Supporting women's pelvic health in the workplace is a win for everyone

Pelvic floor disorders can disrupt every facet of life. Over the course of my career in physical therapy, I've listened to thousands of women share how symptoms such as urinary leakage or pelvic pain have impacted their quality of life. It goes far beyond a minor inconvenience. My patients commonly share feelings of being limited in their ability to work, exercise, or even perform daily activities. Many of them accept this as their new normal. 

Insert pelvic floor physical therapy. A total game changer.

Through education, exercise therapy, and behavior modification, women can begin to reclaim their lives. Most patients come to have a deep appreciation for pelvic floor physical therapy (PT) — because on the other side of their symptoms they find a return to a higher level of function, an improvement in quality of life and the ability to avoid medication and surgery. Sounds great, right? 

Unfortunately, pelvic floor PT remains underutilized despite it being a safe, effective treatment that's backed by science. Access to a pelvic floor physical therapist is hard to come by, with less than 7% of the physical therapists licensed on the American Physical Therapy Association directory being certified in pelvic health. Furthermore, pelvic floor PTs tend to be concentrated around larger, metropolitan areas. This means the wait time to get relief for these very addressable issues is typically months. Add to that the demanding schedule of a working woman and making typical appointment times can feel downright impossible. 

As a full-time working mother of two and provider who is passionate about improving care in this industry, I have both a personal and professional interest in ensuring women are educated on their pelvic health and know how they can treat pelvic pain they may be experiencing. Today, the ability to access services via digital health solutions can help women overcome barriers and get the care they deserve. 

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How big is the issue?
Many people don't realize just how common pelvic floor disorders are. How many people do you know that have high cholesterol? The reality is even more people — one in four — suffer from pelvic floor disorders. But they don't know it, largely due to a lack of knowledge and assuming this type of pain is just part of being a woman. A pelvic floor disorder occurs when the pelvic muscles and connective tissue that support the pelvic organs weaken or are injured. Some of the most common disorders are urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse but can also include abdominal separation (diastasis recti), pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction.

While pelvic floor disorders can occur at any age, their prevalence increases with age and are most common during certain life stages such as pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. A 2018 study reported that 75% of pregnant women experience pelvic pain such as low back pain, pelvic pain and/or hip pain.

Because of the stigma attached to pelvic floor disorders and limited access to care, women have been left to "deal with" their symptoms, especially at work. Many women experience pelvic floor disorders during the height of their careers, so they learn to cope by adjusting their activities of daily living: wearing diapers, dark clothing, or reducing their liquid intake. This can negatively impact quality of life and reduce productivity at work. With limited availability to pelvic floor PTs, women without flexible work schedules are required to take time off of work to get care and may even need to forfeit pay. For many, the stigma, lack of access, and complexities of fitting care into their lives becomes too burdensome. So they defer care, sometimes for years. In fact, 6.5 years is the average wait time for seeking care for urinary incontinence. This delay in care can lead to the need for more costly interventions. 

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So what can we do?
As a safe, effective, first line treatment for pelvic floor disorders, pelvic floor physical therapy needs to be accessible to all women. This requires redefining the way we deliver care. The pandemic opened our eyes to the tangible benefits of remote care and, for an issue like pelvic floor disorders where PTs are not readily available and there is still stigma attached to it, digital solutions should be forefront. 

I strongly believe that all women deserve the same access to strategies to manage pelvic floor disorders as they would for any other prevalent health condition. Pelvic floor symptoms are not just something women "have to live with." There are safe, conservative strategies that do not require the use of medications or surgeries. I encourage women to advocate for their care and for employers to think deeply about how their health benefits can fully support more women in the workplace. 

My goal is to help women suffering from pelvic floor disorders live a healthier, happier, more productive life, full stop.