Pelvic Floor - Working Out The Muscles You Don't See With Dr. Ciara Scott

Have you ever paused to consider how the unspoken pressures of our fast-paced society might be leaving a mark on your body? It's time to tune in to your pelvic floor, the unsung hero of your core, with the guidance of the remarkable Dr. Ciara Scott. She joins me in the tea-tasting room to share her transformation from an art pre-med major into a leading pelvic floor therapist, weaving through the narrative of her personal and professional quest for holistic wellness. 

Unlock the secrets of managing stress and its hidden impact on our bodies. Dr. Scott's wisdom stretches beyond the clinical, offering practical life hacks like setting alarms for deep breathing—a small act with profound ripples across your well-being. Through this episode, you'll discover the art of self-assessment and relaxation techniques that serve as your personal toolkit for reclaiming peace in a world that rarely encourages a moment's rest.

Connect with Dr. Scott on Instagram.
Work with Dr. Scott
Check out the Women of Color Pelvic Floor Therapist directory.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, Tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. I hope you've done something to prioritize yourself within the last week from our last time of being here in the tea tasting room. Again, we're going to always remember that prioritizing ourself is going to be key for our health and wellness.

Speaker 1: 0:40

On today's episode, I'm joined by Dr Ciara Scott. She is a pelvic floor therapist and artisan educator and I'm just so excited to talk to her because we are going to be talking about the pelvic floor. We're going to be talking about working out and, just as we continue on this journey of body literacy, learning about ourselves, being able to advocate for ourselves when we're speaking with our primary care provider and just being more self-aware when it comes to our health and wellness and just us as human beings. So let's get into today's episode. Well, hi, Dr Scott, how are you?

Speaker 2: 1:21

I am so, so good. How are you?

Speaker 1: 1:25

I am good. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to join me here in the tea tasting room so you can spill some tea about the pelvic floor. But before we get into today's episode, tell us a little bit about yourself. I want to say a little I mean a lot that we're very nosy people here in the tea tasting room. We want to know all the nitty gritty things about you. So just tell us about yourself and how you got into this career.

Speaker 2: 1:44

Okay, awesome. Well, I started out as an art pre-med major.

Speaker 2: 1:50

If we're going to go back far, I started out as an art pre-med major because I am an artist and I wanted to be in the medical field, but I just didn't know where exactly my spot was. And then when I discovered physical therapy, I was like, okay, I really like this, you're healing through movement and mobilizations and things. And then I learned about women's health and pelvic floor and I was like, whoa, this is amazing. Who knew that the muscles in your pelvic floor and the nerves and the tissues down there needed as much exercise and mobilization as other areas of the body?

Speaker 2: 2:24

And so, through my own personal experiences, I have found that I have been in need of a pelvic floor physical therapist through many different times in my life, due to pain, due to not having a good enough advocate for myself, not having a good advocate voice to say, hey, in my professional opinion, this is what little Ciara needs to help with her health. Talking about constipation, I mean, there's so many things that many of us go through in our lives, and so I found it to be very I do find it to be very rewarding that I can actually help with these things, many of these things where people feel or told, are actually told that they they have no help. There is no hope. There's no help. Yeah, so to be the help is good.

Speaker 1: 3:18

No, I love that. So you say you're an artist. So can you tell me cause I'm nosy? We're nosy here. How has your upbringing influenced your career decisions?

Speaker 2: 3:28

That's a really good question, thank you. Yeah, this is awesome. I was brought up as the firstborn daughter of the household.

Speaker 2: 3:38

One of my parents was spending a lot of time outside of the household working, and so what usually happens is the oldest child, particularly the oldest daughter, I feel, then becomes kind of a surrogate spouse to an extent, and so I think that contributed to me becoming more responsible much, much earlier in life, but then becoming a little bit more stressed, honestly, just kind of in the rhythm of stress, because as a child I was probably not given enough playtime and given a little bit more responsibility, just due to the nature of keeping the family system going. So I do think about that as it relates to what I've experienced with my own health, but particularly my pelvic floor health, because stress makes a huge difference. It just really affects what's happening in the pelvis, which many of us, especially black and brown women in particular, or women identifying individuals we are instructed by society to push, push, push, push, push. Don't ask you give, you, give, you, give, you, give, you give, and that contributes to burnout and that contributes to additional tension and dysfunction in many different areas of life.

Speaker 1: 5:03

I love that, I love that, I love that. So I guess I'll tell you a little bit about myself. But I work primarily in maternal reproductive sexual health, child health. But I'm also a fund of the nonprofit. One of our biggest goals or biggest mission is to promote and provide health education, especially to those in underserved communities. So we focus on menstruation, you know, menstrual equity, menstrual hygiene management and, of course, other reproductive health issues. And what I've seen just from doing the work within our organization is that we are normalizing essentially heavy periods right.

Speaker 1: 5:36

We're normalizing. Having severe pain through your menstrual cycle and throwing up and all these things that are should not be normal or not normal, to be honest. So I want to know, tell me, because, again, I'm in this space from the maternal health, the reproductive health, and I don't know everything. Sometimes in my delusional mind I think I know it all, but I really don't, because I do read a lot, I do try to research, but at the same time I have to understand or realize what my limits are as well, and leave it to the experts like people like you.

