Holistic Pelvic Health

12/13/2021

I cannot even begin to explain the amount of research + passion that is going into the building of our new courses. We are so excited to share them with the pelvic health community in the new year!!

If you’re interested in learning innovative techniques for treating the pelvic health patient population we are happy to announce the launch of our pelvic health dry needling courses with Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute 🙌🏻

Our courses are pathology based, clinically relevant + evidence informed, providing you with the confidence + competence you need to apply these techniques safely in the clinic!

10/25/2020

There is a lot of ongoing debate in regards to how we define our CORE.

Some consider the extrinsic powerhouse muscles as the locus of control...the glutes, the lats, the obliques + those six pack abs. I mean, after all these muscles are aesthetically pleasing. Gimme that b***y + those abs and it must translate to me having a strong core, right?! Naaaaah.

Those muscles are hella important for our function, don’t get me wrong, but they aren’t the “core”.

Our core is more complex.

Our core is more more about the synergistic coordination of muscles that contribute to our postural aptitude...our intrinsic control system. Stabilization synergy is what our core is all about.

Where does it come from? Our diaphragm, our transverse abdominis, our pelvic floor + our spinal multifidus musculature. These muscles work together to afford us our posture, our breath + our continence...pretty damn important if you ask me!

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

10/16/2020

Leaking during exercise...common, but definitely NOT NORMAL.

In this 2019 study by Yang, the researchers looked at CrossFit exercises that lead to stress urinary incontinence (AKA p*eing your pants during exertional activities) for their subjects...what were the top three?!

1️⃣ double unders
2️⃣ jumping rope
3️⃣ box jumps

Common for what I see clinically due to the inability to control load attenuation + transfer during vertical displacement...but still not normal.

Moving on...what were the top preventative strategies to keep these athletes from leaking?

1️⃣ emptying their bladder before exercise
2️⃣ WEARING DARK PANTS
3️⃣ performing Kegels during the workout

Wearing dark pants...that was the second most commonly utilized strategy. Let’s be clear, this strategy doesn’t stop you from leaking, it simply masks the issue at hand by hiding your p*e better than a different color legging. Mamas...YOU 👏🏻 DESERVE 👏🏽 BETTER 👏🏿

Pelvic health practitioners are here to evaluate you, support you + teach you strategies to allow you to participate in all the jumping without p*eing your pants. Leggings are expensive, let’s keep them urine free.

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

10/16/2020

Leaking during exercise...common, but definitely NOT NORMAL.

In this 2019 study by Yang, the researchers looked at CrossFit exercises that lead to stress urinary incontinence (AKA p*eing your pants during exertional activities) for their subjects...what were the top three?!

1️⃣ double unders
2️⃣ jumping rope
3️⃣ box jumps

Common for what I see clinically due to the inability to control load attenuation + transfer during vertical displacement...but still not normal.

Moving on...what were the top preventative strategies to keep these athletes from leaking?

1️⃣ emptying their bladder before exercise
2️⃣ WEARING DARK PANTS
3️⃣ performing Kegels during the workout

Wearing dark pants...that was the second most commonly utilized strategy. Let’s be clear, this strategy doesn’t stop you from leaking, it simply masks the issue at hand by hiding your p*e better than a different color legging. Mamas...YOU 👏🏻 DESERVE 👏🏽 BETTER 👏🏿

Pelvic health practitioners are here to support you, evaluate you + teach you strategies to allow you to participate in all the jumping without p*eing your pants. Leggings are expensive, let’s keep them urine free.

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

10/08/2020

It’s true. Breathing is an art. Being the bookends of our lives it is also a nerdy science. HOW we breathe matters. When I would get worked up or be on the brink of an asthma attack when I was younger my Dad would always tell me “in through the nose...in through the nose, Kel”...I would often roll my eyes because obviously parents don’t know anything 😏

Nose versus mouth breathing...which is more efficient? Which is better for our health? All of the research says that mouth breathing has a whole lot of consequences for our health + that nose breathing is definitely superior. Why is that? What does the nose actually do?

👃🏻It’s our filtration system to clean the air we breathe, it creates a narrow passage for air which creates resistance for air flow which is necessary to maintain the elasticity of our lungs + ensures proper ventilation, nitric oxide is produced here which helps to improve oxygen transport throughout the body (bonus...it also has antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic + antibacterial qualities) + our nasal cycle is linked to our autonomic nervous system which can impact blood pressure, hormone production, stress + mood.

Yeah, nose breathing is where it’s at ladies + gents. Turns out my Dad was right all along. If you want to read more on the nerdy science I HIGHLY recommend the book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by .

