SynergyManualPT_Women's Health

W W W. S Y N E R G Y M P T . C O M

We are excited to announce that the North Location is moving soon! The newNorth Location address will be 2375Telstar Drive. Suite 115, Colorado Springs, 80920. Official move date to be determined, stay tuned for more info.

Women’s Health Incontinence & Pelvic Health

I N S I D E How A Physical Therapist Can Treat Pelvic Pain Improving Your Sleep Clinic News: We’re Moving!

Women’s Health Incontinence & Pelvic Health

Understanding Incontinence Urinary incontinence has a reputation of being something only little old ladies have. But many young people get urinary incontinence. And while more women than men are affected, men can have urinary problems too, especially after prostate surgery. Fortunately, there are many treatments for urinary incontinence. Behavioral treatment. Some people with urinary incontinence may get relief by making simple lifestyle changes. If you have stress incontinence, for instance, in which you leak urine when you cough, sneeze, or laugh, your physical therapist may tell you to limit how much you drink. If you have urge incontinence, in which you get the sudden urge to urinate and can’t always make it to the bathroom in time, your physical therapist may tell you to avoid spicy foods, caffeine, and carbonated drinks, because they can irritate the bladder and make the problemworse. Exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, known as Kegels, can sometimes help people with stress incontinence. Kegels can also help people with urge incontinence. Sometimes, Kegels are combined with biofeedback techniques to help you know if you are doing the exercises properly. For urge incontinence, bladder training, sometimes called bladder retraining, can also help. This involves gradually increasing the interval time between trips to the bathroom, working up to longer and longer intervals between bathroom stops.

Causes of Incontinence and Chronic Pelvic Pain If you have pain in your pelvis, it may not always be fully clear what’s causing it. Some common causes of pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic pelvic pain include, but are not limited to:

• Levator ani syndrome (increased tension in pelvic floor muscles) • Post-surgical complications (e.g., pain following a hysterectomy, hernia repair, cesarean section, and/or prostatectomy)

• Pregnancy • Sacroiliac joint dysfunction • Coccydynia • Irritation of the pudendal nerve (which originates near the bottom of your spine) • Irritable bowel syndrome

Any of these conditions may lead to inadequate support of the organs contained with your pelvic cavity, increased pressure or inflammation of nerves, muscles, and other connective tissues (including your bladder), and impaired pelvic bone alignment. These symptoms can be frustrating, painful, and embarrassing, and may limit your tolerance to daily participation in desired activities, including exercise. Other symptoms frequently appear with pelvic pain, including incontinence, bloating, abdominal pressure, reluctance to strain while defecating, and pain in the low back, buttocks, and hips. You may also have decreased tolerance to a variety of activities including sitting or standing, walking, exercise, and sexual intercourse.

If you’re interested in manual physical therapy, visit www.synergympt.com or call us to schedule your appointment with Synergy Manual Physical Therapy today!

How A Physical Therapist Can Treat Pelvic Pain

Staff Spotlight

I have been treating patients with pelvic floor dysfunction for almost 20 years. Patients ask me all the time how in the world, I started treating the pelvic floor. I pursued a specialty in pelvic health for three reasons: My mother was a Teresa Kenens MPT, COMT

labor and delivery nurse. She would come home from a particularly dramatic delivery and be demonstrative about everything that may have occurred during the labor and delivery process. I think she did that to keep me chaste in high school, which worked. That seemed like a terrible result of unprotected sex. The next reason, I would always read letters to the editor in my mother’s Good Housekeeping Magazine about how after women would have babies, they would either have bladder leakage or pain with intercourse or “things just didn’t feel right.” I felt like that didn’t seem fair to the ladies. The third reason I went into treating pelvic floor dysfunction is that, when I got out of school 20 years ago, it was a tough time to be a PT, and I felt like I needed a niche. So, I took my first class and was hooked, knowing that I could improve the quality of life for so many people. I go to work every day, knowing that I am improving my patients’ quality of life. When they come in and say, “I was able to attend my grandson’s soccer game without peeing myself,” or “I was able to have sex withmy husband and not have pain and cry in the pillow” or after a prostatectomy for prostate cancer, “I was able to play a round of golf without leakage”—this is why I believe that treating pelvic floor dysfunction is my calling and how it can help almost everyone in the community.

