Well it seems like forever since I’ve written a blog – it has been ssssoooo busy….with patients, with writing and presentIng a talk on physiotherapy management of pain for the IUGA conference, and finishing and publishing my second book. Yes! Pelvic Floor Recovery Essentials was released on Monday. I had so many requests from patients to do this second book – to provide the information about normal and abnormal bladder function, the correct activation of the pelvic floor muscles, information about prolapse management and defecation position and dynamics and much more, without the references to gynaecological surgery – for their daughters or female friends who don’t need surgery. So it’s been ‘head down and tail up ‘ for the past few months.
I am very excited about the new book as I no longer have to say to patients- ‘well just ignore the bit on gynae repair surgery and read all the rest’. The new book contains all the information necessary to help develop stronger pelvic floor muscles and healthy bladder habits perhaps following childbirth, or even for young women who have absolutely no issues but want to keep their pelvic floor health to an optimum all their life. So check out the book on the website and see if you have a friend or a relative who may benefit from reading it.
This week has been super busy also because I have been attending the 2012 IUGA conference in Brisbane. IUGA stands for International Urogynaecology Association and this conference has been a joint learning experience with CFA (The Continence Foundation of Australia) the peak body advocating for continence issues in Australia. It’s been an exhausting, stimulating and inspiring learning experience. But most of all it’s been a fantastic opportunity to network and interact with Women’s Health Physiotherapists from around the world. I have to say we are all a pretty amazing and caring bunch of physios. Everyone is busting to learn more and more to improve the lot of their patients who are suffering continence, prolapse and pelvic pain issues.
I will cover some of the interesting papers in coming weeks but for now I would like to just comment on an amazing debate that was held today with the provocative title ‘That Pelvic Floor Exercises are Overrated’. Professor Kari Bo and Dr Helena Frawley -two wonderful physiotherapists who have not only worked clinically in the area of pelvic floor dysfunction, but most importantly have provided some of the important research to prove that physiotherapy interventions do improve outcomes for women with continence and prolapse problems- spoke for the negative (defending the value of PF exercises). Their succinct, comprehensive argument easily defeated the opposition and in fact advanced the proposition that in fact Pelvic Floor Exercises are UNDERRATED!!
Hopefully my blog writing will be more regular than it has been over the last few weeks – but a little life-hiccup also presented itself on Thursday. My mum, my filer of charts and general wailing wall, received some annoying news on Thursday – a recurrence of breast cancer….very unfair at 87 I think. But in her usual fashion she is facing her probable mastectomy next week with stoicism and a very practical approach. I also feel cheered by a story from her best friend for life, Joyce, whose other friend recently faced a similar operation but at 94 – and 3 days postop headed off to QPAC to catch a show. Go girl!
So until next time good luck Mum- we’ll be all there plugging for you (Marg that means you too…..).
New Book Released – Pelvic Floor Recovery Essentials.
