support to the abdomen and can be incredibly helpful for moving and walking around after your surgery. The flip side with compressing the abdomen is that it can impact how well you can move your ribcage and can influence pressure mechanics within the pelvis. So, if you are already struggling with pelvic organ prolapse or urinary leakage, or if you pushed for a period of time before having a Caesarean birth, it may be worth talking with a pelvic floor PT prior to utilizing this during your recovery. Generally, the compression underwear/shorts provide more support to the pelvic floor and abdomen, so they may be a little better with pressure modulation than the binder. For me personally, the binder and compression undies were amazing! They took away my nerve pain, and helped me move much better. I chose to wear these sporadically during the day (a bit on, a bit off), and practiced breathing well with my diaphragm during the times the binder was off.
Handling your incision
Initially, your main focus here is keeping your incision clean, and monitoring it to make sure it is healing well with no signs of infection. Around 6 weeks, if you are cleared by your physician, you can begin to gently mobilize the tissue around the scar and aim to desensitize the scar. I usually start above and below the scar, before working on the scar itself. You can perform gentle massage to the tissue above and below the scar and gently stretch the skin in all directions above and below the scar. You can also gently desensitize the scar by touching it with your fingers or a wet cloth, and gently rubbing across the scar in all directions. We can mobilize this scar tissue further, but we are going to talk about this in a future post as this post is focusing on the early period of healing.
At this time, you can also begin applying silicone gel or silicone strips to help soften your scar and prevent hypertrophic or keloid scars. Silicone is considered a gold-standard treatment for the prevention or treatment of hypertrophic scars. While most of the research regarding silicone is of poor quality with significant bias, evidence does tend to suggest a positive benefit. My first Caesarean did lead to a hypertrophic scar, so I began applying silicone gel to my scar once cleared by my OB to do so, around 4 weeks after Mary’s birth. I’ll report back on the difference between this new scar and the old one (See, mini case study!).
**I also have to note here that my colleague, Kathe Wallace, has a fantastic book that details some recommendations for scar tissue management after Caesarean. Kathe also offers a free abdominal scar massage guide at her website, which is a fantastic resource!
Exercise in the Early Postpartum Period
If I could give you one piece of advice on this early postpartum period, it would be to relax. Give yourself a break. Allow yourself to recover and heal. I find that so many people want to jump into too much, way too soon, and unfortunately, this can be more harmful than it is helpful. Remember, you just did something incredible. You just had major surgery. You deserve to rest.
When we think about exercise during this initial period of healing, we are going to start very gently. Here are a few things you can get started on:
Walking: I’m not talking about going and walking several miles. During the first few weeks, it’s best to really rest, and give your body time to heal. Getting up, walking around the house as you feel comfortable can be very beneficial. As you continue to heal, during the next few weeks, you can increase your walking. So, this may include some outings and short periods of walking between 2-4 weeks. Between 4-6 weeks, you can generally consider a leisurely walk in your neighborhood or a longer outing. The key here is to listen to your body. Rest when you need to, but gradually move to increase your endurance. After you see your OB for a postpartum visit around 4-6 weeks, and you are cleaned to do so, you can continue to gradually increase your walking as you are feeling comfortable. Are you antsy to jump back into running? Zumba? Bootcamp? Pilates? Don’t. We’ll get there. But let’s rest right now.
Breathing: You all know I am fairly obsessed with the diaphragm. 4 years after this post was written, I still think it’s one of the coolest muscles in the body. The diaphragm works in coordination with the pelvic floor muscles, deep abdominal muscles and deep low back muscles to provide support to the abdominal organs, modulate pressure in the thorax and pelvis, and provide dynamic stability to our spine and pelvis. Slow breathing, aiming to expand your ribcage and relax your abdomen as you inhale, then slowly exhaling your air can be incredibly beneficial to re-establishing these normal functional relationships.