Every patient presenting with chronic pelvic pain is unique. If youcome toseeaphysical therapist for yourpelvicdysfunction, you’ll be taken through a thorough physical examination and patient history questionnaire. He or she will ask you specific questions about your pain, what makes it worse and better, and whether you have a history of any related issues. Based on the results of the examination, your physical therapist can then develop a customized treatment plan to relieve your symptoms and address the suspected underlying causes to prevent recurring dysfunction. Common physical therapy treatments may include: • Soft tissue mobilization and massage of internal and external pelvic musculature, to relieve muscle tension and provide pain relief. • Spinal and sacroiliac joint manipulations to reset the neurological pathway, relieve pain, and restore normal spinal alignment. • Electrical stimulation modalities , such as neuromuscular electrical stimulation to provide pain relief and restore normal neuromuscular activation of pelvic floor muscles and nerves. • Therapeutic exercises to restore the normal strength, flexibility, and endurance of stabilizing postural muscles in the low back and hips. Struggling with pelvic pain? Frustrated and concerned about incontinence? For both short-term and long-lasting relief without the need from invasive interventions or medications, consider consulting with a physical therapist today. Source: http://www.bing.com/search?q=physical+therapy+treatment+of+pelvic +pain&src=IE-TopResult&FORM=IETR02&conversationid=

Ingredients Directions • 3/4 cup frozen mango chunks • 3/4 cup frozen pineapple chunks • 1/2 cup frozen chopped kale • 2 cups reduced-fat milk or plant-based milk • 2 tbsp honey In a blender, purée the ingredients until smooth. Divide between 2 glasses. Enjoy! Source: https://www.savoryonline.com/recipes/177717/rainforest-smoothie Rainforest Smoothies

Yoga Essentials

It can seem difficult to feel as if you are in control of your own sleeping schedule and patterns when you are suffering from chronic pain. People who are diagnosed with sleeping disorders tend to worry more about how their lack of sleep will impact their health, thus creating more toxic stress. They may also exhibit greater sleep sensitivity, making it easier for them to wake up to small environmental changes while they are sleeping (such as a creaky floorboard or a shift in sleep position.) However, there are some steps you can take to make sleeping as comfortable as possible for you and try to make up some of the sleep debt you experience each night. The environment in which you sleep is one of the most important factors in creating a good night’s sleep. This includes: 1. Noise. If you experience sleep sensitivity, it is important to make sure that any unexpected noises are limited in your bedroom. Sleeping with a white noise machine or fan can help eliminate any additional environmental noises that may wake you up in the middle of the night. 2. Light. If your room lets in excessive amounts of light in the morning, it may be beneficial to invest in some blackout curtains. Keeping your room dark will help you stay asleep through the night, even as the sun is rising. It is a great way to gain as much sleep as you can before your alarm goes off in the morning. 3. Temperature. Have you ever woken up sweating, only to throw the blankets off and wake up freezing a couple hours later? The temperature in which you keep your bedroom has a large effect on your sleep. Your body temperature naturally decreases as a way to initiate sleep, so keeping a cooler bedroomcan help facilitate your slumber. According to The National Sleep Foundation, the optimum bedroom temperature for a good night’s sleep should be between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit. If you feel cold, wearing socks or keeping a hot water bottle by your feet can help dilate blood vessels and increase your internal thermostat. 4. Mattress. It may come as no surprise that what you actually sleep on also has a profound effect on the way you sleep. According to Tuck Sleep, mattresses with mid- level firmness ratings (4-6 out of 10) tend to help the most with alleviating pain, as they provide a balance between comfort and support. Mattresses that are too soft or too firm can actually increase pain levels during sleep, as they can create more pressure and target certain pain points. Sleep is an essential part of daily function, and you shouldn’t let yourpainrobyou fromit! If youareexperiencing sleepdeprivation due toyour chronicpain, contact SynergyManual PhysicalTherapy today. We’ll provide you with helpful tips for gaining sleep and improving your daily life, free frompain and exhaustion. Improving Your Sleep

Yoga promotes mindfulness in movement restoring normal tension and pelvic floor musculature. This Half-Moon Pose aids in strengthening legs, energizing the body and promoting balance. This pose can also help alleviate depression and easy heavy menstrual bleeding.

We are excited to announce that our North Location is moving soon! Clinic News! We’re Moving!

The new North Location address will be 2375 Telstar Drive. Suite 115, Colorado Springs, 80920. Official move date to be determined, stay tuned for more info.