Pelvic Health & Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Addressing your questions about pelvic, women's, and musculoskeletal health. Health is a journey. Movement is healing!
One of my biggest pet peeves as a pelvic health PT is when runners or weight lifters think they need to leak urine to prove a good work out. Ugh! First of all it's gross. Second of all we don't see a problem with having an accident? If you are peeing unintentionally during any activity which does not include you sitting on a toilet you should see a pelvic and women's health physical therapist. Let me explain why.
The abdominal cavity has four sides to it. The top is the diaphragm. The front is the abdominal wall. The back is the spine and back musculature. The bottom is the pelvic floor. When you leak urine with exercise it indicates to me that something in this system is not operating to its best ability. In fact there may be more than one thing. Urine leakage generally indicates pelvic floor weakness. Weakness in this area means that one key aspect to the "core" is not optimally functioning. When we take a closer look what a pelvic and women's health physical therapist may find is that other aspects of the abdominal cavity are working less efficiently or compensating due to lack of coordination with pelvic floor musculature. Okay, okay you don't leak all the time. Just after the 10th mile on the pavement. Or just when you hit your rep max with dead lifts. This is still something we can work on. Yes it could still be a deficiency in pelvic muscle strength or endurance. It could be that the force of running on pavement or your form as you start to tire change your ability to activate pelvic floor muscles. It could be you don't even realize you are holding your breath with lifting which creates increased pressure on the bladder. So the moral of the story remains the same. You still should not accept urine leakage with exercise. A pelvic health physical therapist can help assess and treat this type of urine leakage and improve your work outs. 3...2...1....Happy 2018! Have any resolutions lined up and ready to go? Still working on that perfect beach body from last year? Health is a physical, mental, and emotional journey to improved well-being. Taking small steps is the key to making larger changes.
Weight Loss So let's talk about the most popular resolution out there, losing weight. The intention is good, the application can be really tricky. Weight loss is a combination of positive attitude, healthy diet, and exercise. It is important to have all three. It's also important to keep your expectations reasonable, losing 5 pounds a week isn't healthy or sustainable! You are just going to gain all that weight back plus some once the diet, exercise, or pill you are on stops. So what is reasonable? Shedding 1-2 pounds of weight a week is reasonable and healthy if you are correctly nourishing your body. You can track your food and calorie intake as well as exercise and the amount you are losing on applications like MyFitnessPal or FitBit. Diet In terms of diet there are SO many fad diets out there. You really can't beat increasing good ole fruits and veggies and cutting down on processed foods. Decreasing the amount of sugar or fried food you have is also important. Maybe you decide just cutting down on how often you eat out because a lot of times those restaurants could be prepare your food in an unhealthy way even if it seems healthy. Drinking more water is another excellent New Year's resolution. Our body's crave water especially our bladder and gut, yet we oftentimes are not getting nearly enough water throughout the day. (The dry air in the winter months also dehydrates our bodies). Exercise Don't rush out and buy a gym membership unless you REALLY want to work out at the gym. It's not for everyone. There are so many forms of exercise out there. You may just start with a brisk walk to get your blood pumping! Our bodies need moderate exercise multiple times throughout the week. So make sure whatever you are doing you are increasing your blood pressure and getting a little sweaty. Try a few things and find what you like! Biking, hiking, running, tai chi, yoga, pilates, zumba, aerobics, swimming, weight lifting, crossfit...the sky is the limit. A lot of places will let you try a class for free or even let you have a few classes discounted before purchasing a full membership. So shop around. Mental Health Don't forget to take care of your mind! Managing your stress is so important. Maybe you set a goal to meditate or journal this year. Maybe it is to recognize more positivity around you. Maybe you finally take the plunge this year to link up with a counselor or psychologist. Environmental Health The space you surround yourself with is important to your well-being as well. You may find yourself making resolutions about your environment. Are you going to keep a cleaner house? Recycle more? Cut down on the plastic water bottles you use? How will your environment impact you and vice versa? There are no limits to the options for resolutions. There are so many new and exciting things on the horizon whether you pursue a goal with your personal health or do something broader! Week one of 2017 is officially in the books. I'm still in denial though, I keep vehemently scrawling 2016 and then having to vigorously scratch it out or try to magically turn the 6 into a 7. I've been spotty about sticking to that resolution of mine. I have a valid excuse..I have been travelling! I am finally back home in the great state of Tennessee so I can get back into a routine. Even with the craziness of travelling I've managed to do yoga 4 out of the last 7 days, not the best but definitely not the worst. So I'm going to consider it a jumping off point for next week. Between Pinterest (I have a yoga page with a bunch of videos pinned for your viewing pleasure) and Gaia ($0.99 your first month, yippeee skippee), Mom and I have been finding some really great yoga videos to do at home!
How are your resolutions going? Have you started to make small changes? What can you do this upcoming week to be more successful? Big things are in store for 2017. Next week marks the beginning of my LAST, I repeat, LAST, semester of physical therapy school. Two weeks after that I start my last clinical in a pediatric rotation. So standby for pediatric updates on pediatric physical therapy services as well as the continuation of working through the material you want to more know more about! We are once again sprinting towards the holidays and end of the year. It seems like there is so much that needs accomplished during the days and just too little time to get it done. In the hustle and bustle of the holiday season remember to take a little time for yourself.
I am one of the worst culprits when it comes to self care. I rarely make time for myself and as a result my health suffers. My stress levels rise and my head begins to rotate around on my body...Joking. But in all seriousness other aspects of my life and health are affected by my chronic state of increased stress. I have chronic headaches, migraines, and interrupted sleep. How does your stress affect you? Does it make you more irritable? Feel fatigued throughout the day? Maybe you are like me and you get lots of headaches and your stress makes it difficult for you to get a full night's sleep. The end of the year is the perfect time to start implementing new practices into your schedule. Why not take a little time every day for some self care in order to combat stress? Especially the daily stress compounded with holiday stress. Over the past two days I've started doing a little yoga before bed and the past two nights I've slept through the entire night. Studies say on average it takes approximately 66 days to make a practice habit. So let's enter the new year taking more time to ensure we take care of our mental wellbeing! Here are a few different ways to take some you time:
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AuthorHello! I am Caitlyn, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Board Certified Women's Health Physical Therapist working in St Louis, Missouri. Faculty in developing residency program. Endowarrior Categories
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