Ellie and Julia's podcast "Circling the Drain"Resources for Inspiration from them:Book: Menopauase Manifesto by Jen GuntherVajenda newsletter by Jen GuntherStacy London's State of Menopause Dr. Rachel Rubin Book: Burnout by Emily NagoskiBook: Come As You Care by Emily Nagoski Book: Health At Every SizeBook: Quit Like a WomanBook: Doing HarmJulia's Health Coaching

Resources from this episode:OT Pioneers: Intro to Pelvic Floor Therapy for Occupational Therapists (opens October 24-28, 2022)Tiffany Lee's company Biofeedback Training + Incontinence SolutionsLindsey's Facebook group OTs In Pelvic HealthJoin the communication list for Lindsey's OTs In Pelvic Health Certification

My fave quotes from this interview,:"I think I just had a conversation that will change my life." - Abby"The eval brought up so many things for me that I healed more from just the eval than from 6 years of mental health therapy" -Rakhi (about Abby's eval) "I didn't realize how  much I needed to get my story out and be heard. Abby did such a good job of letting me talk." "People just need to be heard. It's so impactful." -RakhiThere's more than one way to be a pelvic floor therapist." -RakhiIn this epsisode, I talk with Rakhi about: How she  helped her clients understand the importance of a student stepping into the sessionHow she deals with imposter syndrome (as the fieldwork mentor!)How she and Abby collaborated on her workshop "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes of the Pelvic Floor" How she doesn't need to go to PT Facebook groups to learn anymore; OTs are growing in number and can answer all our questionsHow to get OT students out in the world + why we need more fieldwork mentorsI talk with Abby about:How she thinks on her feet (in front of the client!)How she worked through her greatest challenge - time managementHow Abby got 7 job offers after she left RakhiHow she became the best OT advocate in order to get her jobHere are resources we mentioned in this episode:Mentor List on the OT's in Pelvic Health Facebook GroupHerman + Wallace PF1 (use code OTR10 for 10% off)OT Pioneers: Intro to Pelvic Floor Therapy for Occupational TherapistsMore about Rakhi:www.queencitypelvichealth.com@queencitypelvichealth on Facebook and Instagram Rakhi Srivastava, MOT, OTR/L is a Pelvic Floor Occupational Therapist and owner of Queen City Pelvic Health & Wellness, LLC., which she launched in April 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rakhi graduated with a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Xavier University in 2010 and began her career at The Christ Hospital working in inpatient rehabilitation and acute care. In 2018, Rakhi helped establish and grow a very effective pelvic floor therapy program for the hospital system. Rakhi served as an adjunct professor in Occupational Therapy at Xavier University for nearly 5 years where she taught lectures and labs. Fun Fact: Rakhi and her husband married on their back deck in April of 2020, with only their immediate family present, after the pandemic canceled their wedding plans. Rakhi's son was born in December of 2020 and her desire to spend more time with him was a major factor in her decision to open her own private practice.More about Abby:www.linkedin.com/in/abbyhuggenbergerAbby Huggenberger  grew up in the center of the country in Nebraska and has a goal of eventually living on both coasts before she turns 40. She is a comedy show enthusiast and enjoys discovering a new live music venue or cocktail bar on the weekends. She is practicing as a new grad in pelvic health in Cincinnati. She is motivated to break into this specialty by both my own symptoms and the prevalence of pelvic dysfunction throughout the older population, and the role it plays in the dignity of aging. 

Diary #1Diary #2Bristol Stool ScaleGet my 9 page OTs Map to the World of Pelvic Health.Meet me on the OTs for Pelvic Health Facebook Group!Check Out More OT Pelvic Health Content here.Find me on IG! @functionalpelvis-- Transcript --So the good ol’ bowel, bladder and food diaries…. It’s a powerful trio!  And they are amazing for examining how our clients' habits may be contributing to their symptoms. This is so important because whoever takes the time to review things like this with them? It is so valuable for the big picture, combined with all the other tools we bring to the table. I love giving them the diaries to fill out before the first session and it's ideal for the diaries to span 3-5 days to get an accurate read of their habits, and I love it to span the weekday and weekend. I wanna see it all! When I talk with my clients about why I am asking them to fill it out, because it is a big ask, I share the following with them: A Diary Gives us A Good Snapshot Of What’s Happening With their BodyFor example, if they are leaking. Knowing how often they leak, when, and how much can help us create voiding habits that work with their body, as well as better assess what we need to address the leakage.  Do they Always have a problem at 10 in the morning?  Perhaps they need to examine what foods they are having for breakfast or how much time they are allowing yourself to use the toilet.   Keeping a diary will help illuminate these patterns so we can investigate the whys.Another example is if they are having FI, keeping a diary Helps us To Identify Triggers That May Be Causing them To Have it. By keeping a record, you can start to uncover trends that may be contributing to the issue. For instance, that cup of coffee first thing in the morning may be irritating their bowels more than they thought before, hinting that it’s time to rethink your java habit.Lastly, It Provides them With A Roadmap For A Discussion with us. Recording leaks and daily habits gives us a chance to outline everything they have been experiencing can really help detail the discussion. For many, when and how they eliminate is not something they really record and recall with incredible accuracy  --it’s really not the highlight of their day, right? So having this roadmap really makes these patterns black and white, which helps us create a customized tx plan for them. some of my faves are:https://www.niddk.nih.gov/-/media/Files/Weight-Management/Stool_Diary_508.pdfhttps://medicine.umich.edu/sites/default/files/content/downloads/Food%20Fiber%20Fluid%20and%20Bowel%20Diary%207%2015.pdf Which combines it most of it in one sheet!  It excludes urgency and medsWhat are we looking at with these diaries?·        Analyze water intake (total amount, do they spread out their drinking over the day or do they cluster drink/chug?) ·        Analyze caffeine intake (total amount)·        What is the ratio between these two fluids?&a

