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Heather and her staff blog about all things pelvic health related
Including male, female, pediatric, transgender and nonbinary chronic pelvic pain, urinary dysfunction such as incontinence, prostatitis, sexual dysfunction, pregnancy, back pain, upcoming events and more.
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Overview: Urinary Incontinence
About 13 million people in the United States experience some type of incontinence, or unwanted leakage of urine. More than 50% of women over 20 years old reported experiencing urinary incontinence at some point in their lives. Moderate to severe urinary incontinence is prevalent in 17% of women aged 20 years or older, but more commonly occurs in 38% of women aged 60 years or older.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
Stress Urinary Incontinence
Stress urinary incontinence is when leakage occurs during stress-induced activities such as exercises, coughs, and sneezes.
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This article introduces common unwanted side effects that affect sexual function after cancer and discusses strategies to counteract these symptoms.
Sexuality can be a big part of who we are as individuals.
Sexual functioning can be defined as “specific physical, physiological, neurological and emotional behaviors expressed by an individual response” (Wood, 1984).
Certain cancers can unfortunately affect our sexual health, including cervical, ovarian, bladder, kidney, colorectal and breast cancer to name a few.
Some cancer treatments can cause unwanted side effects that affect our sexual health such as decreased sexual arousal or desire, vaginal stenosis (narrowing of the vaginal canal), dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), and bladder/bowel dysfunction. Issues with sexual function after cancer can affect our relationships with ourselves and with our partners, and reduce quality of life. Hopefully a physical therapist is part of your team to help guide you during this challenging time and minimize these aforementioned side effects. Otherwise, ask for a pelvic floor physical therapist to join your team during your recovery!
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This article will go over what a Tarlov cyst is, what symptoms can arise from having a Tarlov cyst, how it is diagnosed, and common conservative and surgical treatments.
What is a Tarlov Cyst?
Tarlov cysts are sacral perineural cysts that consist of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) close to the dorsal root ganglion on our sacral spine (the triangle shaped bone that connects to our tailbone). Tarlov cysts are often incidental findings on MRI’s, meaning most people with no symptoms may have Tarlov cyst(s). Paulsen, et al, looked at 500 MRIs of the lumbosacral spine and found an incidental rate of 4.6%; of which 20% were symptomatic. Approximately 1% of the cysts are large enough to cause compression, thus requiring prompt treatment.
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Highlight on Mens Pelvic Pain
June is Men's Health Month
Pelvic health is not only tied to females; males also experience pain in their pelvis including their bladder and rectum, but may also extend to their testicles, penis, prostate, etc. Common mens pelvic pain diagnoses include (but not limited to):
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In this Blog Post We Highlight an Important Aspect of Mens Health: Incontinence
Although it is more common to experience urinary incontinence in females compared to men, men can still experience urinary incontinence.
Just like females, males also have a pelvic floor that controls the sphincters to either contract or release (for holding in urine or releasing urine, respectively). When there is dysfunction or coordination issue (whether it is weakness or too tight) in the pelvic floor, incontinence can occur. The CDC estimates that almost 44% of men in the US who are not in an institution struggle with urinary incontinence.
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Scoliosis and the Pelvic Floor - A Primer
Part 2 of our Series on Scoliosis Awareness
June is Scoliosis Awareness Month! If you recall from part 1, scoliosis is a 3-D curvature of the spine. Some people get it in early childhood or adolescence, and others get it as an adult. This can lead to low back pain, breathing difficulties, and … affect the function of the pelvic floor muscles!
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An Overview of Functional Scoliosis and Structural Scoliosis
Scoliosis is a 3-D curvature of the spine. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2-3% of the US population currently have some form of scoliosis.
There are many different types. There is juvenile scoliosis starting at a young age, or adult-onset scoliosis. It can be categorized as congenital (some type of deformity causing irregular alignment), neuromuscular (neurological disease leading to asymmetries), or its most common form, idiopathic scoliosis (unknown).
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Studies Have Shown that Mindfulness Can Help with Erectile Dysfunction
Improve your sex life and sexual function by increasing arousal, erectile function, lowering judgement, improving relationship satisfaction, and improving self esteem.
