Health Expert Tasha Mulligan MPT shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/15224/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/15224/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/15224/index http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/122696/incontinence Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:00:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT As a physical therapist and personal trainer, I am well aware of how daunting initiating a new exercise program can be.  It is with this in mind that I wanted to break down incontinence control into some simple steps.  Try these today and tomorrow-ease your way into a routine that will improve your incontinence symptoms. Step 1:  Find 5 minutes per day to lay on your stomach.   Step 2:  While standing in the shower,... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/122696/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/122554/incontinence Thu, 21 Oct 2010 06:32:37 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT As a physical therapist and personal trainer, I am well aware of how daunting initiating a new exercise program can be.  It is with this in mind that I wanted to break down incontinence control into some simple steps.  Try these today and tomorrow-ease your way into a routine that will improve your incontinence symptoms.Step 1:  Find 5 minutes per day to lay on your stomach.  Step 2:  While standing in the shower, work... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/122554/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/120436/incontinence Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:04:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT I have blogged about the importance of exercise in some of my previous entries, “Exercise your Pelvic Floor – You Owe It to Yourself”, and “Strategies to Maximize Activity Level While Managing Incontinence”, but after returning from a continuing education course this weekend, I couldn’t help but to re-visit this topic.  Dr.  Sheilds, of the University of Iowa, presented current research on the... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/120436/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/118058/time-stand Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:55:02 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT If you find it hard to control your bladder when you stand up from a seated position you may want to take a closer look at your sitting posture.  In my previous entries I have talked extensively about how our posture can affect the function of our pelvic floor.  Posture is not something that is only with us when we are standing, but it is just as important when we are sitting.  If your tendency is to sit rolled back on your buns,... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/118058/time-stand http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/117022/therapist Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:04:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT Did you know that no matter what treatment option you choose for your pelvic floor dysfunction, it is always recommended that you follow up that treatment with an exercise program to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.   If you choose surgery, it is important to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles following the procedure to support the work that was done and hopefully increase the length of time the sling or mesh may be... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/117022/therapist http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/116315/incontinence Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:16:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT You can view electric stimulation (e-stim) much the same as charging a car battery or priming a motor before it will start.  Providing e-stim to the neuromuscular receptors within your pelvic floor muscles can help to re-open communication between those nerves and muscles that are no longer working together.   You see, the human body needs to move.  It needs to be used or we see muscle tissue waste away, nerve communication slow... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/116315/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/114840/incontinence Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:01:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT We have discussed in an earlier entry how our posture can affect the position of our pelvic organs, shifting them slightly forward to sit over the top of our pubic bone when we are in neutral spine. It makes sense to recognize how the position of our pelvis can affect our pelvic floor muscles and our pelvic organs, but how can our rounded shoulders effect our pelvic floor function?    To connect these two areas of our body, we have... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/114840/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/113815/incontinence Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:29:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT Estrogen is a natural hormone in the female body. As we age, we all experience a gradual loss of estrogen and the rate at which we lose estrogen increases as we reach our menopause years. One of the roles that estrogen plays in our bodies is to help maintain the integrity of our muscular and connective tissue. Lower estrogen levels can have the most dramatic effect on those tissues that have a higher concentration of estrogen receptors. Among... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/113815/incontinence http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/112729/exercise-owe Thu, 27 May 2010 18:35:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT Is there any down side to exercising your pelvic floor and the muscles that support it?  If there is, I can't think of one.  Ask me about the benefits of exercising your pelvic floor and support muscles and my list will go something like this:  it can help reduce if not resolve symptoms of incontinence, it can improve the muscular support for your pelvic organs, improving prolapse symptoms, it can improve or resolve low back pain,... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/112729/exercise-owe http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/111495/incontinence Wed, 12 May 2010 14:32:00 -0400 Tasha Mulligan MPT A common practice when we bend over to pick something up, when we get out of the car, when we reach into an overhead cupboard, or when we push something, is to hold our breath. This is what many of us do to brace our core so that we can push, pull, reach, and lift. What many don't know is that it is an ineffective way to stabilize our lumbar spine, leaving us prone to injury with any activity that pushes us beyond our base of... http://www.healthcentral.com/incontinence/c/15224/111495/incontinence