Life Without Incontinence
Incontinence is not often a topic that is discussed openly, but more than 25 million people in the USA experience urinary leakage every day.
Often these individuals live with this condition silently, spending hundreds of dollars per month on pads or protective undergarments, and do not participate in activities they used to love that cause leakage such as running, participating in family gatherings, hiking, swimming, dancing, cycling, etc. The good news is often incontinence is treatable, or at the very least, manageable with Pelvic Floor physical therapy as an effective first-line treatment option and has been proven to help significantly improve quality of life of those with urinary incontinence. Our approach is multi-faceted and can involve evaluation, education, behavioral modification, muscle re-education and training. If you are silently suffering, our experienced team of Pelvic Floor PT specialists can help!
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist Expertise
Shanna Duffy, PT, DPT, PRPC, BC-PMD is Board Certified in Pelvic Rehabilitation (PRPC) through the Herman & Wallace Institute. She is one of only 10 practitioners in NH/VT with this level of Pelvic Health accreditation. In addition, she is one of only 83 physical therapists in the US to be Board Certified in Biofeedback to treat Pelvic Muscle Dysfunction.
Stephanie Daniels, PT, DPT has experience as a Pelvic Floor Physical therapy clinic director and has dedicated her continuing education coursework to Pelvic Health courses through the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. She has taken all three levels of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy which provide training for the evaluation and management of pelvic floor dysfunction in a variety of patient populations.
It occurred to me when I watched yet another advertisement for “Adult Pull-ups” I thought to myself, it isn’t normal to be incontinent as active adults. The advertisers are normalizing it for their profit. I’m not yet old (I don’t think 60 is old, but some might disagree) and I started to have trouble with “that area down there” that no one likes to talk about. And yes, I did my kegels! I didn’t want to be entering my 70s already needing incontinence products. I turned to Stephanie Daniels, PT at Cioffredis. Stephanie was professional and kind; she explained that the pelvic floor has lots of muscles that can get tight or weak like any other muscle. Pelvic floor muscles work together with abdominal and hip muscles to keep everything functioning correctly. There are exercises that go beyond Kegels to really help. She stepped me through retraining my muscles. Within a month, I am more confident when I sneeze, or laugh or cough! The exercises aren’t hard and you don’t need a gym! You can do many while standing in line! Face it, if I can do it, anyone can do it. -Anonymous
I came in feeling pretty down about the issues I was having – the constipation and leakage were so bothersome and I was worried that it was something I couldn’t improve. Shanna Duffy, PT was so nice, so upbeat, and so confident and ready with a plan that I felt better after one visit. Within one week my symptoms were almost completely reversed, and I was learning more and more about my body every day. I even enjoyed coming each week to my visit! (And given the unknown of what to expect when my doctor recommended the therapy, this was a huge and great surprise) -Jenna Lyall
