Professional Article

Marisa Branco | Pelvic Physiotherapist

When we talk about women's health, it is important to address pelvic health. Pelvic health has a significant impact on quality of life, self-esteem, relationships and the mental health of all women. However, it is rarely talked about or well-known, even by health professionals, and ends up being neglected, undervalued and remedied. The pelvic floor, made up of muscles, nerves, ligaments and fascia, is the protagonist when it comes to this topic. Its function is to support the pelvic organs (bladder, uterus and rectum), urinary and fecal continence, and it plays an important role in sexual function. There are phases in a woman's life when the risk of pelvic floor dysfunction is higher, such as during pregnancy, postpartum and menopause, however, dysfunction can arise at any stage of a woman's life, from childhood. Pelvic floor dysfunction is reflected in symptoms such as urinary and/or fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse (descent of the uterus, bladder or rectum), sexual pain, or even the inability to have intercourse and pelvic pain.

Concerned and passionate about this topic, I have dedicated my clinical practice since 2019 to women's health, having created the space: “O Melhor de mim” [The Best of Me] in Santa Maria da Feira. In my consultations, I often see women who, because of leaking urine, always carry a change of clothes in their bag, or avoid going to concerts or festivals because it's difficult to get to the bathroom. Or women with sexual pain, who feel emotionally shaken, with shattered self-esteem and problems in their romantic relationships. Not to mention cases of women who, after childbirth, no longer control or recognize their own bodies. These are more common problems than you might imagine, lived in silence by many women who have already sought help and found no solution, by others who have not yet had the courage to seek help, and by those who don't even know that a solution exists. That is why I leave you with the following message: If you suffer from any pelvic dysfunction or want to prevent it from occurring, the solution is not to wear a sanitary pad daily, it is not to drink a glass of wine to relax before sexual intercourse and much less, to live your whole life this way, but rather to turn to pelvic physiotherapy.

I hope that one day it will be as normal to go to physiotherapy to treat urinary incontinence or sexual pain as it is normal for a situation of lower back pain.

WATCH VIDEO - Three exercises to combat and prevent pelvic floor dysfunction.

WATCH VIDEO - Learn more about the prevalence of SEXUAL PAIN in women.