Looking for WW Instructor in Phoenix/Scottsdale Area

Submitted by gfkspicoli on February 7, 2012 - 3:41pm
Body: 

Hello Everyone,
I am 67 years old, married, with two adult sons, ages 32 and 29, both vaginal deliveries. In December I was diagnosed by a urogyn doctor as having a cystocele, which he said he would rate at about 2 on a 10 scale, if 10 is the worst. This was good news to me. I had been having urinary urgency, twinges in my urethra, but was not incontinent, and also felt a lot of downward pressure. I could see a bulge at my vaginal opening, but primarily at the rear, though, which now seems to indicate a rectocele. This bulge was very red and swollen in December, but now seems to be a normal, non-inflamed color. For the past few months I've been worried sick about what's happening to me!

When I saw the doctor, he told me the usual "you can do one of four things: nothing, a PT, a pessary, or surgery." He did say I was definitely not a candidate for surgery at this point, but wanted to set up an appt for a few months from now to check progress. I made the appt. I then opted for the PT, who was in the office adjacent to his.

I saw her once, and she declared that my "butt muscles" were very weak, and showed me how to walk to strengthen them, which I've been doing. I had also found that a tampon made my symptoms better. The PT told me to stop wearing the tampon so the muscles could strengthen, and also told me to do 60-80 Kegels a day in various positions. Then I found the WW Forum and have been feeling very honored to be in the company of the women here. It's wonderful that these issues can come out in the open, be discussed, and be helped by Christine's extensive experience and research.

I cancelled my next two appts with the PT. I talked on the phone with a local OT, wanting to get in to see her here before I leave for three months in Scottsdale, Arizona, which I'm doing in two days. She said there was no time for me to get in the minimum of 6 or ABSOLUTE minimum of 4 visits before I left.

I then contacted the doctor who had some contacts in Phoenix as he had trained there, and he gave me the name of a urogyn there, who gave me the name of a PT there. I have an appt with that PT later in February. I didn't question her about her approach though, and I fear it may be the same story as the first one....Kegels and an unawareness of the WW posture.

I was hoping that Christine or Louise may be able to point me in the direction of someone in Scottsdale or Phoenix who is trained in the WW way of managing female organ prolapse. I have Christine's DVD First Aid for Prolapse, as well as her book Saving the Whole Woman, and have been studying the muscles, exercises and breathing. I can see that it took years to get to this point, and it's going to take a long time to learn how to make corrections and to see big progress, but each day I imagine a little bit of progress has taken place. I find that stress makes my symptoms worse.

So....might there be someone in the Phoenix area trained in the WW way who could see me and give me some direction? Thank you!

Forum:

Surviving60

February 7, 2012 - 4:46pm

Hi there (don't make me spell it....) - Are you thinking you need a Whole Woman crash course before heading into all those appointments? I wouldn’t worry about it. Bone up on WW posture as much as you can. Go to your appointments and see what they have to say, then get back to work on your own.

I don’t know about teachers in that area or any others. I understand the first official class won’t be certified until May. This forum is full of women like me, all around the world, who did this all on their own by studying Christine’s body of work. I’m sure one day there will be a network of WW practitioners.......but not yet. You can do it by yourself with the resources you have and the wonderful women here. Good luck and have a nice trip! Post updates here. - Surviving60

gfkspicoli

February 7, 2012 - 5:04pm

Thank you-:) I needed to hear someone say slow down you don't have to fix this overnight! I KNOW intellectually I don't have to even try to fix it overnight, and that the best we can hope for is to learn to manage our bodies, be aware of them and how they work, and not to take them for granted! Easier said than done though, as I head into doing things like traveling which I've not done before while working around these new issues. A agree that the wonderful women here provide a support network we all need. Your words are reassuring and I do truly feel that we have to be the primary caregivers of our own bodies, taking bits and pieces of info from various things we hear and read, using what we can to apply to ourselves.

louiseds

February 8, 2012 - 11:00pm

Hi Gfkspicoli

Surviving60 is right, it does not all have to be done at once. This WW work we do with our own brains, in seeking to understand how our bodies are designed to work, and we work with our bodies to implement it. You can go for years, refining your techniques and getting further improvement. The more you do the more faith you can regain in your own body.

It is really just creating another set of boundaries for your activities, which is larger in area than when you start WW work, but differently shaped from when your pelvic organs were in their original places. Hopefully you will be able to get them back where they belong and cultivate a set of skills that will enable you to get them back there again, whenever they get out of position.

I will be curious to hear what the OT has to say. I have wondered for a long time how OTs could help women learn to do everyday tasks differently, and how to modify our environments to be better for our bodies to use.

Are there any Occupational Therapists out there amongst our membership? We would love you to add your perspective of how OT could help women adapt to this injury.

It sounds like your PT was very much Kegels oriented. However, her observation about having weak glutes is interesting. I am wondering what changes she recommended to the way you walk? Can you describe what you have to do?

If you have your butt tucked under your glutes have to remain in tension all the time to keep that backward pelvic tilt. This means that they never get stretched out, so they cannot ever have their full range of movement. I used to have very contracted glutes, and I used to get quite a bit of pain in the places where they are attached to my pelvis. I no longer get that pain. My squats score goes off the dial when I do a fitness test, so something good is happening for me. Your butt may not have been tucked. If you don't do a lot of knee bending or walking with long, unhurried strides, it is easy for your glutes to weaken.

All the plies in the ballet workout and the WW workout are very good for your gluteal muscles, among other things. I am not suggesting that your PT's exercises be ignored, but that WW exercises, and bending your knees when you do everyday tasks will also strengthen your glutes.

Louise

gfkspicoli

February 10, 2012 - 5:14pm

Hi Louise and thanks for your input. The Forum here is a wonderful resource! I may or may not see the OT I talked with when I get back home (I'm in Arizona now, until the end of April), but I will see the PT here later in Feb to see what she has to say. She may be Kegel oriented, but however she was trained, every bit of input can help me.

As for the first PT I saw, she recommended I do the following for weak glutes: walk forward but when doing so, start by putting your right foot out WIDE to the right while tightening the glute muscle on that side, then follow with a step WIDE out to the left with the left foot, tightening the glute on that side. Continue this pattern for 20-30 feet. I saw her about a month ago, and started this vigorously in the beginning, not quite as vigorously now, and tried to be much more aware of what my glutes were doing. When going uphill I do not lean forward anymore, nor when going up stairs.

I don't do squats, as my knees have been weak too, and perhaps if I DID do squats, they would strengthen. However, I don't want to hurt my self! I've been trying to stretch my hamstrings, so when bending over, try not to bend my knees. Can't win! I'll try to be more aware of both now.

I've been a horse person my whole life, and in my younger days we would train horses whose bodies were out of balance to use their hindquarters for "push off, " and not to be so "front heavy." This makes for a better ride for the rider and a more easy gait for the animal, but often does not come naturally to them. As I have been walking and concentrating on my butt strength, I've been imagining myself as one of the quadripeds mentioned by Christine, trying to rebalance my body which has been years in the path to becoming unbalanced.

alemama

February 10, 2012 - 7:55pm

Like, Christine territory? Get thee to the wholewoman center!

gfkspicoli

February 10, 2012 - 8:42pm

I thought of it.....but it's a day's drive and at an elevation I'm not sure I can handle....I'd love to go though:-)

louiseds

February 10, 2012 - 9:35pm

:-)