My First Pelvic Health Appointment
Guest Post: Anonymous client of Physio At Hand –
Just over a month ago I was getting ready to meet Heather for the first time, share that I had been living with sporadic incontinence, and hopefully, start on the road to recovery!
On the day of my appointment, Heather arrived right on time, armed with her PPE and equipment bag (think Mary Poppins). I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I definitely didn’t anticipate so many intake questions! We sat at my kitchen table for quite some time looking through my intake forms; Heather left no stone unturned when it came to getting an accurate account of my health, wellbeing and lifestyle. Once she had everything accounted for, we got down to business discussing the main reason she was here: Why was I peeing my pants?
Like any good detective, Heather wanted to collect as much information as possible, which included a detailed account of my daily water intake and toilet use. I was asked to track two separate days and she would use the data to see if I had enough fluids. We would then evaluate the results at my next appointment.
Lesson 1 – Being dehydrated can actually cause incontinence!
Next came the physical exam and we all know what that means! Yes, THAT type of physical exam. Although I wasn’t looking forward to it, I knew in my heart that it was part of the process of achieving wellness, so I had to get it done. Luckly, Heather is down-to-earth and put me right at ease. “I do one of these everyday! It’s not a big deal for me”, which made me feel much better knowing only one of us felt weird!
As we moved from an external exam across my lower torso, to an internal exam, Heather explained what she was checking for and how it related to incontinence. She looked for pain, discomfort and also strength too. At the end of the exam, we met back at the kitchen table to discuss the next steps.
Lesson 2 – Exercise is medicine!
The physical exam determined that I had stage 2 pelvic organ prolapse, which she assured me was still very treatable with, you guessed it, exercise! Heather then laid on my floor and showed me several different exercises that would help to strengthen my pelvic muscles and, in theory, help to stop my incontinence. I was tasked to perform both the exercises and the bladder diary before my next appointment and we would discuss the results.
Lesson 3 – You don’t have to live with incontinence.
During our conversation, I mentioned to Heather that many of my friends and family told me that they struggle with leaky bladders too. It was a sentiment Heather was all too familiar with. She assured me there were many non-surgical ways of healing available and that women didn’t have to live with incontinence.
Follow along as I tackle the bladder diary (spoiler alert – I wasn’t getting enough water!) and the exercises designed to improve my pelvic floor!