5 Tips for Better Abdominals Want to build awesome abs? Let’s take this question one step further… what does it take to build great abs that don’t cause pelvic floor woes? We don’t want to cause an issue while we’re fixing one. What fun would that be? No fun! So, that’s the bigger question. I […]
Building Awesome Abs Read More »
Pause Challenge: Face fear on a regular basis and see what happens to your life. Let me explain… A key step toward reaching goals involves having the courage to pause before you self-sabotage. Pausing is hard. Pausing is scary. Acting without thinking is easy. Pausing is facing yourself and your fear. Picture what self-sabotage looks
Take the Pause Challenge Read More »
Check out this brand new video where I go over 3 tips to improve your clams. Yep, I said it. Clams can sometimes be a bad choice in a rehab program. How do you know? Have you been doing clams? Are you all better? No? Then they might not be a good choice for you
When are clams a bad idea? Read More »
Want to do crunches but heard they are bad for your pelvic floor? Like most everything, it all comes down to execution. How you do them matters! Do you decrease pressure off your pelvic floor as you lift your upper body or do you increase it? One of the things I look for is lower
Better Crunches for the Pelvic Floor Read More »
A while ago I sent out an email to the perspective Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist students with some tough questions. Let’s dive in and take a quick look at the first question to find a good starting point for her. Keep reading for a fresh perspective that might add a little controversy to mainstream advice.
A Better Approach Than Belly Breathing for the Pelvic Floor Read More »
What does your pelvic floor have to do with the strength of your abs? Should you strengthen your abs to help your pelvic floor, or should you strengthen your pelvic floor to help your abs? Should you work on your diastasis to help pelvic organ prolapse or leaking? Does working on your abs hurt your
4 Considerations for a Stronger Core and Pelvic Floor Read More »
Is your pelvic floor ready for side slides, side lunges, jumping jacks or other big sideways moves? Do you feel safe with your legs wider for exercises or do you feel uncomfortable? This can often be a vulnerable position for postpartum women. Let’s take a look at a few exercises to help build trust with
3 Exercises to Get Your Pelvic Floor Ready for Dynamic Movement Read More »
Easy! You’re ready now. The question at hand is not whether you’re ready. The real question is how many, how deep, and with how much weight? You are ready to squat now, you just might need to play around with the details of the execution a bit. I see a lot of women with pelvic
How do you know when your body is ready to squat? Read More »
Pain in the hip can be a real pain to deal with, but it can also be your body’s way of telling you there is an imbalance in strength that needs correcting. Muscles do not need to be perfectly even front to back or left to right, but pain can result if the discrepancy is
Do you ever say the wrong thing but have the right intentions? This happened to me recently, when someone wrote in asking about my pelvic floor program for strengthening after a prolapse repair. I love helping women resolve or decrease prolapse naturally, but sometimes surgery is needed. I was very happy she was considering the
Prolapse Surgery Success Rate Read More »
I was thinking back to a patient from one of my internships during PT school in 2004. She had pain on her ischial tuberosity (sits bone), probably from an old hamstring strain, but she didn’t remember the cause (vaguely remembers an ache after a tennis match). It got worse with prolonged sitting, and car trips
Pain Under the Sits Bone and Hamstring Strains Read More »
Let’s talk about Sally. She is a mom of 2 kids, ages 6 and 4. She is taking her fitness to the next level and is now experiencing some leaking during exercise. This is quite a surprise because her pelvic floor has never been an issue. This is a common story. All is well, and
3 Step Case Study to Help Stop Leaks During Exercise Read More »
Have you been told somewhere along the way to expand your belly for breathing? Well, this is true, but not when it gets taken too far. Chest vs Belly – Which is correct when it comes to breathing? Well, the answer is both! I see many women that struggle with diastasis and persistent pelvic floor
Chest vs Belly Breathing Read More »
We ran into a department store to grab a birthday present for a friend in my daughters preschool class and there sitting in a display out front was a waist trainer. Other than the internet, I’d never seen one in person before. If things happen on the internet, they are not really real right? But, seeing one
Do the celebrity waist trainers actually work? Read More »
Are you wearing the tightest yoga pants in all the land? You might want to think twice if you are concerned about core and pelvic floor recovery. Many women struggle with complete recovery of their core and pelvic floor after having a baby. There is no time limit on recovery but I find the first
Tightest Yoga Pants in All the Land Read More »
Why should all moms deadlift? Well, I’m glad you asked. Have you ever tried to pick up a heavy kid off the floor, especially one that is squirming? If you have, then you know the need for being able to deadlift. 🙂 It doesn’t have to be a barbell in a fancy gym, it can
All Moms Should Deadlift, Period. Read More »
Pull-ups are hard and quite possibly one of my favorite exercises but they can be dangerous for both a healing diastasis and the pelvic floor! Let me tell you a little bit more about why and what you can do to prevent pullups from doing harm. I’ve definitely heard the story “I tried to do
Tips for the Pelvic Floor, Hernias and Diastasis During a Pullup Read More »
What is core pressure and why is it important? You hear the term “core pressure” thrown around a lot in the core and pelvic floor recovery world. The reason why is it’s key for complete recovery of both the core and pelvic floor. You must learn how to manage pressure in your core, but what
Regulating Core Pressure Read More »
Why do a lot of therapists and doctors prescribe kegels for everything pelvic floor related and is it the best approach? Ok, let’s back up with a quick lesson. There are different types of pelvic floor “issues” from weakness to tightness to pain to leaking and prolapse and a lot of them overlap. In the
Are kegels for a tight pelvic floor a good idea? Read More »
Thinking of the adductors as a continuation of the pelvic floor, a quick analysis of them can tell us a lot about what’s going on in the pelvic floor and the pelvis in general. Why does this matter for parts other than the pelvic floor? Say a diastasis or back pain? Well, I like to
Inner Thigh Strength Test Read More »
It’s really difficult to build glutes without first having some abs. Why is this? Because your glutes attach to your pelvis and they need a stable surface from which to generate power. Your core provides that stability. Without at least a little core stability, your lower back likes to initiate moment. This is bad because
Why you need abs to get glutes: Quick Glute/Ab Test! Read More »
This morning I read an email that kind of made me mad… not at the person (she is sweet) but the therapist that was giving the advice. Her PT told her prolapse couldn’t heal because it was a connective tissue injury. She said, “once it’s stretched it’s stretched.” Now, let’s take a step back and
Can I heal my prolapse? Read More »
The pelvic floor can be a very personal, sensitive topic, but if handled the right way, it can be life changing for your client. The more you know, the more comfortable and confident you will come across. This gives your client tremendous confidence in discussing it with you. It’s a topic that should be talked
3 Key Pelvic Floor Questions You Should Ask Every Postpartum Client Read More »
Not all prolapse will heal completely, some will, BUT I do think that with the ones that won’t there is a range of getting it better. What determines whether you’re on the positive or negative side of this range is how much you depend on your muscle (active) support system vs ligaments and fascia (passive)
Prolapse Ramblings Read More »
There are 2 main types of tightness that I see in hip flexors. #1. The muscles are short and tight. #2. The muscles are actually long but feel tight. (Especially when you stand up.) Both types are trying to tell you that something needs to change in your body and both types feel like tight
How do you know if your hip flexors are tight? Read More »
