Virtual Pelvic Health: Women in France Don't Pee Their Pants When They Laugh, Do Your Patients?
By: Nataliya Zlotnikov, MSc, HBSc
By: Nataliya Zlotnikov, MSc, HBSc
Introduction
What's the difference between urinary incontinence (UI) and overactive bladder (OAB)?
Can you treat pelvic floor clients with virtual care?
How do you identify pelvic floor dysfunction in your patients?
Why is it that women in France don't pee their pants when they laugh?
If you are unsure of the answers to any of these questions or would simply like to delve further into these topics, we invite you to take a look at this blog, Virtual Pelvic Health: Women in France Don't Pee Their Pants When They Laugh, Do Your Patients? Based on Nelly Faghani's online healthcare course, Introduction to Pelvic Health Physiotherapy, which is free for Embodia Members.
When You Just Can't Hold It: Urinary Incontinence vs. Overactive Bladder
Before we get into this very important comparison, let's answer that pressing question first: "Why is it that women in France don't pee their pants when they laugh?"
That is because, in France, the government pays for all women to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist postpartum. Amazing! And now, having put the North American healthcare system to shame, let us continue.
Overactive bladder (OAB): OAB can be defined as an increased urgency to go pee accompanied by an increased frequency (more than eight times per day). Patients often get up at night to urinate (which a person below the age of 50/55 should not be doing). OAB can further be broken down into OAB wet and OAB dry: OAB wet presents with leakage while OAB dry presents with no leakage.
In urinary incontinence (UI) on the other hand, patients may not have any urgency or increased frequency but will have leakage.
A Few More Drops of Information
In addition to OAB and UI, Nelly's course also discusses numerous other pelvic floor dysfunctions such as pelvic organ prolapse, dyspareunia (pain with intercourse), and pelvic pain.
I really enjoyed this course and took a wealth of information away from it. I definitely recommend it for any practitioner, even if you aren't working with pelvic health patients. Follow our big yellow button below to take a closer look.
Course Objectives
- Discuss various types of pelvic floor dysfunction and the evidence behind the role of physiotherapy.
- Learn symptoms that may help you determine pelvic floor over-or under-activity.
- Discuss pelvic health using telerehabilitation and virtual care.
How Do I Identify Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
Here are some things you can look for in your patients/questions you can ask to help identify pelvic floor dysfunction.
These questions can help you identify if someone would benefit from seeing a pelvic floor physiotherapist or if they have over-or under-activity of the pelvic floor.
- Urinary incontinence
- Fecal incontinence
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Overactive bladder
- Constipation
- Dyspareunia
- Pelvic pain
- Low back pain (yes, that's right, low back pain)
Can You Treat Pelvic Floor Clients With Virtual Care?
We must also remember that we are living in the days of COVID-19, where many of us are seeing our patients virtually. Can virtual pelvic health physiotherapy truly be effective? The answer to this is a resounding yes, a capitalized YES!
Nelly has seen many patients for pelvic health since COVID has started and has seen a huge patient satisfaction rate in virtual care; many patients have been discharged virtually and the outcomes have truly been fantastic!
Here is a snippet from the course in which Nelly discusses some of the benefits of virtual care as well as her experience with Embodia virtual care.
Nelly on Virtual Care:
Nelly Loves Embodia and We Love Nelly!
We don't love Nelly just because she loves us, we love her because she is so knowledgable on the subject of pelvic health and shares her knowledge in a beautiful and engaging way!
We at Embodia are fortunate to have numerous online physiotherapy courses from Pelvic Health Solutions including:
- Let’s Talk About Sex: Addressing Sexual Function With Your Patients
- The Nuts and Bolts of Penile Rehabilitation & Sexual Health in Men's Health Physiotherapy
- Cultural Competencies in Pelvic Health
- Suicidality in Urologic Disease for Men and Women
But there are many more! Here is a complete list of Pelvic Health Solutions courses on Embodia.
If you have any questions for Nelly she would love to hear from you!
You can contact Nelly via e-mail at nelly@pelvichealthsolutions.ca or follow her on Instagram.
Be sure to also check out Pelvic Health Solutions - Courses for Professionals for even more courses.
Pelvic Health Solutions (PHS) is an evidence-based teaching company that aims to educate and empower physiotherapists, healthcare professionals, and everyday people about pelvic health.
PHS was founded in 2010 out of the need to develop pelvic health resources in Ontario at a time when it was an under-serviced health concern. PHS provides continuing education courses, mentoring, and clinical resources for a variety of practitioners with the goal of equipping them to deliver evidence-based, biopsychosocial assessment and treatment of pelvic health problems in our province and abroad.
Our company also exists as a way to connect people experiencing pelvic health concerns to pelvic health physiotherapists in their area. PHS has ultimately blossomed into a community of curious people who are committed to providing hope and healing to those who suffer from pelvic health issues.
B.Sc. P.T., M.C.P.A.
Nelly graduated from the University of Toronto in 1996. Nelly started to treat pelvic health in 1998 and continues to be actively involved in clinical practice, mentoring and teaching. She has helped develop Continence Programs that have been implemented in various long-term care facilities through Ontario. Nelly has been a spokesperson for the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, has co-authored a neuro-urology textbook chapter on incontinence and has hosted a round table at the International Pelvic Pain Society Conference.
Nelly is a member of the ICS Children and Young Adult’s Committee and the ICS Physiotherapy Committee. She regularly attends international conferences and prides herself on staying on top of the current pelvic health literature.