Speaker 1: 6:06

So, for those of us who don't know, if we've heard where pelvic floor is passing, but not necessarily understand what it is because, as a doula, we hear about the pelvic floor and all these different things that can happen not only through pregnancy, but just as young individuals growing up, as we're experiencing the different changes within our body. So what exactly is the pelvic floor and why is it important for overall health?

Speaker 2: 6:26

Okay, so the pelvic floor is basically the area between our hip bones and our pelvic bones. It's that muscular hammock that sits down there. It's the muscle where, if you feel like you're going to sneeze or if someone surprises you and you kind of clench your booty, that deep muscles down there. That is part of the pelvic floor. It has so many different functions for us. It supports really important organs such as the bladder and the rectum, the prostate for men and the uterus for women, and so it's really important that things function really well down there, not only for support, but also for activities such as sexual activity, bladder and bowel activity and to make sure that we get good blood flow, as we do have fluid that's kind of regulated down there as well. We have our natural fluids, but then also there's ways, just like for any other portion of the body, where you can be prone to edema or having fluid just kind of pooling in a spot of the body.

Speaker 2: 7:30

And so by working with the pelvic floor muscles, we are able to address dysfunction when it comes to coordination, when it comes to tightness, when it comes to strength deficits. We can look at alignment deficits as well differences in alignment and how that's affecting the rest of the body, how it affects how the hips move, going down to the feet, how it affects the core function, going up the back and even up into the neck and like tongue positioning, and so it really is a central part, and I'm a little biased because that's what I spend all my time.

Speaker 2: 8:09

But I would say it's very central to a lot of our bodily functions and our feeling of satisfaction with our qualities of life, because these are core functions bladder and bowel function, sexual function. These are core functions, and so if there's an issue with one or all of these, then our quality of life is going to go down, down, down real fast, and so it's really important to be able to address these things, these core things, as we also address other things and I'm not a mental health provider, but I partner with them but it's important to be able to address these things as well as addressing other contributors to someone's overall well-being.

Speaker 1: 8:50

Does that answer your question? It does, but it makes me want to ask another question as far as and I know you briefly mentioned that, but how does the pelvic floor interact with other muscles and systems in the body? And you also mentioned about the mental health aspect. So how does that tie in? Know from the pelvic floor, because I'm thinking pelvic floor okay, you know you're just here, but I'm not.

Speaker 2: 9:08

I'm not. I'm not realizing.

Speaker 1: 9:10

I mean, that may sound a bit ignorant, but I'm just not realizing the, the importance of our pelvic floor and that's not something.

Speaker 1: 9:18

Again, you know you're going to the doctor, you're not talking about your pelvic floor, you're just talking about, oh hey, I'm a, I'm bloated, or we're not necessarily thinking about our pelvic floor. And for me and I guess I'll wait till we get more into the episode, because now I'm thinking, I'm hearing you talking, I'm like, okay, I got an issue here. But let me first of all, let me just backtrack. Also, dr Scott is not here to give us any medical advice. She's just educating us about our pelvic floor. Is that right, dr Scott? That about our pelvic floor.

Speaker 2: 9:43

Is that right, dr Scott? That's right. So nothing that we're saying here, it's for your personal medical professional for advice.

Speaker 1: 9:52

Let me just put that disclaimer out there. But yeah, how does the pelvic floor interact with other muscles and systems in our body and why is it so important that we're ensuring that it's intact or it's working at its best function throughout our systems?

Speaker 2: 10:00

Sure, so one of the main, I guess, systems that it works in is our breathing system, our pressure management system within our bodies. We are a container system within our abdominal or our thoracic regions, and so the diaphragm, our big breathing muscle, is at the top of that pressure system, and then the pelvic floor, which is that muscular hammock, is at the bottom of that pressure system, and then we have our spine and our abdominal muscles. It wraps all around. And so if we're having issues with breathing, if we are not taking deep breaths, if we're shallow breathing, if we're clenching our core muscles, if we are having issues with the mobility of our ribs or our hips are tight, then that's going to affect the amount of pressure that's going down into our pelvic floor.

Speaker 2: 10:51

It's going to affect how well we're able to take a deep breath. It will affect how our core is able to support us well or not so well. And these habits develop, not just develop out as a as survival. When we're young, we we learn this is the way in which to get through life with the least amount of struggle.

Speaker 2: 11:13

And so the body gets lazy and if it knows, OK, if I can take shallow breaths and put a little bit more pressure on my pelvic floor and I'm not leaking yet, then I'm just going to keep doing this until I get pregnant or I have a surgery or I have an accident, like maybe some type of motor vehicle accident or something that really kind of jars the body, and then you start having presentation of dysfunctions, leaking or pain that you didn't have before, when really the system that the pelvis is working in through the hips, the core, the breath, all of that was being impacted prior to the presentation of the deficits.

