Meditation for Pelvic Health

December 2021 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

This time of year can be stressful and increase anxiety... which can cause new or returning symptoms of pelvic floor conditions. One strategy I teach my patients dealing with pelvic floor issues is using meditation as a daily practice.

What moms should know about diastasis recti

July 2020 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

July is Diastasis Recti Awareness month, and there is certainly more awareness needed on this issue!  The information available can be confusing, conflicting, and lacking research-based evidence.  Here are the main things I want all moms to know about diastasis rectus abdominus (DRA).

Kegels Part Two

April 2020 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

In the last blog post we talked about whether or not Kegels were a good idea.  (If you haven’t read it yet, do that first!)  Sometimes we don’t need to strengthen a muscle group that is already too tight and turned on all the time.  But sometimes we do need to strengthen to give support to the pelvis.  So how do we Kegel?

Kegels - Should I do them or not?

April 2020 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

If you Google search “pelvic floor” in the hopes of figuring out your own concerns or ailments, you likely pull up the advice from many folks advocating for Kegels.  Incontinence? Do kegels! Pelvic pain? Kegels are the answer! Things don’t feel the same since having kids? You should probably do Kegels.

But fortunately another message is also spreading - not everyone should do Kegels.  That creates a lot of confusion. Are we supposed to do Kegels or not?  

Lower back pain in pregnancy

February 2020 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

Lower back pain during pregnancy should not be considered a natural part of the process that we should be expected to endure. Unfortunately this seems to be a common mindset. While it is true that there are a lot of reasons why LBP would occur during pregnancy - more relaxin in the system leading to more mobility in the joints, changes in spinal curvatures because of the growing baby, the weight of the baby pressing down on the pelvis, and many others - these are all things that can be helped, even during pregnancy....  

Building habits for better health

January 2020 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

The new year brings a fresh start, a clean slate. To me, that feels exciting and I love to set new goals. Often, we take on goals to improve our health. But sometimes by mid-January, we are feeling discouraged if we aren’t changing much to reach our goals...  

Taking care of the whole "you" postpartum

December 10, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

Becoming a mother brings many changes to your physical body and mental health. Your body adapts to pregnancy through muscular stretching and compensation, posture changes, more ligament laxity, and hormonal shifts...

Connecting with your deep core - Part 2

November 19, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

Connecting with your deep core is a process, getting many parts of your body working together for a strong anchor. The basis for much of it lies in how we breathe. If we have healthy breathing patterns and use the diaphragm well, it sets us up for connecting well with our core...

Connecting with your deep core

November 5, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

There's a strong chance that when you read that title, you tightened your abs. That's because the majority of us associate "core" with "abs". Unfortunately, that's not the whole picture, and just focusing on abs leaves our body unbalanced, and without a strong anchor....

That glute pain that won't go away....

October 29, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

You know the one I'm talking about. That pain in the butt that you try to stretch, but it's still there. You roll around on the lacrosse ball, still there. You try to put your finger on it but can't quite get to it. Sometimes it's in your butt, but then it feels like the front of your hip. It can be sharp, or it can be dull and nagging and drives you crazy....

How long can I run during pregnancy?

October 22, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

There is a lot to consider with this topic! I think this a lucky time to be alive, with more and more information coming out about what we can do during pregnancy! But, there is a long way to go and gaps in information definitely exist. We have to approach the issue on an individual basis, from multiple facets. 

"So...you're a physical therapist? What does that mean?

October 15, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

“Are you like a chiropractor?” “Is it sort of like personal training?” “What kind of massage do you do?”  

It’s National Physical Therapy month, so I want to address a question I’ve gotten throughout my 13 years of practice.  

“Oh you’re a physical therapist? What does that mean exactly?” 

Feeling Stressed? So is your pelvic floor!

October 8, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

Do you ever notice what emojis you text the most? Recently I noticed that the grimace (ie, the stressed-out, frazzled, “yikes” face) was always in my top 5. Not smiley, not surprised, not sad, but stressed. The symbolism of it made me take pause. Is that the message I want to be sending out all the time? Is that how I want to be feeling? What is that doing to my body to be in a grimace most of the time?  

The Fourth Trimester

October 1, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

The fourth trimester has been receiving a lot of attention lately - and rightfully so. This period of time is technically the three months following delivery and unofficially extends into the full time that a mama is recovering from pregnancy and childbirth. There is so much going on during these months! We are adapting to physical, social, and psychological changes.....

Stress Incontinence: Is it "normal"?

September 19, 2019 | Jill Heath, PT, DPT 

This is a common misconception in the mom world - many a meme jokes about it, and books about motherhood write about the “rite of passage” that inevitably happens after baby. And it’s no surprise we think it’s normal - 1 out of 3 moms report stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after having kids.

Healthy Bladder Tips

September 4, 2019 | Jill Heath , PT, DPT 

For those of us with unhappy bladders, summer time is full of reminders. We know we should drink more water, but then we worry we’ll be running to the bathroom every half hour. We want to join our kids on the trampoline, but we worry about leaking...

Why we need to view postpartum as a recovery time

July 17, 2019 | Jill Heath , PT, DPT 

Having a baby is a natural process that our bodies were made to do. The body goes through considerable changes during pregnancy to allow the baby to grow, and prepare us for delivery. Though a natural process, it is a change from how our bodies are used to working and feeling...

Guide to Caring for Your Postpartum Body

July 9, 2019 | Jill Heath , PT, DPT 

Our bodies experience many changes during pregnancy and childbirth, followed by a dramatic change in our daily activities. Today more than ever, we are enjoying higher levels of activity and fitness during pregnancy and soon after delivery. In an effort to keep up with this activity, our bodies often adopt new ways of moving which are not ideal for how the joints and muscles should function...

Balance

July 2, 2019 | Jill Heath , PT, DPT 

We women hear this word a lot. Work-life balance, balancing kids and career, life is a balancing act, etc.  

All of these internal and external pressures of life can create noise that keeps us from listening to our bodies. Pregnancy and the physical demands of motherhood can...