As health professionals supporting women following birth, we often find ourselves being asked “when can I return to running – it’s the form of exercise that works best for me.” In the back of our minds is wanting to prevent the occurrence of the statistic we all know well - 1 in 3 women will experience pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth.
We see many peri and post-menopausal women experiencing bladder problems and painful sex, but there are many more bothersome symptoms. Kath Tsebelis is a Physiotherapist, Pilates & Fitness instructor, Nutritionist and Certified Menopause Coach.
At Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy we focus solely on restoring pelvic health, empowering every person to live their best life. This often involves introducing or modifying movement practices and general exercise as they both result in numerous physical and psychological benefits. Unlike many other Pelvic Health Physio practices, we don’t offer Pilates or other movement classes. This means we can support our patients to explore what will work best for them without any bias.
Anorectal or bowel dysfunction is common, yet is under-reported, under-diagnosed and under-treated. Nearly 2% of Australian adults experience faecal incontinence and 4% experience both urinary and faecal incontinence. A staggering 40% of the world’s population are impacted by Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) eg Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
No one wants to experience bladder or bowel incontinence, rushing to the toilet or difficulties emptying, prolapse, pelvic pain or pain with sex. Unfortunately, these issues are common across all genders and substantially impact physical, emotional, social and financial health and wellbeing. There is often associated stigma, leading to people suffering in silence, thinking it is normal or that nothing can be done to help.
Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) can be defined as a collection of symptoms and signs associated with a decrease in oestrogen and other sex steroids involving changes to the labia majora/minora, clitoris, vestibule/introitus, vagina, urethra and bladder.
Every day, we speak with people who seek our support regarding painful sex. Often their stories include fear, confusion and a poor understanding of the vulva, clitoris and vagina. Many people hold unhelpful beliefs and perceptions of what is and isn’t normal.
As Pelvic Health Physiotherapists, part of our role is to educate, enlighten and empower individuals to develop a healthier perspective about their genitals and guide them toward safe, comfortable and pleasurable experiences with their body. Here we explore relatively recent discoveries regarding the clitoris and the relevance to those we see with pelvic health concerns.
Waking overnight to urinate, also known as nocturia, can be annoying and frustrating, resulting in you feeling tired and unrefreshed. Many people assume urinating overnight is a normal part of ageing, but this isn’t necessarily true. Nocturia may be a sign of other underlying health problems.
Trauma, neglect and attachment disorders are common and create behavioural, physiological and cognitive adaptations that impact daily function and health via the effects on the neurological, endocrine and immune systems. The experience of trauma can result in loss of trust, feelings of guilt and shame, a decreased sense of safety and loss of hope for the future. These changes can affect the way people approach potentially helpful relationships and make it harder for them to engage with health care practitioners.
As pelvic health physiotherapists treating people with sexual pain and supporting them to improve their sexual health, we are often asked what lubricants we use for examinations and what we recommend for personal use. We thought that maybe you might be asked the same thing by your patients – and so decided to research lubricants. Here we share what we discovered and wrote for our patients in their quarterly newsletter.
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