As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I see many new moms with pelvic floor dysfunction who are also breastfeeding. Common postpartum pelvic floor issues include pain with intercourse, pelvic organ prolapse, and urinary incontinence. How does breastfeeding affect these issues?

“You don’t even look like you had a baby!” people say, as if it is the ultimate compliment a postpartum woman could receive. After growing a human being for 9 months, our goal is supposed to be to “bounce back” after giving birth as soon as possible. Wait for clearance at your 6 week follow-up, and you should be able to go back to your favorite bootcamp class and lose the rest of that baby weight, right?

June is Men’s Health Month. In the past, our blog has featured articles on men’s sexual health that have mostly focused on pain with sexual interactions. However, what if you don’t have pain with sexual interactions, but you are left troubled or dissatisfied following sex and/or intimacy? Would this issue be categorized as a sexual dysfunction?

This article contains sexual content intended for a mature audience. Inserting a tampon is painful. You dread pelvic exams because they hurt. When you have sex it burns and stings. Does this sound familiar? Painful sexual intercourse can be due to a lot of reasons; one of those being vulvodynia.

Let’s clear the air and say that first and foremost, men have pelvic floors. There, I said it. Yes, and aside from two distinct muscles, they function similar to a female’s pelvic floor. The muscles of the pelvic floor serve important roles in urinary and bowel control, sexual function, and act as a supportive system for the body.

Exercising with pelvic floor dysfunction can be scary, whether you are a mom who just had a baby, a dad who is recovering from prostate cancer surgery, or a CrossFitter who began leaking urine during certain lifting exercises. Regardless, you want to lead a healthy, active and strong lifestyle, but instead you are fearful of making things worse.

This is an inspiring story of how Dr. Lance Frank, a physical therapist at Activcore, helped Wendy overcome a hip injury and got her back to running pain-free through the practice of physical therapy.

Whether you’ve just had your first child or you’ve had many, let’s face it, it can be pretty unnerving to suddenly feel a bulge or heaviness in your vagina. I often hear, “It feels like a tampon is coming out all the time”.

Pelvic health isn't a new type of physical therapy, however it is finally gaining some traction in the health and wellness industry. Physicians are now realizing that it’s not just for pregnant and postpartum moms. Pelvic health is for people of all genders, ages, and activity levels. Everyone has a pelvis, and therefore we all could benefit from better pelvic health. So let's discuss what pelvic health physical therapy actually is and how it can help you.

You are a tired new mom, finally out for a run. This is your time - you get a small break - a little time alone. It’s finally fall and beautiful out. You tie your shoes and start down the block. All is right with the world, UNTIL - hard stop. Wait….Was that PEE??