Speaker 1: 11:52

I love that. So I have a question, and this is following me telling my business, but I don't care. So I like to say that I don't breathe like the normal person. Stay with me, don't judge me here. We're here. We're here for it, because I'm not in a high stress job per se, but, of course, I'm a founder of a non-profit organization that I'm building. I'm the host of this podcast, I work a full-time job. I'm in grad school. I'm doing it all, of course, while trying to find a balance, but I've realized in recent times that I'm not taking a deep breath, or sometimes I can't even tell if I'm breathing. Obviously, I'm not breathing because I'm alive, I'm here, but I've had to at some point in my life to set a timer on my phone or remind an alarm to tell me to take a deep breath every hour.

Speaker 2: 12:36

That's a good thing to do Set an alarm to give yourself a cue to breathe. It's terrible that you have to do it, but it's an awesome way to introduce the body to that. I think that's great. I just want to affirm you Well, thank you.

Speaker 1: 12:48

I appreciate it. I don't think anybody's just doing this. I have an alarm every hour, from the time I get up to take a deep breath, but then when?

Speaker 1: 12:54

I started learning more about the pelvic floor area of our bodies or just the field in general. You know, I went on YouTube and you know they're telling me, okay, you need to breathe from your diaphragm, or they're basically giving me the instructions on YouTube on how to breathe, but for some reason, I for me, for me, I think, I'm finding myself clenching a lot, like I clench a lot. Sometimes I'm holding my breath or I'm just not even, I'm just always tense for lack of a better, if that makes sense. So, again, without giving me any too much like medical advice, for people out there like myself, who we are always on the go, pushing because you may be a mom, a wife, a sister, you have two, three jobs, you're just navigating this crazy world that we live in and sometimes you don't realize that you haven't stopped to take a deep breath.

Speaker 1: 13:34

You're just constantly going, or you're just always feeling tense. Because when I say that, when I'm telling, when I say I'm like I'm talking to you right now and I'm tense and I'm trying to remind myself to, okay, breathing this, let your body just feel that breath leaving you, you know. So any advice for anyone like myself who is navigating this world where they're not as conscious that they're breathing or, I don't know, potentially have some pelvic dysfunction or something along those lines. Because why am I not breathing the way I'm supposed to breathe?

Speaker 1: 14:02

I could be relaxed, I could be less stressed, I could be finishing all my assignment. There's nothing for me to do besides just rest and watch TV or read a book, or just relax that's the word relax. But I'm sitting on the bed or lying on the bed, I'm reading my book, and then I'm telling myself oh, tanya, you need to just breathe, because you're feeling too tight, you're feeling like you're clenching something. What for? So what contributes to that? I mean, I don't know if you can tell me the answer, but what do you think? Is it something from the pelvic floor or is it just something else? That's totally wrong with me at this point in time.

Speaker 2: 14:36

It's not just a youth thing, I just want to let you know it is, and everybody has got a lot of tension and our society has bred us under the requirement that we be able to function under high stress. Students have to go through school. They're taking away extracurriculars like music and dance and art.

Speaker 2: 15:00

And so it's all about the academics, it's all about getting a certain score, it's all about hitting a certain milestone, it's about achieving, let's say, a degree or something like that.

Speaker 2: 15:10

That's how we have been taught to function in this very fast pace society. And so for you to say you're not sure why it is that you're so tense, what's likely, the possibility, is that your life, many different aspects of your life, have taught you that you need to remain tense in order to endure to the next thing that life brings to you. And so, if we are not like taking auditing our bodies, like you, you did a self-assessment and you were like, huh, I don't think I'm breathing very well. And then you said let me try to do something about that, let me set an alarm so that at least once an hour, I can do a little bit of a self-assessment and see if I can take a deep breath or not. That's a really good first step, and most people don't even realize that they're holding their breath, that they're holding on to tension. Oftentimes we don't know what's going on until someone shows us what it's like not to have it, or what it's like for that thing to be different.

Speaker 2: 16:11

If you're used to having a tight butt which so many people have tight booties I mean it's crazy, right. And then I show you how to get a tennis ball against the wall and you, in that tennis ball, releasing the glute muscles. And then I show you how to get a tennis ball against the wall and you, in that tennis ball, releasing the glute muscles. And then you start walking and you're like whoa, I feel so much better, I feel lighter.

Speaker 2: 16:29

Wow, yeah, and so that's. That's the. That's the kind of how it is with pelvic floor function, especially because a lot of this stuff starts day one, day one, as we're coming out of the womb and as we're functioning and our body's responding to the stress of life, is that we have conditioned ourselves to hold on to tension and it really does take intentional action, steps to be able to reduce that. And so, working with a professional to learn how am I breathing? Because not everybody breathes the same. Some people breathe a little higher into their necks, some people breathe kind of lower into their chest, some people breathe down into their pelvis and their lower abdomen.

Speaker 2: 17:11

So there's so many different ways a person breathes that can produce different types of responses when it comes to how you're feeling your mood, of responses when it comes to how you're feeling your mood, how you're able to do physical activity, based off of how much oxygen that you're getting in, how relaxed your body is, so that you can actually have good control of your bodily functions.

