Week 4 was definitely easier than week 3.  I was less stressed and stopped over-analyzing every little sensation.  My good friend and pelvic floor physio Julia reminded me that sensations are good - they are a sign that the body is adapting and healing.

Exercise
I continue to be very intentional with my exercise and am following the Core Confidence Exercise Program with a few additional exercises added in.  Every morning and every evening I do 2 sets of 10-12 of all the following exercises

• kegels in a supine, bent knee position 
• pelvic tilts in a supine, bent knee position
• bridges
• clam
• bent knee lift

I also do supine butterfly with support under my thighs, stacked butterfly (also called stacked cobbler), and a thoracic rotation pose.  I have done a few cat cow here and there too.

I do these in conjunction with my red light therapy as well. (I love my OrionLT light and you can get your own here...use code KVOPNI10 to save 10%).

I walk 3-4 times a week and...

Let me just start by saying...my number one treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction is pelvic physical therapy. It is my answer to anyone who asks “What should someone do if they experience pelvic floor discomfort?" or  "What kind of treatments are there for pelvic floor dysfunction?”  In my opinion, pelvic floor physical therapy (or pelvic floor physiotherapy if you are in Canada or the UK) should be the first line of defense for things like incontinence, prolapse, chronic back pain and even diastasis recti.  

Do I need pelvic floor therapy?

While many pelvic floor related challenges are common, like post-partum leakage or stress urinary incontinence, they aren’t necessarily “normal”. Folk wisdom suggests these are things that should be endured, but the truth is that there is help available and you can significantly improve your quality of life by taking the time to treat pelvic floor dysfunction with pelvic floor physiotherapy...

This post is about my decision to have surgery for my prolapse, a rectocele, that I have lived with for over 8 years now.  Surgery is something I have been debating for 4 years and I did not come to this decision lightly but I know it is the right choice for me. 

16 years ago I gave birth to my first son.  I believe that was the start of my rectocele.

My goal for childbirth was to have a vaginal birth with no epidural and no tearing.  

Goal Accomplished!

I did everything I knew about to prepare for birth with the aim of avoiding episiotomy and tearing like my mom had experienced. She also dealt with incontinence and because at the time with my limited knowledge about pelvic health, I equated tearing with incontinence, I felt that because of the fact that I did not tear must mean that my pelvic floor was doing well!

Or so I thought….

I Wish I Had Known
Knowing what I know now, I would have understood that just because there was no external tearing...

I get a lot of questions from women who are expecting and who are interested in finding out the benefits of performing kegels exercise during pregnancy. Having questions is natural and I’m so grateful for my education as a trainer to be able to educate my clients about doing kegel exercises in pregnancy and to be able to address their concerns. 

They worry about if it’s safe to keep doing their kegels now that they are pregnant or if pregnancy is a time that they should start doing them if they haven’t been doing them before. They wonder how to do kegels and when they should start doing them if they are pregnant, if there is an ideal time. . 

As a Core Confidence founder, women come to me with a lot of questions about pelvic wellness at all stages of life, prenatal, postnatal or even if they never plan to have a child. Kegels are foundational to pelvic wellness and a hot topic of conversation in the media, among pelvic wellness practitioners and...