The Pelvic Floor Goes Hiking

Two weekends ago I was able to get out for a hike to Fisher's Point via beautiful Sandy's Canyon in Flagstaff, AZ. Sandy’s Canyon is quite possibly my absolute favorite place to hike. It’s relatively quiet early in the day but gets busier as the day goes on. It has flat sections and some climbs depending on if you want to go all the way up to Fisher’s Point to the lookout or not. It has shade and also a sunny canyon bottom with many wildflowers. It even has a little cave. Kids and pups can hike it too, depending on their level of hiking experience (that's my 10 month old puppy, Kaia, in the video)!

As a pelvic floor physical therapist, of course I had to think about pelvic floor stuff on this gorgeous hike! Something I hear often from folks I treat for pelvic floor issues is that it’s hard to hike or hike for as long as they would like. I’ve successfully treated people who’ve been limited in hiking by many different pelvic symptoms such as:

• Pelvic pain (pain anywhere in the external genitals or internal pelvis, or even the pelvis itself)
• Urinary incontinence (leaking urine)
• Urinary urgency (“I can’t hold it,” leaking before you’re in a good place to pee)
• Bowel issues (urgency, leakage and more)
• Pelvic organ prolapse (feeling of heaviness or falling out)

These symptoms are often due to treatable pelvic floor muscle problems. Because of these issues, people often modify their hiking or avoid hiking altogether. My patients with these symptoms have reported to me that they’ve had to:

• Shorten their hikes
• Hike more slowly than they’d like
• Avoid carrying as much (which can be a big problem if you’re not carrying enough water in Arizona!)
• Avoid hiking on rougher terrain
• Avoid hiking on hills
• Hike less often or stop hiking

If you love to hike like many of us in Arizona do, and are finding yourself limited by pelvic floor issues, it might be time to come see a pelvic floor physical therapist. As a pelvic floor physical therapist, my goal is to get at the root of why you’re having your pelvic symptoms, help you change any modifiable factors, and get you back to doing what you love to do. That may mean:

• Strengthening or re-training your pelvic floor muscles
• Improving your trunk and hip strength
• Teaching you how to modify what and when you’re drinking
• Modifying your gait (how you walk or hike)
• Teaching you how to be in control of your bladder or bowels, instead of letting them control you

 
Do you wish you could hike more in our beautiful Northern Arizona? Fall is coming and I can’t wait to walk around in the beautiful aspens as the weather cools down. If you’d like to talk about your pelvic floor symptoms and get some relief, contact me using the contact form, or call Foundations Physical Therapy at (928) 350-8270. I look forward to helping you figure out how to hike and live the life you want to live, without pelvic floor muscle problems limiting you.