With numerous health issues facing women today, having an understanding of how these issues can affect your health is important in order to know how best to deal with them. Physical Therapy is being discovered by women worldwide to help treat and prevent many of the problems that can develop as they grow older.

Pre and Post Pregnancy Care is a very important part of becoming a mother. Many women suffer from lower and upper back pain, neck pain, headaches and muscle spasms during and after pregnancy which can make a normally joyous time hard to bear. It is never too late to seek treatment for pregnancy related pain or discomfort. There are various tools we can use as therapists to assist in symptom control including heat and ice; manual techniques and belting/bracing if needed. Your Physical Therapist can create an easy and effective program to help alleviate and prevent these and many other symptoms that come with being pregnant.

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine from the bladder or urethra. It can affect men and women of all ages but is predominately seen in women. There are various types of incontinence including stress and urge incontinence. Stress incontinence is the loss of urine under “physically stressful” situations such as laughing, coughing, sneezing, running, etc. It is caused by weakness in the pelvic floor muscles and decreased urethral resistance. Urge incontinence or over-active bladder, is the loss of urine associated with a sudden and strong urge to void. This is caused by bladder over activity and has various causes.

Urinary incontinence is not a condition relegated just to older women. 28% of female athletes report urine loss while participating in sports and 1/3 of female soldiers have reported urine loss during physical training. 
 
A person under the age of 65 should be voiding 5-7 times in a 24 hour period without nighttime trips to the bathroom. This equates to voiding every 2-4 hours. If you are making stops more frequently, there are methods to “retrain” your bladder to be healthier. As a young woman, one of the risk factors for urinary incontinence is childbirth. Women who have had one vaginal delivery are 2.5 times more likely to suffer from urinary incontinence symptoms versus women who have not had children.

Despite the cause of your urinary incontinence symptoms, there are different treatment approaches to target your problem. Physical Therapy can assist to retrain voiding schedules, increase bladder health, regain pelvic floor strength and decrease inappropriate bladder urges and leakage.

Your Physical Therapist can easily help you to develop the strength necessary to regain control of your bladder. The path of recovery and prevention begins with making an appointment for a physical therapy consultation at Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center.

Osteoporosis is a loss of bone mass that makes one more susceptible to broken bones and fractures. It can happen to anyone but women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. When a woman reaches menopause, her body stops creating enough estrogen which helps women's bones stay strong by assisting the deposit of calcium in the bones. Other contributing factors to developing osteoporosis are low vitamin D levels (which helps the body absorb calcium more easily), age, family history of osteoporosis, small and thin stature, smoking, alcohol and the use of certain medications including steroids.

Fractures of these porous bones occur most frequently in the hips, wrists, and spine. Although it is more common in white or Asian women older than 50 years, osteoporosis can occur in almost any person at any age. In fact, more than 2 million American men have osteoporosis, and in women, bone loss can begin as early as age 25 years.

Make foods high in calcium part of your diet, including low-fat dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese; canned fish with bones, such as salmon and sardines; and dark-green leafy vegetables, such as kale, collard and broccoli. While vitamin D3 is easily absorbed through sunlight, many of us wear sun block that prevents absorption requiring that we supplement our source of vitamin D3. Regular exercise will also help you to build strong bones.

Your Physical Therapist can help you gain back some of your mobility and balance to help prevent falls and breaks. Your PT will teach you the correct exercises to build your strength, and to increase flexibility and range of motion.

Friendship Heights Rehabilitation offers a variety of physical therapy programs exclusively for women.

Therese Rodda is the owner and a physical therapist at Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center.

At Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center treatment is individualized and is designed to maximize functional outcomes.

Their training in health through exercise includes an emphasis on raising awareness of the body so that each individual will be better equipped to continue the journey to full natural pain relief and optimum health.

If you have any questions, please contact Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center.

Therese Rodda, P.T.
Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center
5530 Wisconsin Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Ph: 301-656-6977  F: 301-656-6977

10801 Lockwood Drive, Suite 280
Silver Spring, MD 20901
Ph: 301-576-6474

Links:
http://fhrehab.com/index.html - Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center - Maryland Physical Therapy
http://fhrehab.com/ptServices.html - Physical Therapy Programs
http://fhrehab.com/wellnessServices.html - Wellnes Services

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