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

08/27/2020

My husband is an engineer + we often discuss how much our professions overlap each other. Any other PTs out there that married an engineer?! 🙋🏼‍♀️⠀
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Have you considered how our bodies are made up of neuromuscular circuits +what happens when there is a disruption in the circuit? In engineering, things don’t work as they should. In human movement, same. For my hubs it means flow impedance to some fancy aerospace equipment...for me it means flow impedance from our nervous system to our musculature.⠀
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Consider how functional movements + exercise principles are based on Newton’s Laws. My husband talks about how these laws influence launching rockets into space while I discuss how these laws influence exercise paradigms for my clients.⠀
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When is the last time you stopped to think about the laws of physics when treating your clients and how these laws impact dysfunctions within the return to sport continuum?⠀
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Stay tuned, ladies + gents. We are creating an online pelvic course that does just that.⠀
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To health + wellness for your pelvis,⠀
Kelly

08/21/2020

Hormonal chaos, am I right?!⠀
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The postpartum phase is always full of new adventures, some beautiful...others not so much.⠀
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After having my son almost three years ago, I definitely dealt with a lot of hormonal shifts in my body, mostly manifesting themselves as mood disrupters. Could have had something to do with being a first time mama, but maybe just how my body reacted that time around.⠀
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After having my daughter 3 months ago, I have been quite pleased with mood stability but have gotten a whole different experience with hormonal shifts in the form of postpartum sweats + pit stench! WTAF, hormones?! Seemingly no deodorant was up for the job to keep me dry + not smelling like a pubescent teen.⠀
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Enter TWO amazing deodorants to my postpartum game. I have had incredible success with the new clean deo from Beautycounter as well as the charcoal deo from Primally Pure Skincare. Hello dry pits, goodbye locker room stench. How bout them apples, hormones?! 🍎🍏⠀
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Bonus?! Both are stocked with CLEAN ingredients. Our bodies are bombarded with toxins everyday + these natural deodorants are a great beauty swap to lessen the toxic load.⠀
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To health + wellness for your pelvis (or pits),⠀
Kelly

07/31/2020

I had a lot of questions regarding this after getting my Peloton () this week!! The answer is...it depends!⠀
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As with any exercise or activity, there are several factors that play an integral role. Is the person using an optimal movement strategy to perform the activity? Does the person demonstrate optimal core recruitment to complete the activity?⠀
In regards to cycling, is the person riding with a biomechanically advantageous bike fit for their body? The right fit for their ride duration? The right saddle for their pelvis? The right saddle for their anatomy? Are they knowingly riding through pain...genital numbness...etc?⠀
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In my practice I specialize in pelvic health. Primarily seeing athletes, often seeing cyclists with pudendal neuralgia. But here’s the beautiful thing...cyclists experiencing pudendal neuralgia is a very small subset of the cycling community at large. HOWEVER, it does exist. Simply knowing it exists is integral for cycling health.⠀
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Identifying the issues at the ONSET of symptoms is integral in healing. The whole “no pain no gain” mentality doesn’t have a place here.
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So is cycling safe for your pelvic floor? Hell yeah.⠀
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Can cycling also be a factor contributing to pelvic floor issues? Hell yeah.⠀
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Recognizing that there are many moving parts + recognizing when you need to seek out professional help is integral.⠀
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To health + wellness for your pelvis,⠀
Kelly

07/23/2020

THIS 🙌🏻 IS 👏🏻 POSTPARTUM👇🏻

Taken 2 hours post va**nal delivery of our little Luna babe. She was wheeled off to NICU with Daddy + the medical team while Mama was wheeled to the postpartum room solo. My only company was my adult diaper + sore va**na.

I love this picture for so many reasons, but the biggest is BODY LOVE!!!! This body of mine grew two beautiful babes, delivered those two earth side + has + continues to nourish them with that golden milk ✨our bodies are amazing, mamas.

Resilient, ever-evolving + strong as hell...no matter what shape or size. Cheers to appreciating our bodies every day, in every stage of our journeys.

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

07/20/2020

Have you ever been scrolling the gram + come across a picture of a mama who just gave birth, looking like she didn’t just carry a babe for 40 weeks, preaching her return to core rehab 7 seconds after delivery...⠀
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As you sit there rolling your eyes, bleeding in your adult diaper with raw, leaky b***s, feeling like a “bounce back” failure while you release that heavy sigh + maybe shed a tear (or bucket of tears) thinking to yourself WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL?! You’re not alone, mama!!!⠀
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Here’s the thing...you’ll see a lot of fitness professionals, influencers, etc posting the right picture, taken at the right angle with the right amount of photo shopping to the gram preaching the “if I can do it, so can you!!” mantra. While that might be true in some scenarios, core rehab postpartum will look very different for each body.⠀
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Here’s the reality. Core rehab postpartum is NOT high level exercises at the onset of recovery, at least it SHOULDN’T be...unless you want to be one of my clients. It’s not planks, crunches, double leg suspensions + spiderman push ups right out of the gate.⠀
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It SHOULD look more like breathing techniques, light activations + relaxations of your deep core + pelvic floor, functional mobility + reintegration of optimal posture + movement strategies that serve you during the fourth trimester.⠀
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Defining WHAT core rehab is + isn’t is integral in recovery to keep you moving safely + efficiently while SLOWLY rebuilding strength + stability for your body.⠀
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🚨PSA: Don’t rely on the gram to tell you where you are or where you “should be” in your postpartum journey. Rely on an assessment + plan of care from a trained professional.⠀
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To health + wellness for your pelvis,⠀
Kelly