Gentle Pelvic Floor Muscle Activation & Relaxation: First, my biggest recommendation would be to SEE A PELVIC PT before and during your pregnancy so you really know your current function and can have an individualized plan to get the most out of your muscles and your body. I encourage people to discuss their delivery with their OB, and ask about beginning gentle pelvic floor and abdominal exercises. The timeline for starting this will depend on the specifics of your delivery, and we want to be smart when activating muscles that have been cut. When your provider is on-board with you starting, I like to pair gentle pelvic floor and abdominal wall activation with breathing. This looks like this:
Inhale, expanding your ribcage, relaxing your abdomen and your pelvic floor muscles.
Exhale and gently draw in your pelvic floor muscles, allowing your lower abdominal muscles to also gently draw in. Aim for a “moderate” effort to allow activation of the muscles but not overactivate them.
Then, relax your muscles again as you inhale, repeating this cycle.
Aim to do this for a minute or two, twice each day.
Stay tuned as we continue this journey over the next few weeks and months! What have been your challenges after childbirth? For my fellow health care professionals, what else do you like people to know immediately after a caesarean birth?
Happy Pelvic Pain Awareness Month! I do plan to post a few blogs on pelvic pain over the course of this month, I promise, but I wanted to quickly share with you a few events I am going to be a part of over the next month!
First, next Wednesday, May 15th, I will be the special guest at a FREE pelvic health education event hosted by PLS Yoga and Wholeheart Psychotherapy, “Women’s Pelvic Health: Key Considerations for Health and Wellbeing for Women Living with Pelvic Pain”  The event will run 7-9 pm at 6 Lenox Pt NE in Atlanta! If you are struggling with pelvic pain, please join us for this incredible evening!
Next, on Sunday June 2nd my colleagues and I will have a booth at the Mama Bear Fair, hosted by Dr. Jamie Michael’s chiropractic clinic in Smyrna! Fitting, as this is just 2 weeks before my due date (I did tell you all I was expecting another baby girl, didn’t I?) Stop in between 3-6pm to chat with me about prenatal/postpartum care and pelvic health! RSVP for the event via Facebook!
I hope to see some of you at these events! Please feel free to be in touch if you have any questions!
Did you know that Endometriosis affects more people that inflammatory bowel disease?
Did you know that 10-15% of women (and some men too!!) suffer with endometriosis?
Did you know that they often see 7+ physicians before being diagnosed with the condition?
Endometriosis is so common, and often can be a very life-impacting condition. As a pelvic PT, I often treat individuals with endometriosis, helping them with the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular sequelae of the condition. I have also helped many patients navigate the healthcare system to ultimately receive the appropriate care they so desperately have needed.
In honor of Endometriosis Awareness Month, I asked Dr. Ken Sinervo, the medical director for the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta, GA to spend some time with me discussing this important diagnosis. Dr. Sinervo is an expert in treating endometriosis, and I can’t tell you how lucky I am that his office is about 20 minutes from mine! He is also a kind and humble person and a compassionate physician, and I was so excited to interview him for this post!
In the video below, we discuss:Â
What is endometriosis and where does it occur?
What are the current theories on the causes of endo?
How can it be treated?
Excision vs. Ablation surgery
How to find an Endo expert
For pelvic PTs: How do you identify patients who may have endo?
And, as an extra bonus, cherry on top, Dr. Sinervo describes the research he is involving in trying to identify potential markers to actually test for endometriosis!!
I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed interviewing him! I apologize in advance if our video cuts out a little bit, but I don’t think it impacts the incredible content (Our weather in Atlanta was a little struggly, so I think my internet had some difficulties!).
