EP5 Rachel Gelman, DPT: Pelvic Floor Health

Not A Mama Yet

For this episode of the Not A Mama Yet podcast, I’m speaking with Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist Rachel Gelman. Rachel is a Bay Area native. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Washington in Seattle and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Samuel Merritt University.

I reached out to Rachel during a trip to San Francisco a few months ago to talk about the pelvic floor. It is a part of the body I’ve become increasingly interested in because of its role in our everyday lives and also pregnancy and labor. For anyone who isn’t familiar with the pelvic floor, pelvic floor muscles function to support pelvic floor organs, assist in urinary and fecal continence, aid in sexual performance (orgasm), stabilize connecting joints and act as a venous and lymphatic pump for the pelvis.

This is a great episode for both men and women to listen to because the pelvic floor muscles play an important role in our everyday lives. It’s really as simple as not peeing our pants, we can thank our pelvic floor for that.

My main takeaways from this episode are:

-Everything in our bodies is connected! It might sound silly to think your ankle can impact your pelvic floor, but it can!

-Your pelvic floor influences your daily life from going to the bathroom to having sex.

-After pregnancy, your abdominal muscles can separate resulting in something called Diastisis Recti. Closing that gap between the muscles is important to focus on.

-Contract (Kegel), relax, and lengthen are the three ways to work your pelvic floor muscles.

-Just because something is common, doesn’t mean it is normal! Don’t accept pain or discomfort because many people have similar issues.

You can find Rachel here:

• https://pelvicpainrehab.com/
• https://pelvicpainrehab.com/blog/

Thank you for listening to this episode!

Natalie

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