07/16/2020

Do non-pharmaceutical treatment options exist for s*xual dysfunction? HELL TO THE YES they do!!! 🙌🏻⠀
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Did you know that pelvic trained physical therapists have the ability to treat things like painful pe*******on, erectile dysfunction, orgasm/climax disorders + co**al incontinence (loss of urine during s*x)?!⠀
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Problems during any phase of the s*xual response cycle are TREATABLE!!! From excitement to resolution, a pelvic physio can treat dysfunctions that prevent individuals or couples from experiencing satisfaction during s*xual activities.⠀
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This is a topic many clients are hesitant to discuss, but trust me...you’re not alone. Sexual dysfunction research tells us that this can affect 43% of women and 31% of men...but likely this number is higher due to non-reports.⠀
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Treatments exist, so get yourself in to a pelvic PT to find out how you can take better control of your s*x life.⠀
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To health + wellness for your pelvis,⠀
Kelly
*x *xualhealth *x

07/11/2020

Ahhhh the first run postpartum. The one where you hope you don’t urinate on yourself, you cross your fingers it doesn’t feel like organs are falling out of your va**na + you say a little prayer that you don’t keel over + die from being so deconditioned.

Yeah, that’s the one!!! 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏿‍♀️

Well here we go.

It took me 11 1/2 minutes to run a mile. Pre-pregnancy, on any given day, I could walk outside + run a 9 minute mile.

After that mile I felt a little discomfort in my right hip, so I decided to walk the remaining quarter mile home. Pre-pregnancy I ran 10K races + half marathons...hell I even ran a full marathon once upon a time.

BUT I didn’t p*e my pants, I felt stable for that singular mile + I listened to my body when it started talking to me.

Here’s the beauty in this. That mile was 1 more mile than I ran yesterday. My time was 11 1/2 minutes faster than yesterday. My lungs hate me, but next week they’ll be a little bit stronger + my cardiovascular system a little more conditioned.

We have to give ourselves grace in this fourth trimester. We have to start somewhere. We have to walk before we run, mamas.

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

07/10/2020

Preach 🙌🏻 va**nas shouldn’t smell like cookies...I know that the wellness industry means well, but ladies...we need to look out for our va**nas, be careful what you utilize on those delicate tissues!!! Some products can throw off the pH “down there” and lead to more harm than good.

🚨 PSA for va**nal health!! Thank you The Bold Type!!!

Jane has something to say at the wellness panel about the reality of having a va**na. The Bold Type season 4 airs Thursdays at 9p/8c on Freeform. What to wat...

07/08/2020

We’re baaaaaack!!!! Back with new procedures in place to maximize participant safety during the COVID pandemic 😷

Smaller class sizes, adjusted safe ratios, temperatures taken at the door, masks provided, social distancing in place during lectures + lunches individually packed in lieu of our typical buffet style you’ve experienced on courses in the past.

Join me + the wonderful Tina Anderson next month for the level 2 pelvic dry needling course August 15-16th in Brighton, Colorado!! We can’t wait to see your (masked) faces again in the classroom.

07/07/2020

How do you know if your body is ready to return to certain activities?

A general starting point is to take inventory that you’re able to complete the activity or exercise without experiencing the following:
1️⃣ pain
2️⃣ heaviness or dragging sensation in your pelvis
3️⃣ urinary or bowel incontinence
4️⃣ abdominal doming, tenting or bulging

If you’re unable to check each box, then you’ll need to run your body through gradual testing. Think about the desired activity + then deconstruct it into its component parts. Begin by testing the lower impact components of the activity + work your way to higher impact.

Are you able to walk 30 minutes without pain, heaviness, incontinence or doming? Can you balance on one leg for 10 seconds? Can you perform 10 single leg squats? Can you jog in place for 1 minute? Can you hop in place for 10 repetitions on each leg? Can you perform an explosive movement?

By gradually challenging your body with these small tests you can determine if your body is ready for box jumps, that step aerobics class or if you’re ready to return to running. If you’re unable to perform a desired activity without symptoms, get yourself in to a pelvic provider ASAP!

Start slow, start small, start smart, mamas.

To health and wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly

07/06/2020

It’s all about LOAD MANAGEMENT, mamas. But what exactly does that mean?

It means that the relationship between the load placed on our tissues + our overall health needs to be considered. That will decide where we find ourselves on the well-being continuum at any given point in time.

Initially during the postpartum recovery phase we might need to consider reducing load to allow our pain to settle + tissue healing to occur, thus a specific set of gentle exercises might be warranted. This immediate postpartum period should be a time for your body to recover, RESET + re-establish the mind-body connection.

As postpartum recovery progresses we can gradually increase the load on our tissues by moving towards restoration of functional mobility while we REINFORCE healthy movement patterns. You might see progression of the foundational exercises in this phase.

Eventually, we can then RELOAD the tissues with things like resistance, endurance, high impact activities + return to sport.

How quickly this progression occurs is unique to each mama, but the pattern remains the same.

Reset. Reinforce. Reload.

To health + wellness for your pelvis,
Kelly