Belinda's Story*
Step 1
Belinda discovered what mattered
Belinda (she/her) is a 45-year-old HR Manager who had been experiencing urinary stress incontinence for the last ten years, self-referring after doing internet research. It started after her third vaginal birth and worsened as she approached menopause and since joining a running group. Belinda did pelvic floor exercises after each baby and felt guilty for not doing them more regularly. Working together, we discovered she had increased movement of her bladder neck and weak pelvic floor muscles with poor endurance. Belinda saw her Pelvic Health Matters physiotherapist 5 times over 6 months, experiencing an improvement in her bladder control with day to day coughing and sneezing and less leakage with running. Unfortunately, Belinda remained highly bothered by leakage occurring when she ran long distances and more recently had experienced an embarrassing episode of wetting through to her jeans when dancing at her daughters sixteenth birthday which she found extremely distressing. With our encouragement Belinda sought an opinion from a urogynaecologist and decided to proceed with surgery.
Belinda's Pelvic Health Goals:
- Know that I’m doing everything I can to get the best outcome from surgery
- Contemplate the possibility of doing a marathon in the future
- Feel confident to run long distances knowing I’ll be dry
- Be able to hit the dance floor without worry.
Step 2
Belinda restored what mattered
Pre-surgery, we optimised Belinda’s pelvic floor and abdominal muscles and made sure that her bowels were functioning well. We explored the Urogynaecologist’s recovery timelines and post-operative lifestyle modifications which helped Belinda plan her work and family commitments effectively.
Post-surgery, we reassessed and provided a maintenance pelvic floor exercise program to maximise her surgical recovery and provided advice regarding a graduated return to running including a modified and progressed gym and Pilates program.
Step 3
Belinda enjoyed what mattered
After 3 months, Belinda had exceeded her recovery expectations. She had commenced a light weights program at the gym and had returned to light jogging with no leakage. Six months post-surgery, she completed a 10km fun run without wearing a pad and joyfully shared that she had danced all night to great 80s music at a friend’s 50th birthday celebration – with no bladder leaks!