Many moons ago I had the pleasure of being indoctrinated into the word of pelvic health while working as a physical therapist at H & D Physical Therapy in NYC.

After living in New York as a dancer in musical theatre, I transitioned back into the world of physical therapy. In 2007, I was happily working in orthopedics at H & D Physical Therapy and working in dance medicine backstage at Broadway shows for Physioarts.

Stacey Futterman, former H & D colleague and now friend and Herman and Wallace co-teacher, came into our office from another H & D location and taught a workshop about pelvic health physical therapy. She explained how we, as orthopedic physical therapists, could screen for folks with pelvic health concerns.

I didn’t realize the scope of how many people suffered from pelvic floor issues. I didn’t realize that incontinence was a leading cause of being put into a nursing home. I learned that incontinence may affect up to 50% of women* and 3-11% of men. In regards to pelvic pain, 11% of men and 25% of women will experience pelvic pain.

Twelve years later I am lucky to be working riverside in Boston at a physical therapy practice I built treating pelvic and orthopedic health. I find good results and enjoy integrating yoga, breath work, and mindfulness into my plan of care.

Which brings me to the topic of the Pelvic Health Summit, from May 20–25.

Dr. Allyson Shrikhande invited me to participate and it was such a pleasure meeting her in person. She is one of the masterminds being the summit.

Hannah Matluck was another sponsor and co-host. She and I had the chance to connect about her journey and the work she is doing in the world to promote pelvic health awareness. As a woman with pelvic pain herself, she was interested to try a few yoga postures with me and ask questions along the way. I loved that our interview felt more like a one-on-one session since she asked me about why I was having her trying different poses. So fun!

Cow demo at Pelvic Health Summit

My former boss, Amy Stein of Beyond Basics Physical Therapy, was interviewed just ahead of me. We had no idea we were going to cross over! It was such a fabulous surprise. She introduced me to the International Pelvic Pain Society and invited me to teach yoga there for the first time in 2013. IPPS is also sponsoring this free summit.

The line up for this online event is fantastic.

The Pelvic Health Summit is an interactive online event dedicated to raising awareness of pelvic health issues and bringing expert practitioners in a variety of fields who work with pelvic health patients. It is:

  • 100% virtual
  • 100% educational
  • 100% free

From May 20–25, a variety of healthcare specialists will be giving presentations and interviews, which will be posted to both YouTube and the Pelvic Health Summit Facebook group, spurring discussion and sharing of perspectives from all of the Summit’s participants.

The goals of the summit are:

  • To educate people on the importance of pelvic health
  • Provide multiple perspectives and specialists to weigh in on pelvic health
  • Provide an accepting platform for people to engage, discuss, and support one another

I hope you’ll join me in getting involved with this patient education event. To view my interview and others, please register for the Summit at www.pelvichealthsummit.com and please feel free to share the event with anyone else you know who you think may benefit from participating.

*Apologies for gendered language as the research reports.