Chronic pelvic pain has been described as a silent epidemic. It has been estimated to affect up to 1 in 5 women, however many of us have never heard of it.
What causes chronic pelvic pain and how can physiotherapists help to deal with the condition?
Are your bladder habits normal?
Running after birth
You will probably come across a minefield of conflicting advice surrounding return to ‘high impact’ exercise after birth from your obstetrician, GP, personal trainer, Google and Instagram; So… who should you listen to and what is the truth?
Thanks to a fantastic bunch of physios and academics in the UK - we now have a comprehensive, evidence and expert-based guideline to ensure we can give you advice which has a solid and reliable basis.
And while we found it an absolutely riveting read (not joking), we are guessing that you probably don’t want to (have time to) trawl through 40 pages of research so here are the “take home” points.
Pelvic floor muscles and exercise
The Over-Active Pelvic Floor
Fact or Fiction - the post-partum pelvic floor!
A quick guide to finding your pelvic floor muscles!
Real Time Ultrasound
Physiotherapy for motherhood
In another great interactive post in the 'choose physio' series by the Australian Physiotherapy Association you can learn how physio can help you on the journey to motherhood and beyond. At MPPP, this is an area we are so passionate about in providing the best care for mums both being new parents ourselves. We'd love you to get in touch if you have any questions about how we can help.
Follow the source link for more:
Prostates, Pelvic floors and Physios - How do they all go together?
So, your urologist has handed you a card and told you to see a physio. For your bladder you wonder, surely not?
In fact Men's Health physio is a large part of what we do at MPPP.
Need us to demystify this a bit?
Follow the source link below to find out all you need to know including physiotherapy treatment for bladder and bowel problems, pelvic floor muscles and pre-and-post-prostatectomy rehabilitation thanks to the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
We're also happy to explain more so don't hesitate to contact us.
What is women's health physio?
At MPPP, 'women's health physio' is central to our daily work. Have you ever wondered what a women's health physio actually does?
Women’s health encompasses a huge variety of conditions that may affect women throughout their life. Such conditions include incontinence or leakage of the bladder or bowel; chronic pelvic pain that could include endometriosis (where tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus) or muscle spasm; conditions associated with pregnancy and early parenthood such as back or sacroiliac joint pain in pregnancy, carpal tunnel syndrome and mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue usually due to infection). (Source: Australian Physiotherapy Association)
Follow the source link to find out more from the APA:
Perinatal Mental Health
Depression is experienced by up to one in ten women (10%) during pregnancy and one in seven women (16%) in the year following birth. The prevalence of anxiety disorders is estimated to be even higher (up to 20%).
This article (open the blog post for link) examines the challenges faced by new parents that are often undisclosed due to societal pressures about what parenthood should be like. The article also highlights new research around the importance of social support and connection for new mums and dads alike who both face unique challenges in their roles as parents.
If you or a friend or loved one is suffering from a perinatal mental health condition we strongly suggest getting in touch with PANDA who are a fantastic organisation dedicated to the mental health of parents in the perinatal period. http://www.panda.org.au/ or call the helpline on 1300 726 306.
COPE are also another fantastic resource - dedicated to assisting with the enmotional challenges of parenthood http://cope.org.au/.
Top piece of pelvic floor advice for new mums
Check out this featured blog from Supported Mums - The number 1 piece of advice for new mums. Click to follow link.
Exercise in pregnancy
5 pelvic floor facts
- Both men and women have a pelvic floor! The pelvic floor is the name given to a muscle group that lies at the base of the pelvis. The pelvic floor muscles are important for bladder and bowel continence and sexual function in both males and females.
- Urinary incontinence is alarmingly common. It affects up to 13% of Australian men and up to 37% of Australian women.
- Despite the high number of sufferers, many people do not seek help for their urinary incontinence, in fact one study found that up to 70% of people with urinary leakage suffer in silence and do not seek advice or treatment for their problem!!
- The above statistics are very sad when there are highly effective evidence based treatments available - large studies have shown pelvic floor exercises, under the instruction of a pelvic floor physiotherapist, to have around a 60% cure rate for stress incontinence in women!
- About a third of women have urinary incontinence after childbirth. The good news is there is evidence that for women having their first baby, PFMT can prevent urinary incontinence after delivery! Start your pelvic floor exercises today.
If you or a friend or family member suffers from bladder or bowel incontinence, there is help at hand. Make an appointment to see us today!