I started writing this post a few different ways. Over the past several years, I have had handouts and brochures detailing out what is included in a first visit with a pelvic PT, but I liked the idea of something a little less formal. So, I started writing a letter to that new pelvic PT patient, and I hope it helps you (and your patients!!) feel more comfortable getting started!Â
Hello there soon-to-be pelvic health PT patient:
We are SO thankful you are trusting us in partnering with you in your healing journey. We’re very glad you’re here. I realize that taking this step and actually scheduling a visit with a pelvic floor specialist can be nerve-racking, and you should be quite proud of yourself for taking this important step! I want to take a few minutes to talk with you about your first session in pelvic PT. I find that much of the fear and uncertainty people may feel with a first visit is often connected with this “unknown.” So, I hope today I can take some of that away, so you can feel more comfortable on that first day. So, let’s get started:
Your arrival to the clinicÂ
Before you arrive to the clinic, you likely had a good amount of paperwork to fill out (Sorry about that!). Some of it is the standard healthcare type stuff, but there also is a more specific questionnaire. This questionnaire gets fairly personal. You’ll see questions in it about your bladder health (how often you pee? what do you drink? are you leaking urine?), your bowel function (are you constipated? do you strain when you have a bowel movement? do you leak stool?), your sexual function (are you sexually active? do you have difficulties with pain during sexual activity? problems with arousal or orgasm?), and any pain you’re experiencing (where is your pain? what worsens or improves it? how much does it hurt?) I’ll also ask you about your medical history, your medications, and if it applies to you, your history of pregnancies and childbirth, etc. I know this is a lot of detail, but this is very helpful for me in providing your care! Please feel free to put as much or as little detail on this as you feel comfortable doing. We will have a chance to discuss all of this in person.
Nice to meet you, let’s get personal!
After you and I meet, I will take you back to a private room, and we will chat about what’s going on. This is when we’ll talk about your story, what brought you here, what are the challenges you have been facing, what has been your journey, and what are your goals you want to reach. We’ll also discuss the questions you answered on that detailed questionnaire, and I may ask you some other questions to get more information about the challenges you have been dealing with. I know it can feel a little weird for some people to share details about your bowel habits or sexual function with a person you just met, but believe me, for those of us who practice in this specialty, we talk about these things all the time. As we are chatting, please feel free to tell me anything at all that you think might be important. Don’t hold back…believe me, I most likely have heard all of this before. On that note, please know that I want you to feel comfortable and safe in the clinic, and if you would prefer not to discuss something, that is totally okay too. Just let me know!
Your Exam
After we chat, I will talk with you a little bit about what I think may be going on from a musculoskeletal, movement, and/or behavioral (habits) standpoint. At this point, I usually pull out some images, a model of a pelvis, etc. and will talk with you about what normal anatomy and physiology looks like in the pelvis and about what I think may be happening with the problems you are experiencing. Then, I will let you know what I am recommending we examine to get a better idea of your function. This often includes:
A “Big picture” movement exam: I will watch you walk, stand, sit, and move in many different directions. I will look at how your spine moves (from your neck down), your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. I also look at your balance and preferred postures, and I’ll even watch how your breathe (yes, breathing really does matter!). While we do this, you’ll also let me know if any movements are challenging for you or lead to any pain, and this helps me understand how your body as a whole is moving.
Specific tests/movements:After the global movement screen, we may go through some specific tests. This can include tests to see how you transfer forces or control pressure through your pelvis by lifting a leg or moving in a certain way, tests to see how the nerves in your spine glide and move, or tests to see what structures are contributors to pain you may be experiencing.
Myofascial palpation: Next, we’ll see what tissues are tender or not moving well around your abdomen, pelvis, or elsewhere if we need to. This includes gently touching the muscles around the belly, hips, and legs to see if anything feels uncomfortable, and may include lifting and moving the skin and tissues under the skin to see where there may be restrictions in tissue movement.
