Lose the Incontinence, Improve Performance

 

I sat down to chat with Karen Litzy, physical therapist and host of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart Podcast to talk about the pelvic floor, incontinence and performance. It isn’t just about staying dry, although that is a huge win, it is about harnessing the pressure, energy and force that you are losing out your hoo-hoo that you could be generating toward your athletic performance. 

Some highlights: 

* Moving the the conversation about incontinence with exercise/crossfit/running from common vs normal and strong pelvic floor vs weak.

* The relevance of the PF to orthopedics and sports, and in particular to link the effect of something like incontinence on crossfit performance.

* Getting an athlete to change their mindset…you have to discuss how what you are suggesting will improve their performance. Different message than they are hearing from so many out there…your pelvic floor is weak (not necessarily) or common not normal or stop what you or doing or you are irreparably harming yourself or your are stupid for doing crossfit or go see a pelvic PT when access is very limited in some areas or they have and all they are given is kegels and advice to stop participating.

* Making sure that everyone knows that you can participate in sports/crossfit/running without incontinence and with a functional pelvic floor and core. This will only help your overall performance. 

*Tips are offered from things to look for in your assessment and ideas to integrate if you are NOT a traditional pelvic health practitioner.

*Ortho, sports med and fit pros need to get super comfy with understanding pelvic health contributions to musculoskeletal and performance issue and appreciate the role they have in addressing them.

Enjoy! Leave thoughts, comments and questions below.

 

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10 thoughts on “Lose the Incontinence, Improve Performance”

  1. Margy Verba says:

    Hi Julie, Fantastic interview…will probably listen a few times! Re hashtag idea…#ToPeeOrNotToPee???

    1. Julie Wiebe says:

      Ha! Love it!!

      Julie

  2. myranda says:

    awesome conversation, totally agree with talk about the pelvic floor needing to be responsive! Makes perfect sense.

    Where can we learn more about maximal lifting breathe? As a new crossfit athlete and new Olympic weight lifter AS WELL as pelvic health PT I want to ensure I am doing it right and teaching my clients right!

    #livedry

    1. Julie Wiebe says:

      Thank you! I have a female athlete online course that discusses it (and a full foundational course that goes into breath mechanics in depth) on my site. All have CEUs! You can check them all out here (blue, adult pro courses): http://www.juliewiebept.com/product/piston-science-bundles/

      Thanks for your interest! Julie

  3. Lise Brown says:

    loving it, thanks Juie!
    Your online courses are on my list once I finished the ones I m doing at the moment;-)

    1. Julie Wiebe says:

      Thank you!! Appreciate the support! Julie

  4. Susan Ryznar says:

    Could you relay the specific journal Michelle Smith published her articles on LBP related to incontinence & breathing patterns. Thanks

    1. Julie Wiebe says:

      Sorry for the delay! Missed this one. Here are the pubmed links:
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16515418
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23486234

      Enjoy! Julie

  5. Dawn says:

    Really good conversation, thanks both. Also a PT (not US-based), & teach running form predominantly to women. Much of what you discussed here I’m alrrady familiar with, but I’m interested to explore further / do some additional reading. What would you recommend? Many thanks.

    1. Julie Wiebe says:

      The cool thing about your comment is that optimal form is positive for the pelvic floor! Great info for folks not familiar with pelvic health issues, stuff we know to do has good carryover. I have a course online called Female Athletes: Ready for Impact and High intensity that discusses these ideas in depth and provides a case study on a CrossFitter/ runner. You can find it on my site under the courses tab—>online—> blue adult pro tab. Thanks for your interest and weighing in. Julie

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