Daily
exercises
do the trick
Women’s
Health Seminar:
Female UI:
How-to
Take Control
When:
Thursday, April 25,
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Where:
Health Education Center,
Southeast 92nd Avenue and East
Mill Plain Boulevard, Vancouver
Info:
Urinary incontinence (UI)
is a taboo topic, even though
51 million women worldwide
are affected by it. Don’t let this
treatable condition affect your
quality of life. Learn how you can
effectively manage those “little
accidents.” Prevalence, risk
factors, types of incontinence,
and treatment options, including
pelvic floor physical therapy, will
be discussed.
Presented by Katie Wood, PT,
DPT, PeaceHealth Southwest
Physical Rehabilitation Services.
A NONSURGICAL SOLUTION TO INCONTINENCE
KATHL E EN HONE YCUT T, 7 1 , HAD I NCONT I NENCE .
For a full year before she mentioned it to her doctor,
she was waking up multiple times each night to use the
bathroom.
“I was afraid the solution would involve surgery,” she says.
Honeycutt has three children, 16 grandchildren, and
three great-grandchildren, plus she cares for two elderly
parents. She did not have time to be laid up.
Honeycutt’s gynecologist referred her to the Pelvic Floor
Rehabilitation Program at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical
Center Physical Rehabilitation Services.
“I was getting up every two hours to use the bathroom,”
Honeycutt says. “I would dash out of a show to use the
restroom. I was wearing pads all the time.” She adds
candidly, “I didn’t want to wind up to be a stinky old lady
if I could avoid it.”
A SIMPLE ASSIGNMENT
Honeycutt met with a physical therapist, Katie Wood,
who did a preliminary pelvic floor muscle exam. She then
taught Honeycutt about a dozen exercises that affect the
pelvic region and provide flexibility and strength to her
hips, back, and neck. Wood checked Honeycutt’s progress
in the gym by watching her do the exercises and gave her
handouts to refer to at home.
At the beginning, Honeycutt was skeptical. “I thought,
‘This is never going to work. I could do 7,000 Kegels, and I
will still have the same problem,’” Honeycutt says.
But within two weeks of beginning the five-week program,
she showed marked improvement with minimal effort. She
was sleeping more than six hours straight, which she never
expected and which was a huge boost to her quality of life.
Honeycutt says her idea of an exercise program is
“fooling around in the pool or playing darts,” so she was
relieved to find she could do her exercises anywhere and
that they “just blend in my daily routine.”
RELIEVED AT RESULTS
Fifteen years ago, Honeycutt had bladder sling surgery, and
she is “flabbergasted” to have found a nonsurgical program
that dramatically improved her life. These days she does
several of the exercises daily and adds in others when she
feels any of her previous symptoms.
“I know right away exactly what to do,” she says. “The
program is very simple but very effective. I was very
impressed with the whole thing.”
2
SOUTHWEST
health
Women’s
health
If you are struggling with incontinence or
other pelvic floor issues, ask your doctor about
the Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation Program at
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
“The program is
very simple but very
effective.
I was very
impressed with the
whole thing.”
—Kathleen Honeycutt
PAT I ENT P ROF I L E
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