Pelvic floor examination:After that, we will look more closely at the muscles of your pelvic floor. Because the muscles of the pelvic floor live inside the pelvis, the best way to examine them is by doing an internal vaginal or rectal examination. For this exam, you would undress from the waist down and lie down on a mat table, covered with a sheet. We don’t tend to use stirrups for our exams (which most people are grateful for!). We start by looking at the outside tissues. We’ll ask you to contract and relax your pelvic floor muscles, and gently bear down to see how your muscles move (Don’t worry if you’re not sure what to do, we can help teach you!). We may ask you to cough to see how the muscles move reflexively. Then, we often will lightly touch on the outside of the muscles to see if anything feels uncomfortable or sensitive to you. We may check how certain tissues move, if that applies to the problems you are experiencing. After that, we can examine the muscles in more detail by inserting one gloved and lubricated finger into the vaginal or rectal canal. We can then feel the muscles to see if they are tender or uncomfortable, assess the muscle strength and endurance, and assess muscle coordination. *NOTE: While an internal exam is a very valuable examination technique, some people do not feel quite ready for this, or would prefer not to have an internal exam. If that’s the case, be sure to let me (or your pelvic PT) know, and we can offer some other options. Also, remember that our exam should not be a painful experience for you. Your pelvic PT should tailor the examination to your needs, so that you leave feeling confident and comfortable, not flared-up and in pain.
Our PlanÂ
After we finish the exam, we should have a clear picture of what areas we can address to work together to help you achieve your goals (whether your goals are to have less pain, stop leaking, start pooping, or something different all together!). So, our next step is to talk about our plan– what you can get started on today, and what our steps will be to help you reach the goal you want to reach. We also will talk about how often I am recommending you to come see me, and how long I think we might work together. Sometimes I’m really good at estimating this, but sometimes I’m wrong. We can adjust along the way if we need to.
I hope this helps you to feel more comfortable and more confident when coming in for pelvic PT! If you need help finding a skilled pelvic PT in your area, please check out this previous post.Â
Please let me know if you have questions at all I can help answer! Have a wonderful week!
I am super excited to roll-out the first Small Group Mentoring Program! I envisioned this program starting about a year and a half ago after teaching a Pelvic Floor- Level 1 Course and talking with clinicians who were getting started in the specialty of pelvic health. I sensed such a need for support, guidance, and community as people were building their caseloads treating new diagnoses. So, this program in many ways is an answer to that need. The goal of this program is both to improve clinical confidence and excellence in care as well as foster community for continued professional growth in the future. The inaugural small group mentoring series will begin November 2018 and run through April 2019.
What the program includes:
6-months of small group mentoring (with a maximum of 8 clinicians per group) via monthly 90-min video(Zoom) conferencing on topics individualized based on the group interest. For additional information on the session details, check out the FAQ document at the bottom of this post!
Periodic access to patient education handouts/resources as they match the topic of discussion
Facilitation of group collaboration, discussion and community-building through a private Facebook group page.
Discounted individual mentoring rates while participating in the program
Pre-Requisites:
At this time, small group mentoring is limited to Physical Therapists or Occupational Therapists who are licensed to treat patients. I am happy to provide individual mentoring for other health professionals, personal trainers, yoga instructors, etc. but am limiting the scope for small group mentoring to ensure the same background education and scope of practice for clinical discussion. To optimize discussion, it is strongly encouraged that participants have taken at least a Level 1 Pelvic Floor course or equivalent, and are currently treating patients with pelvic floor dysfunction. Physical Therapy students will be considered on a case-by-case basis, provided the student has completed or is currently completing a rotation in pelvic health and has completed the aforementioned coursework.
Your Investment:
Your introductory rate as a participant in the inaugural series will be $475. This will include 6, 90 minute group mentoring sessions, or 9 hours of mentoring, as well as all of the items mentioned above! *NOTE: This is an introductory rate, and rates are likely to increase in the future!
Register Today!
The inaugural small group series will be very limited in participants, so please reserve your space as soon as you can! Registration will be open until October 22nd, or until spaces fill! To apply, please complete the application available below and e-mail to jessicarealept@gmail.com.Upon receipt of your application and placement in a group, you will receive an invoice for payment. Payment is required in full by November 1st. Unfortunately, the inaugural session will be limited in number of participants, so not everyone will be able to be accommodated. If this occurs, you will be placed on a waiting list for the next session.
See the video below for some additional information! I look forward to working with many of you in this program!
