Reflections from our Women’s Health Professional Development session
Last week the team got together for a three hour PD session with Taryn Watson - Women’s Health Physiotherapist and founder of Fit Right. It was AWESOME. We were all very grateful to Taryn for generously sharing her knowledge and experience with us.
Reflecting on the session brought up some key things that I would love to share with you….
1.We all have a pelvic floor, and can all experience issues
It seems to be something that is often not talked about, but the fact is that a large portion of us will experience pelvic health issues in our lifetime, regardless of pregnancy or births.
There are additional factors that can impact our pelvic health besides bearing children, and there ARE solutions to be explored!
If you…
Experience incontinence/leakage of urine or faeces
Have sensations of “bulging” or “heaviness” in your genitals
Are pregnant and want to empower yourself with info on reducing your risk of pelvic organ prolapse
Have given birth and want a gold-standard assessment to help you get moving and training with confidence….
Then we 100% encourage you to get a thorough pelvic health examination from a Women’s Health Physio with additional post-graduate training like Taryn and her team at Fit Right.
2. Get assessed to be EMPOWERED
What works for someone else might be unhelpful for you, or worse, harmful!
To know what is best for YOUR body you need to get individually assessed.
Some people might avoid getting assessed because they are afraid that they’ll be told to stop training, or the recommendations will be unmanageable. These fears are totally fair!
It’s ok to shop around and find a health pro that listens to your goals and can show you how to safely integrate their recommendations into your training plan.
It’s also completely up to you what you do with the info from the assessment!
The goal is NOT to stop you doing what you love, but rather to empower you with info so that you can make decisions based on the benefit and risk for YOU.
PS - a real-time ultrasound is NOT the gold-standard assessment for pelvic floor function. To get a more accurate picture of the health and function of your pelvis an internal vaginal exam is recommended.
3. Anyone giving blanket “rules” around exercise is NOT current with their knowledge
If you are seeing someone that has a blanket rule of no crunches, planks or heavy lifting for you in your pregnancy….get a second opinion and a more thorough assessment!
These recommendations were made in the past to decrease the pressure downwards in the vaginal area, but EVERY BODY IS DIFFERENT. Some people are able to deal with the changes in intra-abdominal pressure and are NOT increasing their risk of a prolapse, while someone else may struggle….you don’t know which is you unless you get it assessed!
During pregnancy Taryn alerted us to four key things to address the safety of the baby…
Keep exercise intensity at a moderate level
Avoid supine after approx. 18 weeks
Avoid overheating - especially during the 1st trimester when neural systems are forming
Avoid force to the abdomen after 12-16 weeks
As well as three key things for the health of mother
Get an individual pelvic floor assessment to identify the risk of increased load and high impact
Avoid exercises that cause doming (although there is new research being done around this that may change these recommendations)
Avoid or modify single leg exercises if pelvic girdle pain is present
There can be a huge spectrum of capabilities and physical function in pregnant people….just like in the non-pregnant population!
If in doubt, get assessed.
4. We all need to keep learning
Taryn pulled up the resources that I was taught to direct people to when I did my Women’s Health student placement for Physio….and then pulled up the evidence to contradict it! A lot has changed in less than 10 years!
We all need to keep updating our knowledge around the advice we are giving people.
That means….
Reaching out to other experts and asking for support
Being ok with saying “I’m not sure, let me just check the latest evidence on that…”
Acknowledging that the advice may have changed
And it may mean advocating for ourselves when seeking out help…asking the health pro “how do you stay up-to-date with current best practice in this area”?
We are so lucky to have access to passionate, dedicated people that WANT to share their knowledge because they know it will benefit everyone. Huge thank you to Taryn again for joining us at AOK Keep Moving.
You can book in for a Women’s Health Physio at Fit Right here: https://www.fitright.physio/
And you can check out their Professional Development info here: https://www.fitright.physio/health-professionals/