Nicole's Period Party PodcastNicole's Book, "Fix Your Period"Nicole's Hormone Health Certification Program

Get my 9 page OTs Map to the World of Pelvic Health.Meet me on the OTs for Pelvic Health Facebook Group!Check Out More OT Pelvic Health Content here.Find me on IG! @functionalpelvis-- Transcript  --The wide world of pelvic health -- if this is a new specialty for you, then this episode may be illuminating  because I remember when I first learned about Pelvic Health, the field seemed quite focused and specific.  Many of the OTs I speak with  assume that to work in PH, you mainly work with pregnant or expecting people. I Have to admit that most of my stories and points of reference are also around pre and postnatal ppl. The FP, my company, was the first pp in Manhattan owned by an OT and the pre and postnatal community was my sole focus. So naturally it was my point of ref for everything .   I get a lot of questions from OTs about whether that’s the only population you can  work with in this field, so that's what I want to focus on today. This episode  is Meant to arouse your curiosity.. And Inspire you to think outside the box.  You can implement Fundamental pelvic health techniques in a variety of communities and settings. It’s not an all or nothing approach. After all, we are OTs, and we are only limited by our ability to problem solve with our clients. And we can problem solve with every single one of them.This is by no means will this be an exhaustive list but I will do my best to present a wide array. If there is something I have left out, please reach out to me via email or via social media and I will gladly add your additions to a future episode!There are a few different ways we can look at the subspecialties of PF.  The first is from the communities we can serve. The ones we will be reviewing today are “ people going through puberty, prenatal, postnatal, perimenopause, men, pediatrics, oncology, elderly, men's health, LGBTQIA+ athletes, ostomy care. Basically if you have a pelvis, we can support you! Let’s get into the details of this now.The first was those of us working with clients  in a period of life where there are in transitions: this would include puberty and pre puberty clients, there's the pre and postnatal communities and my heart is absolutely here with this vastly underserved population. Likewise, there’s perimenopause and menopausal people. Actually, all of these are underserved individuals who could use our support.  These are periods in our life when our Hormones are in such flux and that has an influence on our pelvic floor function. For example, both with lactating people and with perimenopausal people, estrogen is traditionally in decline, and this affects our PF’s ability to be as buoyant, responsive and supple. During the menopause years specifically, These tissue changes and their symptoms are often referred to as genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), and some tell-tale signs include pain with sex, vaginal dryness, and urinary incontinence! (Side-note: some providers may use the term vaginal atrophy instead of GSM). A very similar albeit temporary process happens to people who are lactating. In terms of supporting pre and postnatal people, we can offer birthing rehearsals that help prepare the birthing person for optimal delivery such as optimizing the uterus and ab wall to help push the baby out vs what many people think which is that the vagina pushes the baby out. Quite the opposite, the vagina actually relaxes and gets out of the way for optimal delivery.  Postpartum care can help with the ADLS of being a new parent and all that goes with that. Many OTs specialize in the m&

Pick Up Your Tickets for "OTs in Pelvic Health Summit" 2022Where it Find Kelsey Mathias on IG

Where to find Michelle Lyons:IG: michellelyons_muliebritywww.CelebrateMuliebrity.comGet Lindsey's 9 page OTs Map to the World of Pelvic Health.Meet Lindsey on the OTs for Pelvic Health Facebook Group!Check Out More OT Pelvic Health Content here.Find Lindsey on IG! @functionalpelvisBooks that Michelle mention in the this epsiode:The Body Keeps the ScoreWhy Did No One Tell Me?Beating EndoThe IC Solution

Lindsey's Roadmap for Boosting Confidence and Planning Your Treatment Sessions Get my 9 page OTs Map to the World of Pelvic Health.Meet me on the OTs for Pelvic Health Facebook Group!Check Out More OT Pelvic Health Content here.Find me on IG! @functionalpelvisBristol Stool ScaleSoft Ball Lindsey Uses with ClientsDUTCH TestIn our case study, we discuss a 49 year old avid runner who has a strong urge to evacuate after starting her run. She also has rectal spasms when she is on her period. She had pelvic floor therapy years ago with no real results.We discuss:What do we address first? Is internal work necessary? What role does the nervous system play? How does her roles, habits, and routines effect her symptoms?

Lindsey's Roadmap for Boosting Confidence and Planning Your Treatment Sessions Get my 9 page OTs Map to the World of Pelvic Health.Meet me on the OTs for Pelvic Health Facebook Group!Check Out More OT Pelvic Health Content here.Find me on IG! @functionalpelvis