Speaker 2: 17:37

So what I would say is I always start with breathing, I always start with that awareness, and my first I'll give you the first exercise I give most people is. I have them lay down in a comfortable position and I have them set a timer for three to five minutes to start, and they are to take deep breaths. And the deep breaths they are focusing on getting their lower rib cage to expand out to the sides and their back to feel like it's expanding and melting into the surface that they're on, and so this kind of opens up the breath in more of a 360 degree way, rather than it just being okay, breathe into your stomach forward or breathe up into your chest forward. Instead, we're working on calming the system and controlling the breath, because, from the breath control, that's where we can put the foundations of pelvic floor strength and coordination and help with the pressure managements in our abdominal pressure systems.

Speaker 1: 18:41

That's a great answer. That's very informative, because I didn't think about it. Well, I don't even know why I would, why would I even think about something like that? But that's very interesting. I'm glad you did, I'm glad I love it. So now, what are some signs and symptoms that indicates that you know someone will be having some pelvic floor issues? Because to me, I'm thinking, okay, I'm not breathing, but what are some other signs and symptoms that one can, as we're becoming more in tune with our bodies, what are some signs and symptoms we can look for that may indicate that we may be having some potential or possible pelvic floor issues?

Speaker 2: 19:09

Sure. First off, I want to say that if you feel that something is wrong with your body or something is not right, then listen to that voice and seek out answers. Then listen to that voice and seek out answers. A lot of people are not told specifically and it's hard to be able to go through a complete list of what is normal and not so normal for a person.

Speaker 2: 19:31

But many, many times my patients come in and they say I knew something wasn't right and I told my provider. My provider said it was okay. And then years go by and they're like it's still not right, it's actually getting worse. And then they finally find someone who takes them seriously and is able to give them some helpful information. And so if you're having sensations of pain that don't seem right, if you're having issues with bladder or bowel function that's being disruptive to your daily activities or it's causing a strain on you to be able to function in your day, then that's being disruptive to your daily activities or it's causing a strain on you to be able to function in your day, then that's dysfunction.

Speaker 2: 20:06

If you are unable to feel confident and as comfortable as possible during pregnancy and the postpartum periods, when it comes to just feeling like you are in your body and your body is yours and you have full control, then that's also something that can be addressed and trained so that you can feel much better inside your own skin. Surgical operations If you've had a surgery, you're probably going to need some type of therapy. I don't know why we don't spend as much time. It's easy for knees and hips, but when it comes to, it's easy for knees and hips, but when it comes to hysterectomies, prostatectomies, endometriosis, excisions and ablations and things like that that we don't think about.

Speaker 2: 20:57

Hey, this area might need some rehabilitation and some training to recover, probably going to need to get some additional assistance from a pelvic floor physical therapist, or just even sometimes just going to a physical therapist and starting there is not a bad idea, because you get some foundational information and then you can get specialized even from there by finding a specialist, but getting your foot in the door in any way to getting some helpful information on how to get your body to function better is good. So to kind of answer your question, I'm kind of answering it but I'm kind of not answering it. I really there's so many. I actually I've created a checklist of different things where it's basically saying these are dysfunctions that the body has, but if common ones, I would say is going to the restroom a lot during the day peeing or pooping right, Not pooping enough when you feel bloated, constipated.

Speaker 2: 21:47

You talking about me honey but listen, we're talking about a lot of people. I'm coming down people's door, I'm knocking on people's doors.

Speaker 1: 21:54

You're dragging us.

Speaker 2: 21:57

Pain pain with breathing, pain with penetration, pain with pelvic exams, pain with arousal. Let's see Pregnancy, postpartum heaviness, feeling in the pelvis, a feeling like something's about to drop out of the vaginal opening or the rectal opening, feeling insecure about the pooch in your abdomen.

Speaker 1: 22:20

Postpartum maybe because of abdominal separation.

Speaker 2: 22:23

There's so many things, and so one thing I really want to hit home with is that any type of pain with sexual activity is not normal. You know, it's funny that you said that, yeah, the only wanted pain is acceptable, but unwanted pain is not acceptable and is not normal, no matter what. It's just a sign that the body is saying, hey, something is wrong and we're fearful that we will be injured, and so it's. It's giving you that signal hey, we need to adjust something, we need to address something. But most people don't know what to do about that Cause no one's ever given them the, no one's ever told them, hey, it's not normal, but then no one's ever actually given them the instruction. This is why, and this is what you can do about it- All right.

Speaker 1: 23:08

So I want us to stay here a bit. As it relates to sexual health. You know you mentioned about bladder control, bowel movements and even her posture. Because to me, I think you cannot tell me I don't have a pelvic floor issue. I'm telling you I've never been diagnosed by any doctor, but you just cannot tell me that you know one thing about me. I'm going to Google and Google is going to tell me something else, and I'm going to see a podcast or something on YouTube and I'm like, okay, I have all these symptoms, but how does our pelvic floor impact the, let's say, sexual health? Because you mentioned that it shouldn't be painful. You mentioned that, that you know it shouldn't be painful. We spoke about our blood control, even our posture. So how, how, how is that impacting, like as from a sexual health standpoint, sure, or even if you're having sex, like what does that do with the? What does that have to do with the pelvic floor?

