Dispelling Myths in Pelvic Health

Dr. Alexis Morgan // #ICEPelvic // www.ptonice.com 

In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, #ICEPelvic division leader Alexis Morgan discusses three myths in pelvic health surrounding pelvic health demographics, urinary incontinence, and sexual intercourse.

Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes or check out the full show notes on our blog at www.ptonice.com/blog.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION

ALEXS MORGANGood morning, PT on Ice Daily Show. My name is Dr. Alexis Morgan, and I am so happy to be with you all this morning to talk about some myths and bust them. So there are so many myths in pelvic health. I narrowed it down to three. I might sneak a fourth one in. But there are so many myths that need to be dispelled in this area of pelvic health. And so this morning we are going to talk about a couple of misconceptions in the topic of pelvic health and then what the actual facts are. So thank you all for joining me so much this morning. At the end, we'll talk about some courses upcoming in the pelvic health division if you are interested in joining us. So top three myths. Number one, only women need to worry about pelvic health. Number two, urinary incontinence is a normal part of aging. And number three, pain during sex is normal. Three myths that are pervasive in this space. MYTH #1: ONLY WOMEN NEED TO WORRY ABOUT PELVIC HEALTH So let's start with myth number one. Only women need to worry about pelvic health. This is absolutely not true. All people need to be considerate of pelvic health. All people can have pelvic floor issues, no matter what your anatomy is. So whether there is a penis or a vagina, you may have issues that are because of your pelvic floor. So some common issues that we treat are chronic prostatitis, slash chronic pelvic pain. And that is, um, that is what a topic that we discuss in our level two course, as well as erectile dysfunction and so many more. these issues can absolutely be addressed with a pelvic floor physical therapist, a pelvic floor therapist altogether. And it's really important that people understand that these issues can absolutely be addressed And so often, of course, you'll have to take our course to learn a whole lot more about it, but so often these lifestyle things that we discuss like eating well and exercise and getting blood flow, all of those are so incredibly important for all people. And in particular, issues as we just discussed, like chronic pain and even erectile dysfunction. So of course, big solution being when we kind of shift the gears and talk about how all people may benefit from pelvic health, then all people have an equal opportunity to seek that care. that's a big part of why in the ice certification for pelvic health we go over all anatomy and all diagnoses surrounding any and every pelvic floor issue that can arise here because We want to provide health for all. And if you are ICE certified in pelvic, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. You have the abilities to provide that care to all people. Speaking of, congratulations to our individuals, our very first individuals who are ICE certified in pelvic. We just completed our first level two course and we have several who are now ICE certified in pelvic. So congratulations to you all. MYTH #2 - URINARY CONTINENCE IS A NORMAL PART OF AGING Moving on to myth number two, urinary incontinence is a normal part of aging. It is absolutely not the case that incontinence is inevitable with age. And again, this kind of goes back to myth number one, this occurs in all can occur in all people. So incontinence might occur with, um, males and females, and it does not have to happen just because someone is aging or just because someone had their prostate removed. There's a lot of different types of urinary incontinence, but these can all be addressed. A big one that we talk about a lot in sport and kind of in function is stress urinary incontinence. and this is where there's an increase in intra-abdominal pressure and the pelvic floor musculature either doesn't know how to, can't coordinate enough, or is not strong enough to withstand that pressure up above and the leaking occurs. There could also be urge incontinence where you have the urge to go pee and then it's really difficult to hold it in because of that urge. And we even have functional incontinence as well where it is difficult for an individual to get to the bathroom in time because of some type of physical impairment or cognitive impairment. And because of that, there is incontinence. So for all of these individuals, there are absolutely solutions for them. And because of that, we don't accept the myth, we don't accept the statement that it's normal to Pee your pants as you age. It is absolutely something that can and really should be addressed to improve the quality of life for all people. MYTH #3 - PAIN DURING SEX IS NORMAL Myth number three. Pain during sex is normal. That is a very pervasive and difficult myth that we hear quite a bit. Maybe that is surrounding menopause, maybe that is surrounding postpartum, or just in general. But pain during sex should not be expected. Sex should be pleasurable, should be enjoyable, and should be enjoyed by both or all parties involved. And unwanted pain during sex is something that can and should be addressed to improve pleasure in a very important aspect of life that is sexual health. There's so many reasons why someone might be experiencing pain, and just like in all areas of the musculoskeletal system, when we experience pain, it's not always straightforward. Wouldn't it be nice if it were? But with pain with sex, we talk about in all of our courses, we layer in all of the different aspects of pain with sex and begin to separate these issues out. It is our job, it is our duty, it is our honor to help individuals decrease pain and increase pleasure with sex to improve their quality of life. And we do this from some simple ways like lubrication maybe more complicated ways like can referring someone to counseling to mental health therapy to assist in maybe some prior traumas and we also can do some manual work as well as exercises in order to fully address the full person and address the full picture of the reason why someone is having pain with sex. So again, if you want to learn more about that, we do talk about it in all three of our courses, our live, our online, and level one and level two, but we really take a deep dive in level two. So if this is something that you're interested in, yay, join me. This is one of my more recent more recent interest in pelvic health, and we would love for you to join us in any of our courses. SUMMARY So to recap, pelvic health is absolutely important for all people. Incontinence is treatable. Let's help these individuals get treatment. And lastly, pain with sex should be addressed. Let's have Our job is to get individuals to understand that we are available for them to help them address their pelvic concerns. And let's reduce those barriers as much as we can for them, talking about them, letting people understand that you are a resource for them. And by all means, take this information, create some reels about it, create some posts, but get those myths out there, and most importantly, get the truth out there. Thank you all for joining me this morning. Before I close up, I just wanna let you all know, our Level 1 course, it's about to sell out. There are still a few spots. We have one week left before we officially start, so that's July 8th, if you're listening on the recording. And so sign up for that if you are trying to get that in soon. It will sell out. Same with level two, but that one starts in August. So August 19th. And then our next three courses that we have live are in Ohio, July 20th and 21st. in Wyoming, July 27th and 28th. And then Tennessee, right here in my hometown, Hendersonville, Tennessee, September 7th and 8th. So we hope that you will join us. If you're already signed up, can't wait to see you in person. And thank you all for tuning in this morning. Have a great day, have a great week.

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