Community Health Talk: Let’s Talk About Pelvic Floor Health

The pelvic floor is a bowl of muscles that supports the pelvic organs and serves an important role in bowel, bladder, uterine, and vaginal support. When working properly, most individuals do not even realize they have a pelvic floor; however, when weakened by variety of factors including increasing age, multiple pregnancies/deliveries, chronic straining, heavy weightlifting and more, issues with these organs (and their function) can arise. Half of women will experience a pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime, including bowel and bladder control issues and/or pelvic organ prolapse. These conditions can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life and can result in patients who suffer in silence due to embarrassment or lack of clarity on who to discuss these conditions with. The purpose of this lecture is to discuss what the pelvic floor is, how to keep it healthy, and options for when it is not working properly. Dr. Hickman wants to talk about it, so you can too!