Category: Pelvic

The Secret on How to Keep Your Core Strong During Pregnancy and Beyond

10/20/2020

Guest Post: Erin Livingston

The most popular statement I get from my pregnant clients is, “My doctor says I shouldn’t work my abdominals because I’m pregnant, so I’ll avoid doing Ab work all together.” Unfortunately, many doctors only think of working abdominals by doing crunches. Your ‘core’ makes up so much more than just your abdominals. The core doesn't just refer to your abdominals, it includes all the muscles that attach to your pelvis, spine and ribs.

The Power of the Pelvic Floor, A Doula's Top Tips!

8/24/2020

Guest Post: Chantal Traub

Does having a pelvic floor dysfunction make you feel ashamed, guilty, damaged? Does it prevent you from enjoying the activities that brought you so much pleasure in the past? If so, you are not alone. 1-3 women will have a pelvic floor disorder. Incontinence affects 1 in 4 to 1 in 2 women who exercise. Pushing ineffectively for many hours may contribute to long term muscle weakness and damage associated with incontinence or pelvic floor prolapse.

Care for Down There! A Guide to Loving Your Pelvic Floor After Birth.

6/24/2020

Coauthor: Ashley Brichter

I am pleased to collaborate with Birth Smarter’s founder Ashley Brichter! We love that the pelvic floor is becoming such a “hot button” topic for pregnant people and perinatal practitioners. Here we dive into some essentials on pelvic floor recovery after birth, from pelvic floor PT and childbirth educator perspectives.

New Momma Tips

11/12/2019

“I’m having neck and shoulder pain breastfeeding my baby.”
“Every time I pick up my baby, my back kills!”
These are a few of the many complaints I hear from my new mommas. They want to learn how to move their bodies in a better way but they are not sure how. They want to reduce pain and increase strength. Here are some quick and easy tips I teach them for these complaints.

Women's Health Postpartum

10/16/2019

The pelvic floor supports your body before, during, and after pregnancy. It is an incredibly important part of postpartum recovery but very few women know about it. Even less receive pelvic floor therapy. I wrote for After Third, a company that helps new, expecting, and attempting parents find support by connecting them to professionals in the birth world. Here I help people learn about the pelvic floor and gain tips on how to start caring for the pelvic floor postpartum.

Prolapse

10/9/2019

What happens when 10 kids jump on an already loose trampoline for a very long time? Not sure if the trampoline will hold up those kids for much longer. Possibly, the kids could fall through. This is an analogy for what a pelvic organ prolapse could look like. The 10 jumping kids are the weight of your body and the pressure you exert from coughing/sneezing/lifting. The trampoline fabric is your pelvic floor structures that hold up the jumping kids: muscles, fascia, ligaments, and more. When the pelvic floor is compromised, its supportive function is lost. Gravity takes over and organs can descend.

C-Sections & Scars

9/10/2019

Have you had a C-section or thinking about electing to have one over a vaginal delivery? The most important thing to do is to educate yourself on its implications along with the guaranteed byproduct of the surgery: the scar itself! C-section scar management might be overlooked with all the responsibilities that come with a new baby.

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

8/13/2019

I love talking about the pelvic floor. Why? Because not many people are and it’s a big reason we may miss out on providing great care to our patients. Here’s an article I wrote for IAOM-US, a collaborating partner, on why all clinicians should learn about the pelvic floor. Included are important statistics and barriers that we are facing in managing people with pelvic floor dysfunction. My audience here is for health care professionals, especially physical therapists and occupational therapists. But there is important information to build awareness for all patients and clinicians. Enjoy!

Diastasis Rectus Abdominis

7/16/2019

Every single one of us has a six-pack muscle. Whether it is clearly defined or not is a different issue. It is called the Rectus Abdominis (RA). Underneath the RA are your obliques and then your deepest abdominal muscle called the Transversus Abdominis (TA). Diastasis Rectus Abdominis (DRA) is the separation of the RA muscle. It happens routinely during and after pregnancy, but can also happen in males and females of all ages with obesity.

Procreating

4/23/2019

Yes everybody. We are going there.

Let’s take it back to the 20th century when Abraham Maslow created the Hierarchy of Needs. In it, physiological needs were the basic foundation of human life. These needs were to be met in order to attain the highest self-actualization. We require food, water, and oxygen to survive. And as you can see, Pooping, Peeing, and Procreation are also in this basic foundation!

Peeing

4/16/2019

My Story.

Fully admitting this to the world today... I used to pee my pants as a kid when I laughed too hard. My friends and family made it a joke (they still do… ugh!).

And then, in college, I would have the strongest urge to pee, and sometimes leaked, every time I entered the elevator of my NYU Union Square dorm. My roommates knew when I stepped through the door that they better get out of my way or I’d pee my pants!

Pooping

4/9/2019

Let’s face it people. A bowel movement (BM) has the ability to make or break your day. Am I right, or am I right? Everyone has experienced a bad time on the toilet. You might have had to strain for 30 minutes after a night of fast food and booze. Or you might have had diarrhea after a food bug from travel.

However, this rare “off” day on the toilet happens to some, while others have a consistent issue with their bowels, an issue that ends up having a sizable impact on their everyday lives.

Intro to Pelvic Floor

4/2/2019

Welcome! I am so excited to introduce our first ever blog post!

The purpose of these posts is to help you understand why you may be experiencing different aches and dysfunctions in your body and to offer some tangible solutions. My goal here is to help you move better so you can feel better. A combination of good physical mobility and stability can improve the quality of your life tremendously!

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