The Femina Physical Therapy Blog
Featuring original articles by our staff about current events and trends
With emphasis on vaginismus, pregnancy and postpartum best practices, treatments for incontinence, and other topics related to the health of your pelvic floor.
Featured From the Blog:
Introducing The Origin Fund - Helping Women in Need
Helping Women in Need With Our Community in Mind
The Origin Fund is dedicated to facilitating access to services that address a person’s physical, emotional and medical needs. Our focus is on individuals with pelvic health dysfunctions, and we are dedicated to improving the biopsychosocial aspects of each person as a whole. Through education, outreach and providing access to these services, we can support individuals on their journey to address their pain and dysfunction—linking patients to our network of referrals that provide these services.
Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation (TBML)
Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation Can Help Make Breastfeeding Less Painful
Breastfeeding is widely accepted as the normal standard for providing nutrition to newborns, however, many women who do not reach their breastfeeding goals. US national data stated that breast pain was a commonly reported reason for women weaning less than 1 month postpartum. Within that segment, 29% of women who participated in the study stated that “breastfeeding was too painful” to continue.
In the same study, 24% of women reported “breasts feel(ing) too full or engorged” as another reason to discontinue breastfeeding prior to 1 month postpartum.1 Currently, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding of infants for the first six months of life. As physical therapists who treat patients with postpartum conditions, we are well positioned to make a big impact on patients with breastfeeding related pain and reduce barriers to continued breastfeeding!
Treating Bloating and Abdominal Distension: a Multi-Disciplinary Team
Why a Multi-Disciplinary Team is Best for Treating Bloating and Abdominal Distension
Bloating, abdominal distension, loose stools, constipation, abdominal or pelvic pain, fatigue, brain fog, weakness, nutritional deficiencies… these symptoms may be caused by a variety of gastrointestinal or pelvic conditions. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, this article is a good place to start when deciding who to have on your care team, and what treatments can help!
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- Written by: Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
- 9605 Views
Does Fear Create Vaginismus? Or Vice Versa?
I came across an article that came out last month and it brought up an old question I often muse over--Does Vaginismus create the fear and anxiety in women, or does an underlying fear or anxiety create Vaginismus? As we often say in physical therapy "It depends".
With some of my patients, there is a specific injury or infection that is at the root of their pain. The story is similar whether they were diagnosed with Vaginismus, Vulvodynia, Vestibulitis, Dyspareunia, or a host of many other diagnoses that lead to painful intercourse. For example, a young girl that always wore bathing suits and developed recurrent yeast infections, only to find out that over a decade later she had developed vaginismus. She had no fear or anxiety going in to first sexual encounter, yet she had severe pain. Now, she presents with what I perceive as fear and anxiety. Should she be treated for fear and anxiety? Or just the pain? Or both?
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- Written by: Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
- 15755 Views
Should You Stop Doing Kegels?
Read on for the answer.
In my last post, “Why You Should Be Doing Kegels NOW”, I went over the specific diagnoses that tend to benefit most from doing pelvic floor muscle exercises. However, not all issues related to the pelvic floor are appropriate to prescribe pelvic floor muscle exercises for. In fact, doing Kegels can actually be harmful and counterproductive to your symptoms if you have certain diagnoses, and it may be best if you stop doing kegels depending on your diagnosis.
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- Written by: Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
- 5352 Views
I am proud to announce the official book release today of Sex Without Pain: A Self-Treatment Guide To The Sex Life You Deserve. It is available on Amazon.com, iBooks and other retailers.
43% of women will experience pain during sex or other sexual problems – why isn’t this a public health concern? https://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/09/prweb12156888.htm
Join us in helping to increase the awareness of female sexual dysfunction, including vaginismus, vulvodynia, vulvar vestibulitis, overactive pelvic floor and more. You are not alone if you or your loved one are experiencing painful intercourse. There is help!
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- Written by: Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
- 8780 Views
Wondering why you should be doing Kegels?
In my early days of being a pelvic floor PT, I was convinced I had the answer to all the woes of the pelvic floor. One word – Kegels. As I’ve developed professionally, I certainly realized Kegels have their place.
However, they do not have their place with all things related to the pelvic floor. There are specific instances when Kegels (also known as PC or pelvic floor muscle contractions) are the answer. I’m a firm believer in doing a Kegel program combined with a core strengthening program that will address the bigger picture. Here’s why you should be doing Kegels if you meet certain criteria:
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- Written by: Heather Jeffcoat, DPT
- 11808 Views
What are Kegels?
Kegels are a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, sometimes referred to as “PC Contraction”. PC is short for “pubococcygeus”, the name of one of the many pelvic floor muscles.
However, after over a decade of practice, I have found that simply telling a patient to “Do Kegels” is usually not enough. Often, women perform pelvic floor exercises incorrectly, or do not do an amount appropriate for their strength levels. This finding has been confirmed by Bump et al in an August 1991 article from the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, “Assessment of Kegel pelvic muscles exercise performance after brief verbal instruction”.