Speaker 2: 23:50

Absolutely, Absolutely. I would. I, man, I, how do I even begin? It's all intertwined. I cannot think about sexual function without thinking about our physiological function of the pelvic floor. When we are aroused and excited, we get a rush of blood flow into the pelvic region, into the muscles and into the genital tissues, right, and so that's how we can start to gain that nice feeling going all the way up to climax, where we have the muscles do a nice, good, strong contraction, a really effective contraction, and then afterwards we get that nice feeling going all the way up to climax, where we have the muscles do a nice, good, strong contraction, a really effective contraction, and then afterwards we get that nice euphoric relief of the relaxation after the contraction.

Speaker 2: 24:31

What many people experience is tension that's already in the pelvic floor, that's contributing to a low level of pain, that's already there, a low level of discomfort, maybe of reduced sensitivity or increased sensitivity, because all of that can play a role in presentation of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. And then, when it comes to getting the excitement of it climbing up into more of the excitement portion of sex is that the muscles then they're already tight, they're holding so tightly they cannot tighten anymore, and so they'll basically yell and say this sucks, we don't like this. We need to release in order to contract. So in order for you to get good, powerful pleasure, you need to be able to relax and those muscles need to be able to, given, you know, a time to to release. And so oftentimes it's a lot of additional uh tension in the muscles that is causing uh irritation of the nerves and tissues down in the the vaginal region. That can be an issue. Other issues include um the vaginal region. That can be an issue.

Speaker 2: 25:42

Other issues include issues like vaginismus, vulvodynia where the actual the area of the vaginal opening is very sensitive. Do they really know what causes this? No, we really don't. But we know that there are many ways in which we can work on getting those tissues to be less sensitive and have a better response to the many things that life brings us. When it comes to our pelvic function and that goes along with also you had said that you were working with kind of like menstrual function as well it also relates to that too, because during our menstrual cycle there's moments where we're getting flooded with hormones that help us to relax a little bit more, and then flooded with things that make us want to kind of clench up a little bit more.

Speaker 2: 26:35

And it's important to be able to understand what signals our body is giving us, to acknowledge them and to be able to address them. Well, and that first step is just to say, huh, I don't feel so good right now, and writing it down. You start there when am I in my cycle? What am I feeling right now? My sexual encounter how was that? What did I enjoy? What did I not enjoy? How long did it take for it to become not enjoyable? All of these things, just write it down and then you might be able to find a pattern just by looking at it, and that could provide you with some information on what could be going on. But yes, pelvic floor muscle flexibility and coordination is vital in order to have a pleasurable sexual experience.

Speaker 1: 27:29

And piggybacking on that. You know, for individuals who may be having some pelvic floor dysfunction and having issues as it relates to sex or sexual intercourse, how can one have the conversation with their partner? Because sometimes you know a partner is going to understand. We're already learning about our body, let's put it this way. We're now coming to understand the importance or even how the pelvic floor functions. So what are some ways in which you can advise, if you can, individuals who may be experiencing these issues? How can they communicate that with their partners, who may not understand, because sometimes let's not act like some of these partners we don't understand what someone else is going through. So what are some ways in which we can probably approach the conversation or let our partners get to a level of comfort that we can talk about. Okay, you know what this is, what's still happening to me it could be my pelvic floor. If I know that's what the issue is. Or how can I let them know? You know this is painful, not in a good way. How can we approach that conversation?

Speaker 2: 28:25

That's a really, really, really good question, and what I will say is this I believe having additional guidance from a sex therapist a professional that really knows about emotional health, mental health and sexual health and is able to combine all of it in a sweet practice to help individuals with this specifically, I do recommend that people seek out a sex therapist to talk with. I also encourage that, as you learn about your body and learn what could be causing or what could be possible causes, it really does take, takes a little bit of that weight of shame away, because before it could have been, it's just me. I am just the problem. I can't do this when actually it could be. Oh, there is this problem. I might have this problem that can be addressed, and so it's very, very, very hard to separate the two.

Speaker 2: 29:30

But separating you from the dysfunction could also be a very helpful way of being able to present this information to your partner and say, hey, this is my desire for us, but this is the way my body is presenting. So this is what I feel like I need. And then these are the steps that I'd like to take to be able to help myself, move forward, to help us, and then invite them into the conversation and say okay, what have you seen? What do you think might be helpful? And that could be a good starting point? But absolutely go see a professional, see someone who knows what they're doing, knows how to give you good instruction on how to talk about these things, because it's so challenging it really is, and there's so much shame that's involved and so much blame and it's just it's so muddy in that way and it's really helpful to get someone who knows how to be able to sift through things and guide you from point A to point B.

Speaker 1: 30:36

Well, that's really good and that's all we can hope for. Just to have that open communication as well. It's key Communication across all boards, across every area that we we are in life. We must be able to communicate really well. But I want to switch gears, because I wouldn't be me if I didn't talk about anything pregnancy, pregnancy related. So, speaking to those who are possibly trying to conceive or, like I like to call myself, priming my body for pregnancy whenever that time's come, or if I'm currently pregnant or going through postpartum right now, what role does the pelvic floor plays when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth, and how can women prepare for, even recover from, these experiences?

Speaker 2: 31:14

Sure, so, I would say that just assessing how your pelvic floor feels, how it looks, how sensitive it is, the moisture that it has, like really doing a self-assessment once a month, is a good idea, because it can give you a good idea of your health when it comes to fertility, when it comes to hormone presentation in the tissues, if we have enough estrogen, then our tissues are nice and supple and slippery.