This past weekend, I was fortunate to work with an incredible group of practitioners at a Level 1 Pelvic Floor Course in my home city of Atlanta. I always leave these weekends renewed, excited, and yes, somewhat exhausted ;-). Not only do I get to teach with some pretty incredible colleagues (in this case, Sara Reardon– the VAGINA WHISPERER!!, and Darla Cathcart–who literally is the reason why I practice pelvic health!), but I also get the opportunity to see the transformation of clinicians who start the weekend a little nervous about the possibility of seeing a vulva, and end the weekend confident and empowered to start helping people who are experiencing pelvic floor problems. (Ok, some may not be 100% confident–but definitely on the road to confidence! ;-))
Sara, Darla and I after our first day of teaching. This was before we were rained on and had to run to our hotel!
One of my favorite research studies of all time (yes, I am that nerdy) is always shared at this course with participants. This study by van der Velde and Everaerd examined the response of the pelvic floor muscles to perceived threat, comparing women who have vaginismus (painful vaginal penetration) compared to women who don’t.
Throughout my clinical career, the concept of stress and threat worsening pelvic floor problems has been a consistent thread. I frequently hear:
“My job has been so incredibly stressful this week. I am in so much pain today.”Â
“Everything started this past year…during that time, my parents had been very sick and it was a very emotionally and sometimes physical stressful time for me”Â
“I’ve been having a severe flare-up of my pain. Do you think the stress that I’ve been dealing with in going through a divorce/break-up/job change/move/new baby/new house/etc. etc. etc. could be related to this?”Â
Honestly, I could go on and on with continued statements like this. Stress is a complicated topic, and there are many factors involved that can contribute to an alteration or increase in symptoms when a person is in a persistent stressful situation. So, back to my favorite study. In this study, the researchers had the participants watch four different film excerpts that were considered to be: neutral, threatening, sexually threatening or erotic. They then recorded the response of the pelvic floor muscles using EMG. The results of this study were fascinating. They found that with both the threatening stimulus(which happened to be an excerpt from the movie Jaws) and the sexually threatening stimulus (which was an excerpt from a TV movie called Without her Consent–which frankly, sounds awful to me!) the pelvic floor muscles demonstrated increased muscle activity. And this was true in both the groups of women who had vaginismus and the groups of women who did not. (side note: they also saw that the upper traps had this same activation pattern! Makes sense, right?)
Fascinating right? So, what does this mean? I always tell patients that the pelvic floor can be like a threat-o-meter. When a person is experiencing a threat–this can be a physical or emotional threat– the pelvic floor will respond. You can imagine then what happens when that stressful situation or threat stays around for a long period of time! This knowledge alone can sometimes be so empowering for people in better understanding why their bodies might be responding the way that they are.
So what can we do about it?
If you are dealing with pelvic floor muscle overactivity problems or pain, and you find yourself in a stressful or threatening period of time in life, try these ideas:
Be mindful of what is happening in your body:Â I encourage people to do regular “check-ins” or body scans throughout the day to feel how their pelvic floor muscles and other muscles might be activating. If you feel any muscles gripping, try to see if you can consciously soften and let go of tension you might feel. After doing this, try to take a slow long breath in and out thinking of letting tension release.
Drop it like it’s hot:Â Your pelvic floor, that is. Several times throughout the day, consciously think about letting your pelvic floor drop and lengthen. If you have a hard time feeling what your muscles are doing, you can try performing a small (think 10-25%) activation first and then think about letting go of any muscle activity.
Don’t be an island:Â Know that there are so many resources to help you if you need them! Working with a skilled psychologist or counselor can be incredibly beneficial to many people! And, if your pelvic floor is giving you some problems, always remember that you can go see a pelvic PT– yes, even if you had worked with one in the past! We are always here to help you get through life’s hurdles! Sometimes people end up needing little “refresher courses” along the way to help when the body needs it.
So, what are your favorite ways to manage stress? Fellow PTs- how do you help patients handle flare-ups that happen when life starts to get stressful?
I love to hear from you, and meet you! Always feel free to reach out to me here! If you would like to take a course with me, check out the schedule listed on my For Professionals page! I hope to meet you in person soon!
Meet your newest pelvic health professionals from PF1 Atlanta 2018!
