AAccording to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 24 percent of women in the United States are affected by one or more pelvic floor disorders, and many of them require surgery. Pelvic floor disorders include pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, or frequent and urgent urination, and anal incontinence (unexpected loss of stool). Dr. Whitney Ellsworth, physical therapist and owner of Balanced Pelvic & Physical Therapy in Tulsa, wants to raise awareness of pelvic floor disorders and inform women that help is available.

Ellsworth holds a doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oklahoma State University. Ellsworth has been a physical therapist for 17 years, specializing in pelvic floor dysfunction for 10 of those years.

Ellsworth is a mother of four, and her interest in pelvic health began after the birth of her second child. “I had a lot of pelvic floor problems,” she says. “After the doctor said I was OK after six weeks, I started exercising again. I quickly realized I wasn’t feeling well.”

Pregnancy and sport

The boot camp workout that Ellsworth loved so much caused a pelvic organ prolapse because she started back too soon. “I felt like this could have all been prevented if more was known about returning to exercise safely,” she says. Believing that women like her needed more information and more preventative and postpartum care, Ellsworth took certification courses to specialize in pelvic care, found a mentor and eventually opened a practice focused primarily on postpartum care.

“I visit a lot of women during pregnancy,” says Ellsworth. “They may come to me because of back pain and I refer them for postpartum care.”

She says awareness of pelvic health has grown over the past decade, thanks largely to social media, but believes postnatal care is still lacking in the United States.

“A lot of women sign up to see me themselves,” says Ellsworth. “For example, I have a woman who is a weightlifter and wants to play it safe during pregnancy and then start lifting again.”

Ellsworth says she would like to see women, especially those who want to start exercising again, get a postnatal health check between six and 12 weeks, because six weeks is too early to know if their bodies are ready. If they aren’t ready, women may give up exercising altogether.

“It was like a spiraling event for me,” says Ellsworth. “I couldn’t exercise, so I had even more postpartum anxiety because I couldn’t exercise.”

Pregnancy, pain and urine

She also wants women to be aware of pain. During pregnancy, women may experience pain in the pubic area, which can be so debilitating as the pregnancy progresses that they may even be unable to walk. Lower back pain is another common complaint, which she says is typically due to an imbalance in the hips or core, leading to a tight pelvic floor.

After giving birth, women may experience pain, incontinence, pelvic prolapse or pain during intercourse.

“I don’t want women to think of pregnancy pain as ‘normal,'” says Ellsworth. “I think it’s your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Many women think it’s normal to pee when you sneeze after having a baby. It’s a sign that something is wrong.”

Troubleshooting

Because the pelvic floor is affected by the hips and deep torso (the area beneath the upper abdominal muscles), Ellsworth performs a musculoskeletal assessment on her patients. “It’s important to know what’s going on with the hips and deep torso, which is critical because it gets a lot of stretch during pregnancy. You have to work hard to keep it strong.”

To correct imbalances and core and hip problems that affect the pelvic floor, Ellsworth has developed a proprietary program to align the pelvis and strengthen the glutes and core muscles.

Ellsworth believes that women often suffer unnecessarily. She helped a young woman who had experienced pain during intercourse for the first five years of her marriage. Ellsworth says she felt better within two weeks.

“She thought the pain was normal, but it could be relieved,” Ellsworth says.

Don’t wait

“If you have pain, even if it’s mild, get it checked out,” advises Ellsworth. “Call your doctor. If you feel fine, make sure you maintain your range of motion and flexibility during pregnancy. My mission is to give people more awareness and knowledge about what is normal and what is not.”

To that end, Ellsworth is working on an online program for women that uses the techniques she developed.

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