Speaker 2: 31:43

But when we have less of that estrogen or more progesterone which usually happens around menopause, during menopause, after menopause and then when we are in pregnancy and postpartum then these are things that can also give us an idea of okay, this is what's going on in my body right now and, uh, working with a professional will be able to help you to navigate through the challenges that that could bring when it comes to sexual function, when it comes to pain, a presentation, but yeah, also it, it, it would help. It would help. I did, I did. I answer your question. I feel like I went off the rails a little bit. No, no, no, no, you're good.

Speaker 1: 32:25

I was like where am I going with this? No, no, no, you're good, you're good, I was following you too, so I guess we were good enough. Okay, but I'm hearing you talk, you know, just from trying to conceive, if you're pregnant or going through that reproductive lifestyle changes as we, as we mature and go through puberty. But I wonder, because I'm listening, I'm thinking about myself, I'm like okay, tanya, you must be experiencing something. So here I am trying to be a doctor when I'm not. But are there any?

Speaker 1: 32:52

Would you say there are any lifestyle changes that one can do or that can contribute to our pelvic floor dysfunction, or how can that be addressed? Because you know, we talk about diet or, like a high blood pressure, you know you want to make sure that you're eating a particular way, or if you have high cholesterol, you want to eliminate certain foods. You know, we know these different things. If you want to lose weight, or you're trying to gain muscle, you want to. There's so many different things that we know as it relates to that. But again, the pelvic floor is the muscles that we don't usually see, so we're not necessarily paying attention to that.

Speaker 2: 33:28

So is there really any lifestyle changes or factors, factors that contribute to pelvic floor dysfunction, and how can they be addressed? How can we fix this? Sure? So because I work with the musculoskeletal system, I will approach it from that aspect of things. And getting good movement in during your day is helpful and not just movement, where you're stressing your body and then you're going to sleep, going into a stressful job and then you're stressing your body and then going to sleep and going to a stressful job.

Speaker 2: 33:47

It's more like OK, what are? What is the quality of this movement? Is it helping me to to be able to release, maybe, some stress? Is it helping me to regulate my my nervous system better? Because that really does play a role. Stress and conception are very they fight each other when it comes to how they're interacting in the body, and so it's important to be able to have an environment that is more parasympathetic feeding, breeding, relaxing that would help when it comes to conceiving. Some other things would include getting good sleep, just the basics.

Speaker 1: 34:25

Say that part again for me. Say that part again for me.

Speaker 2: 34:28

Yes, I'll say it as many times as needed Getting good sleep Six hours just will not do. We need to get more than that. And so it's getting more sleep, it's drinking more water, just the basics. It's getting in more fiber, it's going for walks, like getting in more steps. All of these things make a huge difference in just the baseline functions of our body, and so if we can focus on even just these elementary things, instead of thinking that we have to increase a certain vitamin or whatever, whatever, just think about, hey, what do we have access to? We have access to water. We can get in a little bit more fiber, we can go for a walk during our lunch break or before or after work. Different things like that can really make more of a difference than you'd think, because the body is usually so in need that if you were to give it a little bit of these things, then it will respond in a big way.

Speaker 1: 35:25

And are there any particular exercises or any kind of technique we should or could be doing to strengthen that pelvic floor muscle? That's a good question.

Speaker 2: 35:33

I know everybody talks about Kegels and doing a pelvic floor muscle contraction. Yes, tell us about that. Right, and so that's the big thing. And really, what a Kegel is? It's a pelvic floor muscle contraction where you squeeze and lift the pelvic floor muscles and then you release them and let them go. The issue is that we have a hard time with the releasing first off, and so we automatically have a hard time with the squeezing time with the squeezing, and then, when we squeeze, we tense up our entire body, causing us to have increased pressure, and oftentimes we like to hold our breaths as well.

Speaker 2: 36:13

And so I tell you what breathing is one of the best pelvic floor exercises ever because it helps it to relax back down to what's normal is. With good breathing. I've had, I had an experience, a couple of experiences, where I've worked with patients that have had pelvic pain, pelvic floor weakness, and they're coming to see me for treatment and I, I, I give them deep breathing and they do it sometimes, you know, and then you know, life happens and they're just kind of forgetting it and I'm like, okay, we'll just try to get it in, try to get it in, and once they finally take my advice and get it in, somehow their pelvic floor muscle automatically responds so much better. All of the activities that they're doing in their day seem to be more efficient, they're not leaking as much, they are able to have less pain and their pelvic floor strength improves automatically because they allowed themselves to bring down that stress of the nervous system.

Speaker 2: 37:13

And so is there a particular exercise or particular exercises that would be helpful? There's so many exercises. It could be anything that you're doing, such as sitting down or standing up, that could be a pelvic floor exercise in that. Let's say if we're going to use it as an example, because if I were listening to this podcast, I would be like they need to be specific.

