Pelvic Health & OT

Earn 1 hour of continuing education by joining OT Potential after taking this course.

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The research we explore in this podcast calls pelvic floor dysfunction a significant and neglected public health issue.

The authors share a discouraging statistic: despite pelvic floor dysfunction impacting around 25% of women in the US, there is a profound lack of understanding of the disorder and how to treat it.

The good news is that OTs are perfectly poised to help meet the needs of pelvic health patients! We’ll use our primary research article to jumpstart our understanding of pelvic floor rehab, including how pelvic floor dysfunction impacts occupation.

Then, it is my pleasure to welcome Lindsey Vestal of the Functional Pelvis to join us. Lindsey is truly a pioneer in promoting OT’s role in pelvic health, and she will discuss her own practice providing pelvic floor rehab in people’s homes. At the end, we’ll also talk about the future of OT’s role in pelvic health, including which trends you should be watching.

Primary Research Explored

When you log in, be sure to check out the OT Potential Club’s written breakdown of the following research article. Then, share your questions and thoughts with fellow practitioners.

• Pelvic floor dysfunction after childbirth: Occupational impact and awareness of available treatment

Recommended Resources

Assessments

• Australian Pelvic Floor Questionnaire
• Context Sensitivity Index
• Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS)

Books

• ACT On Your Business: Braving the storms of entrepreneurship and creating success through meaning, mindset, and mindfulness
• Beyond Kegels: Fourth Edition
• The Bathroom Key: Put an End to Incontinence
• It’s No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions To Your Child’s Wetting, Constipation, UTIs, And Other Potty Problems 

Podcasts

• To Birth and Beyond

Facebook Groups

• OTs for Pelvic Health

Secondary Research 

• The impact of pelvic floor muscle training on the quality of life of women with urinary incontinence: a systematic literature review
• The Effect of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise on Female Sexual Function During Pregnancy and Postpartum: A Systematic Review

Learning Objectives

• You will be able to identify the occupations most commonly impacted by pelvic floor dysfunction, notably which ones you can address in your treatment. 
• You will be able to describe what an OT evaluation of pelvic floor dysfunction entails. 

Agenda

Intro (5 minutes)

Breakdown and analysis of journal article (10 minutes)

• What is the pelvic floor?
• What is pelvic floor dysfunction?
• What was the goal of this paper?
• What were the authors’ methods?
• What were the results?
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Takeaways for OT practitioners

Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with guest Lindsey Vestal) (45 minutes)

• Can you tell us the story of how you found pelvic health OT? 
• What were your initial impressions of the journal article?
• Do you view pelvic floor dysfunction as a significant public health issue? 
• How do people typically find you when looking for pelvic floor rehab? 
• Can you tell us briefly about what your evals look like with these patients?
• What treatments do you utilize? 
• What do you think needs to happen to make the public more aware of pelvic floor dysfunction and treatment options?
• How would you like to see occupational therapy change over the next 5-10 years to support more OTs going into this practice?
• If someone wants to learn more about incorporating pelvic health services into their practice, what is the first step you would recommend?

Target Audience/Educational Level

Our target audience is occupational therapy practitioners who are looking to learn about pelvic-floor occupational therapy. The educational level is introductory.

Financial and Non-financial Disclosures

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

We here at OT Potential have no financial stake in this topic. Our guest, Lindsey Vestal, has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.

Speakers

Lindsey Vestal, M.S. OTR/L :

Lindsey Vestal is the founder of The Functional Pelvis, the first in-home pelvic health practice in New York City run by an Occupational Therapist.

She also teaches AOTA CEU approved OTs courses on how to specialize in pelvic health and how to start their own private pay business, whether or not you are an OT in pelvic health. She has a thriving FB group called “OTs for Pelvic Health” where she hosts free weekly lives chocked full with case studies, business topics and more. Read full bio.

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L:

Sarah’s passion is helping fellow OT practitioners translate evidence into daily practice. Sarah earned her BA in religion from St. Olaf College, then earned her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University in 2011.

Since then, she’s worked in numerous facilities, including a critical access hospital, an acute trauma hospital, and a state inpatient psychiatric hospital. Sarah is the founder/owner of OT Potential. Read more about OT Potential here.

This course was designed to meet your continuing education requirements

We designed the courses in the Club to meet the requirements for “online” and “independent/self-study” courses. To verify the requirements from your specific state (within the US), check out our post, OT Continuing Education Requirements. If you are outside of the United States and have questions, please contact us.

We are proud to be an AOTA Approved Provider and to meet the requirements for your NBCOT renewal.

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