Hello Ladies!
A little bit about me:
I am a physical therapist with my Doctorate in Physical
Therapy from Rockhurst
University
I focus on specific issues related to the men and women with
pelvic dysfunction, such as urinary or fecal leakage (incontinence), pelvic
organ prolapse, constipation, pain with intercourse, and pregnancy/ postpartum
pain. I am the lead pelvic physical therapist at Summit Strength Physical
Therapy in Lee’s Summit , MO.
I specialize in treating pelvic health physical
therapy. So what is pelvic physical
therapy you might ask?
The same way I would treat your neck with stretches,
exercises or manual work, I would do that with your pelvic floor muscles. Your
pelvic floor muscles are in your pelvis and run from your pubic bone back your
sacrum. They are bowl shaped and act as
a hammock, supporting your bowel, bladder and uterus. The pelvic floor muscles can become weak like
other muscles in our body. They can also
develop spasms, similar to your upper trapezius muscle, where you might feel
pain or discomfort “down there”.
Anytime there is dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles,
issues happen. For instance, women
develop urinary incontinence, or leaking of urine with coughing, sneezing,
laughing, exercise or with urgency, such as not making it to the bathroom fast
enough. I don’t know about you, but
after having my son, every time I had a hard laugh or cough I was doing the
weird crossing my legs in public to avoid leaking.
Approximately 1 in every 2 women will have urinary
incontinence in their lifetime and you don’t have to have a baby to experience
it. I am seeing younger and younger
girls in the clinic with urinary incontinence with their sports activities.
One thing I want you to remember from this is, these pelvic
health issues are NOT NORMAL-they are COMMON.
Most women don’t want to admit they have incontinence because 1) they
think it’s a normal part of aging and there is no help or 2)its an intimate
topic and no one wants to be the first to admit they leak urine. Luckily, more celebrities are admitting they
have urinary incontinence so other women are starting to feel they can
too. Thank you Whoppie Goldberg for
coining the term “LBL” or “light bladder leaking”.
Once urinary incontinence begins, if you don’t do anything
to improve it, it will only get worse.
This means if you are leaking 3 times a month, it could increase to once
a week or multiple times a day.
So again, what is pelvic PT?
With pelvic health physical therapy, I am able to set women up on
individual programs to help them improve their pelvic floor muscles, decrease
their leaking and increase their confidence by staying dry. Pelvic Physical Therapy is extremely
effective and has lots of research to back it up. It is similar to a gynecological exam, only
no speculums, stirrups or pap smears. I
am assessing your pelvic floor muscles from side to side. I am gloving up,
lubricating and going in. I will check your pelvic floor muscle endurance,
power, strength, resting tone, coordination etc. and improve your issues.
To find out more: listen to ESPN 1510 radio LIVE or online
at www.theperkkc.com on Thursday, May1
OR come to Moms and Mimosas on May 10th in Old Monroe, MO.
Take Care!
Amanda Fisher, DPT