Speaker 2: 37:33

So, let's be a little specific. If I am sitting down in a chair, I'm seated in a chair and I'm ready to get up from that chair I would take a deep breath in while I'm sitting down. I would allow that breath to fill up my lungs and a drop down into my pelvis so that the muscles get a little bit of a release, just a little bit of a drop, and then exhale and squeeze a little bit of those muscles pelvic floor muscles up and in as you stand up from the chair. And so that's a simple way of being able to incorporate that Same thing with sitting down At the top, you are standing, you inhale, allow for that little bit of drop and then you exhale and sit down while you're doing your pelvic floor muscle contraction and it doesn't have to be strong at all we feel like we have to do the Kegels of a lifetime it's like why are we adding so much weight or doing so much?

Speaker 2: 38:29

We're stressing our bodies out, we're really asking too much. It's not required, actually, a gentler of what you're feeling in any particular time during a day or during the activity, and then connecting back to your breath and seeing if you can make a change in how your pelvis feels. If it feels tight right now, okay, I wonder if there's a way that I can breathe to make it feel less tight. Okay, well then, after doing that, let me go ahead and do my chest press now and see how I feel. Oh, I can press to make it feel less tight. Okay, well then, after doing that, let me go ahead and do my chest press now and see how I feel. Oh, I can press a little bit more. You know, like there's little, little things like that that we can do, kind of little experiments that we can do with our bodies and our pelvic floor function.

Speaker 1: 39:19

So if we were to rate the, let's say, the types or how severe a pelvic floor dysfunction can be, is that even a thing? Or what are some treatments that may be available for those of us experiencing any sort of pelvic floor dysfunction?

Speaker 2: 39:31

Sure. So severity can be categorized in many ways. It could be the number of systems that are impacted, such as bladder system bowel system, sexual systems, different things like that.

Speaker 2: 39:43

So it could be someone who has more severity, a higher severity of pelvic floor dysfunction, not only has bladder issues but also has some bowel issues, but also has some pelvic pain issues, maybe some menstrual issues, some sexual issues.

Speaker 2: 39:56

You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2: 39:56

It kind of compounds on itself, which is usually the case for people, because we wait so long before we identify that we have an issue, let alone getting it addressed, and so the chronic chronicity of the dysfunctions that we have also play a role in how severe it can get.

Speaker 2: 40:21

Three months ago and is having some urinary leaking. That's a different level of severity than a mother with grown children who has been experiencing urinary leaking for over 10 years and is also having chronic constipation and believes they might be having also pelvic organ prolapse, because, over time, it just kind of compounds on itself. What's amazing, though, is that, even with that compound of issues simple, if we go back to the basic, simple techniques of how we're breathing, how we're managing our pressures, the coordination of our muscles and how we're treating ourselves during the day, then our bodies really do start to respond very fast. What took 10 years to get so severe. We can make an effective difference in like three months, and so it's amazing how, if you're just given the right instruction, you can really start to resolve at the root of the issues.

Speaker 1: 41:18

I love that. So, as we get ready to wrap up, in your practice, what are some common misconceptions you've encountered? Because I'm sure you've heard so many different crazy stories. So what are some common misconceptions you've encountered? Because I'm sure you've heard you've heard so many different crazy stories. So what are some common misconceptions you've encountered in your practice of being a pelvic floor therapist? Like, what are some? What tell us some of these misconceptions? So we can know that you know we're not all that crazy. We can have the right term. We know what we're talking about when it comes to our pelvic floor Sure.

Speaker 2: 41:43

Big misconception is I teach how to do Kegels. I am like the. Kegel expert which is, is and is not true. I once thought that and so people get so surprised. When I have them start with their breathing, or when I do a mobilization to their stomach to help with their constipation, they're like wait, you do this too. I didn't even think first off. I didn't even think this was a problem that I had.

Speaker 2: 42:11

Not that you've shown me that this is a problem. I had more problems than I thought I had. And then, secondly, you're doing something I didn't expect and now I'm getting a result that's even better than what I thought, and so it's. I think people expect to be told specifics and that there's a certain way of addressing issues. Everybody's different. Everybody's body is different. Everybody's experiences in their lives and in their bodies are different, and so not every person can be treated the same way, and I think that really does become frustrating, especially for those who are struggling so much with pelvic pain and dysfunction. Is that they really want to have? Okay, what is the formula? What is it that I need to do to be able to get from where I'm at to where I want to be? And a good provider doesn't just provide like a formula that they that everybody goes through.

Speaker 2: 43:06

It's not so specific. Okay, you do this this time and then you're going to incorporate this exercise. You're going to do that. If it was that easy, then eBooks would fix people, okay, but it's not. The thing is is that we have to. We have to take into consideration the whole person, and I think that's what catches people off guard and almost kind of discourages people sometimes is they're like whoa, this is deep work. This is like I have to actually change my lifestyle a little bit.

Speaker 1: 43:30

How am I?

Speaker 2: 43:31

sleeping, how I'm eating Okay, I have to adjust the way I'm doing exercises. Okay, maybe I need to incorporate a little bit more yoga, all right. It's really kind of digging into the systems that the body has been functioning in and then deconstructing those systems to be able to learn how to do things better, to develop new good habits and to allow your body to get trained back in the way that it desires to function. So I think a common misconception is, after one or two sessions, they're going to be cured, I'm going to give them that secret pill and it's just going to change their lives. And that is unfortunately not the case. But it's beautiful that it's not the case, because you get to learn so much about who you are and your body and how you've been operating throughout this life and how your body has been relating to other bodies but, also other situations.

