Happy New Year – the healing nature of Sunshine Beach
On reflection, there is only one word to describe 2024 in the Croft household: Relentless.
There have been health issues, one after the other, which have been challenging, but thank goodness there have been good outcomes on all fronts. And as we face 2025, we look back and feel grateful that we live in a country where the medical care is incredible and accessible and that we will all be here, looking forward to a new year and new challenges with positivity and excitement.
Bob is fitter and faster than he’s ever been before, and while I am not <insert laughing/crying emojis simultaneously> I am heading in the right direction. Our campervan will allow us to visit places previously unseen and hopefully we can plan plenty of weekends away, now we both have less medical appointments to keep.
But when I was thinking about the year, it reminded me about the relentless nature of pelvic health issues particularly for women.
Significant pelvic health issues are possible throughout the different life-stages for women.
From when a girl starts her first period, there is the potential that they become relentlessly painful which may be an indicator of endometriosis. The message here is that if your daughter, sister, niece or cousin is suffering over-the-top period pain, causing her to have days off school/work or social fun, it is important to encourage her to seek help for this.
In Australia it takes up to 7 years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis and importantly, there are many things that can be done to treat this effectively. Seeing your GP to seek a referral to a gynaecologist with an up-to-date special interest in Endometriosis/PCOS/ Adenomyosis is one of the appointments to make.
Pelvic health physiotherapy is another one of those appointments you need to source.
Pelvic pain can often be attributed to our pelvic floor and other muscles around this area. Due to the ongoing regularity of monthly periods, a cycle of persistent pain (including anticipatory fear-provoked pain) can ensue. When there is pain, we tend to clench muscles relentlessly. This can even mimic ovarian pain. Good pain neuroscience education and proactive pelvic health treatment for these girls/women can be life-changing.
One thing I have learnt from my foray into bone fractures last year is that tight and painful muscles need good old fashioned hands-on treatment when they have been moving awkwardly or badly in response to healing or just plain old tightness/potential scar tissue. Regular massage has made a world of difference to my pain with walking (thank you Bob), as has walking on sand at the beach and grassy/dirt National Park tracks around Sunshine Beach (as opposed to the concrete paths and roads of Brisbane).
It has made me realise just how important it may be for my patients to emphasise the regular use of home-based treatment of using their vaginal wand or dilators. (Some physios may call dilators ‘trainers’ to re-emphasize that their use is not to stretch and dilate necessarily, but rather ‘graded exposure’ to the sensation of having something inside the vagina in preparation for intercourse when pelvic pain has meant penetration is not possible.)
Femmax Dilators and a pelvic wand available from pelvicfloorexercise.com.au
A wand makes it easier for the woman to reach the deeper internal pelvic floor muscles and a hip rotator muscle called obturator internus. Doing regular treatment with the wand will not only decrease the fear associated with movement in this area, it will soften the tender areas and therefore decrease the pain of a potentially tight muscle. It is important to emphasize that you do not grind with the wand – it is a gentle movement to start with and then as your tolerance increases, you may increase the depth of pressure. Pelvic floor and abdominal muscle relaxation is also critical. But massaging my foot once a week would make very little difference, doing it every day has made a world of difference.
The message is seek help from Pelvic Health physiotherapists with a special interest and training in this area and also get a specialist appointment to understand how to manage endometriosis. Don’t wait 7 years!
