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-- Transcript --
The wide world of pelvic health -- if this is a new specialty for you, then this episode may be illuminating because I remember when I first learned about Pelvic Health, the field seemed quite focused and specific. Many of the OTs I speak with assume that to work in PH, you mainly work with pregnant or expecting people.
I Have to admit that most of my stories and points of reference are also around pre and postnatal ppl. The FP, my company, was the first pp in Manhattan owned by an OT and the pre and postnatal community was my sole focus. So naturally it was my point of ref for everything . I get a lot of questions from OTs about whether that’s the only population you can work with in this field, so that's what I want to focus on today. This episode is Meant to arouse your curiosity.. And Inspire you to think outside the box. You can implement Fundamental pelvic health techniques in a variety of communities and settings. It’s not an all or nothing approach. After all, we are OTs, and we are only limited by our ability to problem solve with our clients. And we can problem solve with every single one of them.
This is by no means will this be an exhaustive list but I will do my best to present a wide array. If there is something I have left out, please reach out to me via email or via social media and I will gladly add your additions to a future episode!
There are a few different ways we can look at the subspecialties of PF. The first is from the communities we can serve. The ones we will be reviewing today are “ people going through puberty, prenatal, postnatal, perimenopause, men, pediatrics, oncology, elderly, men's health, LGBTQIA+ athletes, ostomy care. Basically if you have a pelvis, we can support you! Let’s get into the details of this now.
The first was those of us working with clients in a period of life where there are in transitions: this would include puberty and pre puberty cli
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--Transcript--
The wide world of pelvic health -- if this is a new speciality for you, then this episode may be illuminating because I remember when I first learned about PH, the field seemed quite focused and specific. Many of the ots I speak with assume that to work in PH, you mainly work with pregnant or expecting people.
I Have to admit that most of my stories and points of reference are also around pre and postnatal ppl. The FP, my company, was the first pp in Manhattan owned by an OT and the pre and postnatal community was my sole focus. So naturally it was my point of ref for everything . I get a lot of questions from OTs about whether that’s the only population you can work with in this field, so that's what I want to focus on today. This episode is Meant to arouse your curiosity.. And Inspire you to think outside the box. You can implement Fundamental ph techniques in a variety of communities and settings. It’s not an all or nothing approach. After all, we are ots, and we are only limited by our ability to problem solve with our clients. And we can problem solve with every single one of them.
This is by no means will this be an exhaustive list but I will do my best to present a wide array. If there is something I have left out, please reach out to me via email or via social media and I will gladly add your additions to a future episode!
There are a few different ways we can look at the subspecialties of PF. The first is from the communities we can serve. The ones we will be reviewing today are “ people going through puberty, prenatal, postnatal, perimen, men, pediatrics, oncology, elderly, men's health,LGBTQIA+ athletes, ostomy care. Basically if you have a pelvis, we can support you! Let’s get into the details of this now.
The first was those of us working with clients in a period of life where there are in transitions: this would include puberty and pre puberty clients, there's the pre and postnatal communities and my heart is absolutely here with this vastly underserved population. Likewise, there’s perimeno and meno people. Actually, all of these are underserved individuals who could use our support. These are periods in our life when our Hormones are in such flux and that has an influence on our pelvic floor function. For example, both with lactating people and with perimenopausal people, estrogen is traditionally in decline, and this affects our PF’s ability to be as buoyant, responsive and supple. During the menopause years specifically, These tissue changes and their symptoms are often referred to as genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), and some tell-tale signs include pain with sex, vaginal dryness, and urinary incontinence! (Side-note: some providers may use the term vaginal atrophy instead of GSM). A very similar albeit temporary process happens to people who are lactating.
In terms of supporting pre and postnatal people, we can offer birthing rehearsals that help prepare the birthing person for optimal delivery such as optimizing the uterus and ab wall to help push the baby out vs what many people think which is that the vagina pushes the baby out. Quite the opposite, the vagina actually relaxes and gets out of the way for optimal delivery. Postpartum care can help with the ADLS of being a new parent and all that goes with that. Many OTs specialize in the mother infant dyad, which would involve caring holistically for the both whether the baby is in the NICU or once the baby is home and has needs that OTs are so well equipped to address. And of course our background in mental wellness can help with all of the feelings that accompany role changes. OTs are just so well rounded and equipped to address the bio, psycho and social aspects of a person’s life!
We can also work with oncology clients, elderly people, men's health, LGBTQIA+, athletes, and ostomy care clients. Basically if you have a pelvis, we can support you!
In terms of our approaches, we use trauma informed care, neuromuscular re-ed, behvaioral re-ed, sexual health, mental health, and manual skills. It’s truly a blend of skills and it’s not ever a cookie cutter approach!
I can have two clients back to back with the exact set of symptoms, and my sessions and their HEP can look wildly different. This is one of the many reasons why after being in this field for over a decade, it’s still incredibly fulfilling and intellectually fascinating. Every client is like a puzzle where we meet them where they are. For many new OTs, this can seem a bit overwhelming but I can tell you with 100 confidence that taking into the account the individual factors of the client in front of you, such as looking at the time the client has to (realistically) perform a HEP, asking questions about sleep hygiene and stress levels, whether they have community supports in place, asking about the specifics of their home environment, such as do they have walk up or elevator building (which made a big difference for my manhattan clients) and using their individual goals and struggles as the basis for their specific therapy is what moves the needle for the client and will keep you fascinated by this speciality for life.
So the world of pelvic health is yours for the taking, every single one of the communities we discussed today are vastly underserved and likely aren’t getting the time and education they need from the more traditional modes of healthcare, such as through their GP. We have the time with them, we have the expertise such as task analysis and models such as person envt and occupation to guide us. They need us. Get out there and serve your people.