Pelvic Health & Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Addressing your questions about pelvic, women's, and musculoskeletal health. Health is a journey. Movement is healing!
It's October again. I know the hospital I work at is all decked out in pink. Awareness regarding breast cancer is everywhere. It's in the grocery store, there are races, it's even worked into the media. Awareness about the risk of developing breast cancer and celebration of survivorship are pretty apparent. Some of the struggles of survivorship are not as readily discussed. One issue that some women can face after treatment for breast cancer is perineal discomfort, urinary incontinence, and even pain with intercourse.
One of the biggest challenges for those navigating survivorship is things can be very overwhelming. There are a lot of financial, emotional, physical, and physiological impacts of fighting and surviving breast cancer that these individuals must face. It is sometimes difficult to find where physical intimacy and pelvic issues fit into the picture. Treatment for this type of cancer targets hormones in the body which can impact the tissues in the pelvic region. As a result discomfort, loss of urine, or pain with physical intimacy may occur. The muscles of the pelvic floor need estrogen and progesterone to function so by quickly removing them, the muscles don't know how to properly react. The muscles of pelvic floor may begin to develop weaknesses or areas of tenderness. The tissue integrity may change as a result of previous treatment. So when you are ready to seek treatment pelvic health physical therapy can help to address the changes that these tissues have experienced. With this type of PT they will look to restore improved tissue quality and provide the individual techniques for improved control over those muscles. They can provide insight on different lubricants and ways to decrease irritation from dryness. The PT can help to improve strength, muscle control, and decrease point tenderness. They can also help to trouble shoot different biomechanical difficulties occurring and help develop a plan to decrease accidental loss of urine. If you haven't already seen the story from Allure some very fierce and inspirational women rocked the catwalk this past week showcasing AnaOno lingerie designed specifically for women who have survived or are currently undergoing breast cancer treatment. All of the models can attest to the difficulty and discomfort in finding bras that fit following a mastectomy. Proceeds from the fashion show went to Cancerland, an advocacy group benefiting women with breast cancer. Even the designer of the line, Dana Donofree, is a breast cancer survivor who has been featured on the Today Show, PEOPLE, In Style, Forbes, and many other sites in the past for her product. She was inspired by her own frustrating journey to find a comfortable fitting bra after treatment and surgery as she was told by her medical team to just wear sports bras. As a professional, wearing a sports bra to work every day or wearing a sports bra out on the town during a formal event just doesn't always fit the bill, but the underwire in bras was very irritating to mastectomy scars and the fit of normal bras following surgery was just inadequate. Dana Donofree has created a beautiful product for women to start to normalize part of their life in recovering from breast cancer. The pieces are beautiful, supportive, sexy, and allow for many different options with pockets and belts for drainage pumps following surgery. Many women following a mastectomy are faced with challenges with pain or discomfort with scarring as well as challenges to their body image and sexuality as a result of the surgery. Being able to purchase intimate clothing that feels comfortable and sexy that makes you feel feminine is one step to building positive body image in the road to recovery for survivors. What an amazing idea! You can find all of AnaOno line at www.anaono.com/ |
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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