Making your own individual treatment decision on how to treat your pelvic floor dysfunction will depend on your symptoms, what you have already tried, and what you have researched.  There is no doubt that there are success stories out there for all the treatment options available, including exercise-based rehabilitation of the pelvic floor, medication for symptom management, pessary use, and various surgical procedures.  It is not my job to speak out against any decision that you may choose, but it is my job to help make you more informed so that you can make a decision that is well thought … Continue Reading

A common thought is that incontinence, or occasional urine leakage , is a normal part of aging.  Although it is true that the prevalence of incontinence increases with age, it is not considered normal to leak urine at any point in our lives.

It is important that we recognize incontinence as a symptom and not as a disease.  It is a symptom of bladder and/or pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.  There are many risk factors associated with this dysfunction including a history of smoking, pregnancy and childbirth, pelvic surgery, obesity, chronic cough, repetitive heavy lifting, neurogenic disease, hormone changes and more. 

Certainly as we … Continue Reading

Did you know that if you don’t extend your tail bone, your pelvic floor will never fire with optimal strength?  A tucked under tail bone takes our pelvic floor, which attaches at our tail bone and our pubic bone, and makes it slack.  And, over time, this loose muscle responds poorly and becomes weak because we are never able to fully activate all of the fibers because our two attachments sites are sitting too close together. 

If we extend our tail bone, giving it a slight lift, we put our pelvic floor muscles at the perfect length/tension ratio where it can … Continue Reading

How do you know if you have a prolapse? Some urogynocologists go as far as to say that every woman will experience some degree of prolapse in their lives. A prolapse? What exactly is it, what causes it, what can I do to prevent it or resolve it? I wanted to use this blog to talk about all of these questions surrounding prolapse because so many of us have or will experience the symptoms.

Let’s take it one question at a time. What does a prolapse feel like? For some it may feel like a soft, round … Continue Reading

So, is exercise the fountain of youth??? It may be the closest thing we have to it. Lots of things change throughout our lives including our cars, jobs, and houses, but our bodies are the one constant that is with us for the long haul. We can’t trade it in or upgrade it so taking the time to learn about how we can keep our engine running smoothly with appropriate nutrition and exercise is worth it. I don’t plan on going in depth on nutrition, but anyone with direct questions is more than welcome to ask … Continue Reading

What happens to our bodies as we age? Can we stop or slow the effects of aging? Does menopause signal the beginning of a slippery slope? Well…let’s talk about it.

As we age we may notice decreased endurance, decreased balance, decreased flexibility, decreased strength, or decreased agility. You may begin to experience hot flashes, mood swings, or symptoms such as incontinence, prolapse, arthritis, osteoporosis, and others.

What may cause these changes? It may be decreased activity level as we age, less variety of activities, or natural hormone changes that contribute to some or all of these … Continue Reading

Incontinence is not “just a normal part of aging”!  I don’t ever want to hear this again.  We don’t have to resign ourselves to wearing pads or Depends when our body decides to give out. All of us are constantly fighting the signs of aging, from wrinkles in our skin, to memory loss.  Some even focus on preventing muscle weakness which, as a physical therapist, is what I focus on every day when working with the aging population.  Muscle weakness affects our posture, our bone strength, our lung volume and, yes, our continence.

One of the biggest factors contributing to the … Continue Reading

When you begin to experience incontinence or … Continue Reading