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is Common
Erectile dysfunction is the persistent inability to attain or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfying sexual performance (Bossio et al., 2018). At least one-third of men will experience ED at some point in their lifetime, with rates increasing to over 75% for men 70 years of age or older.(Lewis et al., 2010; Bossio et al., 2018).
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Are You Experiencing Erectile Dysfunction Post Prostatectomy?
Prostatectomy Procedures can Lead to Erectile Problems and Sexual Dysfunction
Prostate cancer is often treated with a radical prostatectomy - a procedure wherein cancerous tissue of the prostate is removed. Approximately 85% of men who undergo the surgery complain of erectile dysfunction (ED) after the procedure. Erectile dysfunction is defined as the inability to achieve and maintain an erection for satisfactory sexual performance. Around 6-8% of men report urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy.
Other commonly reported symptoms of sexual dysfunction in male survivors of pelvic cancer include problems with ejaculation, low levels of sexual desire, urinary incontinence and orgasmic dysfunction.
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Research draws a connection between histamines and chronic pelvic pain
Also linked to histamine response, inflammation disorders, and chronic nonbacterial prostatitis.
What is Chronic Pelvic Pain?
Chronic pelvic pain is generally defined by chronic pain in the region of the pelvis (Lai, 2015).
It is a common symptom that can be caused by several different structural and functional dysfunctions/disorders that affect the anorectal area, urinary bladder, reproductive system, and pelvic floor muscles. Unlike pelvic pain caused by structural diseases like endometriosis, pelvic pain linked with functional disorders cannot be explained by an organic or other specified pathological reason (Clemens, 2008).
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Bedwetting In Children - When is it a problem?
I think most people can remember a time when they were a kid and accidentally wet the bed.
The occasional accident is a normal part of childhood, however for some kids constant bedwetting may be a sign of an underlying pelvic floor issue. Some kids with toileting issues will start to feel it affect their self confidence, ability to participate in social activities, and that’s when you might consider getting some extra help.
In this article we will discuss the signs of an underlying pelvic floor dysfunction in children and how pelvic floor therapy can help.
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Frequent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in children can be closely tied to bowel and bladder dysfunctions
According to the International Children’s Continence Society, frequent urinary tract infections (UTI) in children can be closely tied to bowel and bladder dysfunctions, which are closely tied to pelvic floor dysfunction.
UTIs can signal different things for infants vs. older kids
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Skid marks and fecal accidents can be a sign of constipation in children
Here’s what you can do about it.
Does your child have fecal accidents or skid marks in their underwear? This may be a sign of constipation.
Encopresis is fecal soiling associated with functional constipation in a child. The soiling often happens in the underwear, where the child loses whole pieces of formed bowel, liquid bowel, or has fecal staining on the underwear due to the inability to get clean when wiping. Constipation and encopresis are common problems in children. Encopresis is most common between ages 3 and 7 years.
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Did you know that chronic pelvic pain can happen to all bodies, regardless of your sex?
If you have a human body, you have pelvic floor muscles and these muscles can be dysfunctional, causing pelvic pain in the low back, pelvis, groin, genitalia, and hip region. Pelvic pain is often described as a "headache in the pelvis," but can often times have more acute pain areas including painful penis and testicles. Read on for more information.
Men and people with male anatomy can often have pain and various symptoms including:
- Painful penis: along any part of the penis- base, shaft, head, and can be felt as numbness, tingling, aching, dull, sharp, coldness, or burning.
- Painful testicles: numbness, tingling, aching, dull, sharp, coldness, or burning (Chronic orchialgia)
- Trouble starting urine flow
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September is Healthy Aging Month - Learn About Sex With a Bad Back and Hips
We here at Fusion Wellness PT consider pain free sex an important factor of aging healthfully! Today we talk about two common orthopedic complaints when engaging in penetrative sex: achy backs and bad hips.
Orthopedic Considerations and Penetrative Sex
As we all know, sex is an important activity for many, and lovemaking is a vital component of quality of life, particularly as we age. In this article we’ll cover some common orthopedic issues associated with penetrative sex that people have with sex as they age, and some suggestions for what you can do about it.