Welcome to the latest installment of the Femina Physical Therapy Newsletter!
Scroll down to learn more about how Heather Jeffcoat and her team are continually working to improve everyone's sex lives, reproductive health, and general wellbeing.
Thanks for reading, and remember - we're here to help!
Hearing all this jazz about your pelvic floor, but don't actually know what it is? Come hear about your anatomy and have a 30 min Q&A session with pelvic floor occupational therapist, Nancy Wong OTD, OTR/L.
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Once again the Greatist website has reached out to Heather Jeffcoat
In this latest article they discuss ways to improve your sexual stamina
Anyone who’s tried standing sex knows certain positions require quite a bit of strength and agility to pull off. And not only that, there’s data that suggests getting exercise can add some oomph and level up arousal.
So while we’d never tell you fitness automatically leads to good sex (only good communication and lube can do that, after all), exercise is, at the very least, a great source of endorphins.
That’s why we called up some experts and put together this collection of moves geared toward getting your body ready for a raucous roll in the hay.
Physical Activity has Psychological and Physical Benefits
Studies have shown that physical activity has many physical and psychological benefits. Staying physically active can increase happiness (Wang et al., 2012), improve health (Lee and Skerrett, 2001), and enhance quality of life (Penedo and Dahn, 2005).
Getting Started with a Problem Can Be Hard but Mindfulness Can Help
Dishman and Buckworth (1996) found that it is common for adults to quit an exercise program within the first 6 months of starting it, which decreases the chance for folks to fully receive the benefits of an exercise program. One factor that has been identified as helping people stick with an exercise program is satisfaction with physical activity.
In 2016 Tsafou et al. (2016) found that a mindfulness practice while you are exercising can increase
Cycling has become an increasingly popular mode of exercise and transportation, and before COVID-19 cycling classes were very popular.
Now with many cities under shelter in place ordinances, folks are dusting off their bicycles and riding the streets for exercise.
There are many health benefits to cycling, including improved cardiovascular health, better weight control, and decreased risk of breast cancer in women (Greenberg, 2019).
Despite all these amazing health benefits (I, myself am an avid bicyclist), you can ask almost anyone who has ridden a bike- the seats can get kind of uncomfortable after prolonged periods of time. And for some, issues worse than discomfort can arise: genital numbness, genital pain, nerve conduction issues, and sexual dysfunction. Through the years there has been some research that has linked bicycle riding, genital pain and genital numbness, and sexual dysfunction in both sexes. In fact, we’ve explored how rider/seat positioning on your bicycle can exacerbate nerve and orthopedic issues in past blogs.
Doctors have known for decades that smoking affects lung and heart health, greatly increasing risk of both lung cancer and heart disease. In recent research, they have been finding that smoking increases risk to various urologic diseases as well.
Bladder Cancer
Cigarette smoking triples the risk for bladder cancer when compared with the risk in nonsmokers, about 50% of bladder cancer in men and 20% in women can be attributable to smoking (Freedman, 2011). Cigarette smoke contains about 60 different carcinogens, and many of these are identifiable in the urine of smokers (Manatonski, 1981). Cigarette smoking is one of the largest risk factors we can control to prevent the development of bladder cancer in men and women.
Prostate Cancer
Although the cause of prostate cancer is not clear, some researchers believe it may be due to various factors including genetics, diet, inflammation, infectious agents, hormonal imbalance, or exposure to toxins like cigarette smoke (Dwivedi, 2012). A 2012 study by Dwivedi found that smoking increased.
Our LIVE Zoom Yoga Class series features Nancy Wong, OTD, OTR/L, RYT, every Thursday from 9:30-10:15 am PST, hosted directly from our offices LIVE over the internet.
Event Date: 05-14-2020 9:30 am Capacity: 100 Price: Free
The orange Franklin Smooth Ball™ Set is designed to comfortably massage even the most sensitive user. Their smooth surface provides deep muscle penetration that goes to the source of the trigger point without aggravating soft tissue.
Event Date: 05-15-2020 11:15 am Capacity: 100 Price: Free
Our LIVE Zoom Pilates Class series features Jillian Giannini, DPT, CYT, CPI, every Tuesday from 1:15-2:00 pm PST, hosted directly from our offices LIVE over the internet.
I wanted to let you know that my pelvic floor held strong and gave me no trouble whatsoever in my trail race this morning (12 miles)! In a way, I felt like I ran better than ever because my core feels so rock solid from all the exercises you have me doing. That was especially valuable on the technical downhill - I just flew down the trail because I had confidence in my balance and form. Thank you for helping me get back to doing what I love.
-- A.W., age 32
(completed Post-partum Renewal Program using the InTone biofeedback/stim unit)
Testimonial by J.H.
My last appointment with Heather was over 6 years ago but I still think of her every day. I don’t take for granted that I can easily get out of bed, care for my two active and busy young boys, run, play tennis, clean my house, or sit at a desk for several hours at a time. None of these tasks were easy for me before meeting Heather. Eight years ago my car was struck from behind by a tractor trailer that was estimated to have been speeding. I spent 3 years working with different PTs and Drs trying to heal and move on with my life. When I became pregnant and the hormone relaxin that “relaxes” all the joints of the body and the additional weight gain erased all my progress and I was suddenly in a lot of pain again. My OB sent me to Heather for one last try.
My husband and I were having problems with painful intercourse. My therapist recommended that I go and get a pelvic floor evaluation from a physical therapist. Having never been treated by a physical therapist, I wondered how this really was going to help me. My husband who is a physician was very supportive and agreed that a PT evaluation would be a great idea. So i made the appointment and was blown away by what I learned. I had no idea that pelvic floor muscles could get tight and have trigger points just like any other muscle in the body. I'm a massage therapist and very familiar with tight muscles, and this new thought really amazed me. Heather's program to help relax and strengthen these muscles made such a difference. I can say that I am 100% pain free during intercourse now. Yippee! Going to the PT appointments and doing the at-home exercises was definitely a discipline, but it's 100% worth it! The rewards are amazing.
-- J.B.
Testimonial by J.H.
My last appointment with Heather was over 6 years ago but I still think of her every day. I don’t take for granted that I can easily get out of bed, care for my two active and busy young boys, run, play tennis, clean my house, or sit at a desk for several hours at a time. None of these tasks were easy for me before meeting Heather. Eight years ago my car was struck from behind by a tractor trailer that was estimated to have been speeding. I spent 3 years working with different PTs and Drs trying to heal and move on with my life. When I became pregnant and the hormone relaxin that “relaxes” all the joints of the body and the additional weight gain erased all my progress and I was suddenly in a lot of pain again. My OB sent me to Heather for one last try.
While pregnant with my twins, Heather took care with keeping me on my feet and pain free. She saved my back, my sanity and the holidays! I would recommend her to every “mom” looking to stay on her feet during pregnancy and post-partum.
-- T.C.
Testimonial by Y.L. (mom of 2)
After having my second baby via C-section I searched for months to try to find help for my lower back pain and separated abdominal muscles. I finally came across Heather Jeffcoat via a mommy blog. I reached out to her via email and set my first appointment. My first appointment went amazing … she listened to what my symptoms, check my separation and explained to me in detail what the next steps would be. Not only did my abdominal separation go from 3 to about 1 -1/2 but my back has pain has significantly reduced. I’m personally recommending all my mommy friends to Heather!
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