Speaker 2: 44:31

You learn a lot, especially because I'm a person that likes to explain why I'm doing what I'm giving. I like to explain this is what I'm finding. And then not only that, but explaining hey, this is what I'm finding, what do you feel? Because sometimes I could be wrong or sometimes I could be like, hey, this is what I'm finding, what do you feel? Because sometimes I could be wrong or sometimes I could be like, okay, I feel this, this is what I think, but what do you think? And then you might think, no, I need something else.

Speaker 2: 44:56

I think we're going to go with what you think. First let's try that out and then, if we're finding, okay, that's getting us down a good road, then okay, great, we'll continue on that road. If it's like we're still missing some things, then we might want to introduce some other things that I was thinking. So it really is a partnership as well. It's not just you get told what to do, you come in and you just have to bear it, like going to the gynecologist. Sometimes it's more of a partnership and a relationship of healing.

Speaker 1: 45:25

I love that. So how can anyone listening find any qualified healthcare provider who could possibly specialize in the pelvic floor? Because I know here in South Carolina I think we only have? Well, where I am, I think I only know of one pelvic floor therapist and of course, with that being the case, they're usually booked up months out. So is it possible to have virtual sessions? Where can we find pelvic floor therapists? It doesn't matter where we're living at this point. Where can we find or how can we even advocate for that?

Speaker 2: 45:56

Sure. So there are many different directories that can be utilized. Oh gosh, if I went down the list, there's so many Pelvic floor therapist directory. Just Google it and you'll find many ones. I will put a plug in for one of them in particular Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists of Color. That was started with Janelle Howell.

Speaker 2: 46:18

I believe is her name of pelvic floor experts of color, to be able to support the communities of color that really do need that more specific care, and so I think that is a good direct tool. To start with, you can also look at the American Physical Therapy Association. There is Pelvic Guru, I believe.

Speaker 2: 46:41

There's so many, and honestly, we are in the time of information, so if you don't know it, you can find it, and so just doing a good Google search, just going on TikTok or Instagram and putting in pelvic expert or something like that pelvic floor therapist you will to people connected to people, and you might find someone that you like, that you trust and that you would be willing to work with, and it doesn't have to be someone that's in your area.

Speaker 2: 47:13

There's certain things, of course, that are different when it comes to treating someone virtually versus treating someone in person, but there are many diagnoses that would work just as well getting treated virtually and they would have such great results. But then, on the contrary, there are some other diagnoses and presentations where the body would respond better to having someone physically there to help mobilize, to help encourage and provide that more physical support. So it really just depends, and a lot of therapists are doing something called discovery calls, and so you can get on the phone with them and do a little phone call consult to see if it would be a good fit for you. You can get an idea of who that person is if you get a good vibes from them, because if you don't get good vibes, I don't care if they're giving you the right information.

Speaker 2: 48:03

I absolutely agree with that.

Speaker 1: 48:05

Well, thank you, doctor, for being a guest on Tea with.

Speaker 2: 48:09

Tanya.

Speaker 1: 48:10

But before you go, I want you to leave us with either a mantra or an affirmation that you are relying on in this season of your life, or something that you just one of your go-to mantras or affirmations.

Speaker 2: 48:20

One of my go-to mantras or affirmations it doesn't happen until it happens.

Speaker 1: 48:26

Oh, okay, you know what? Listen I'm stealing.

Speaker 2: 48:30

that Can you say it again? You got me because today I had therapy.

Speaker 1: 48:33

I'm prepped and ready.

Speaker 2: 48:34

It doesn't happen until it happens because there's such an epidemic of hopelessness and the idea that we can't achieve something because we haven't achieved something is not a good enough reasoning or evidence. So I think it's important, especially with pelvic health, especially for people who've never had normal pelvic floor function, to know that it's possible, because it hasn't happened yet. It just doesn't. It doesn't happen until it happens, and then you'll know that it's possible because it hasn't happened, yet it just doesn't.

Speaker 1: 49:10

It doesn't happen until it happens, and then you'll know when it happens. When it happens, I love that. I love that. What better way to end this beautiful episode? But before we go, tell the people where they can find you so we can make sure that we're sending people your way. Excellent To support.

Speaker 2: 49:21

Yes, go ahead. Yeah, so I you can find me on my website, wwwartistrypelvichealthcom. You can also find me on Instagram at thecoloredpelvis or at artistrypelvichealth. These are the platforms that I typically use to be able to provide a lot of my information. I also let's see what else do I have. I have a TikTok at the Colored Pelvis as well, and then you can find me on different directories here and there and different things like this, like different podcasts, episodes, and it's just it's really nice to make new connections. But, yeah, that website and then social media, those are the two big places that you can find me.

Speaker 1: 50:04

Love it Well. Thank you for joining me here in the Tea Tasting Room. I would love to have you back. Yes, I would love it. We go together now, once you enter the Tea Tasting Room there's no turning back.

Speaker 1: 50:16

Thank you so much and I can't wait to have you back here again. Thank you. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.