Psychological Elements of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
By Kyrsten Spurrier, OTR/L
Mind & Body Work Together
Hi, my name is Kyrsten Spurrier and I’m the owner of the Perinatal Pelvis in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Over the last year, the submissions to HER Health Collective, I have focused on the topic of the four big elements that make up holistic pelvic floor therapy, physical, emotional, psychological, and neurological.
Today we are going to talk about the psychological elements of pelvic floor dysfunction. And I am so excited because I feel like it’s not addressed in very many pelvic floor therapy sessions. But yet, it matters so much. And many of my clients come in not understanding how their mindset is affecting their healing.
Also, as an occupational therapist, I just love when mind and body work together for healing. It’s so incredible!
My job as a therapist is not to force your tissues to release. But instead of listen to what your body is telling me and create a safe space, that your body can release that tension.
Past Affecting the Present
Our pelvic bowl or pelvic space is the storage house of all of our unprocessed emotion, trauma events, and things that have happened to us. Our pelvic floor space also has a wonderful memory, yet it has no sense of time.
So as we start working, in pelvic floor therapy, it’s really common that the emotions and memories start to arise. And we really just don’t know what to do with those in our bodies. Things like birth trauma, sexual trauma, sexual repression, even past surgeries or fears, can really start to come up and hold tension in our body, which results in pain and discomfort.
My job as a therapist is not to force your tissues to release. But instead of listen to what your body is telling me and create a safe space, that your body can release that tension. As we start to address the psychological aspects that are going along with your pelvic floor dysfunction. It takes longer, it takes time it takes listening to really realize that our mindset, and our past is affecting our present healing.
I know this sounds out there for some people. It was for me when I first started and was introduced to kind of this concept of healing and bodywork. But it is so effective.
Meditation Practice for Awareness
My patients aren’t just healing their pelvic floor dysfunction. But they’re realizing how their past is affecting their present, and being able to have this freedom as they start healing from the trauma or the events that are held in their tissues.
So below, you’ll find a link to a meditation practice that I use with many of my clients to start getting them aware of what’s showing up in their pelvic space.
We are not trained or we do not get educated on our pelvic floor. And so it’s really hard at first for clients to really realize the energy that is within our pelvic space. So I invite you to use this practice and see what shows up for you and explore what your body is saying.
Lastly, if you have any questions and if this resonates with you at all, I would love to chat with you. You can reach out to me via email, phone or text or even set up a 15 minute free consultation. I would just love to be able to help you in the journey that you are on. Have a wonderful day and I hope you enjoy this practice.
MEDITATION:
Building Awareness of Emotion and Tension Held in Your Pelvic Space through Pelvic Sweeping
Kyrsten believes every mom should feel empowered, supported and strong in their bodies. She was introduced to pelvic health therapy after the birth trauma of her first son. She felt isolated, embarrassed and weak in her body and even after going to pelvic floor therapy she felt that there was a great need to be better and to think more holistically.
Kyrsten was working as an Occupational Therapist for 3 years in a hospital based setting at this point and started to research what she needed to do to help women with similar experiences. That began her 4 year journey of taking continuing education classes that focused on the physical, emotional and mental aspects of pelvic floor dysfunction. Kyrsten opened her own business in Oct 2021, The Perinatal Pelvis.
Spread the word
Medical Disclaimer: All content found on the HER Health Collective Website was created for informational purposes only and are the opinions of the HER Health Collective experts and professional contributors. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately.
