Menopause 

If you are born with female reproductive organs, namely ovaries, you are guaranteed to go through “the Menopause” at some point in your life. If you’re lucky. Think about that.

​

From the second decade of life to around the fifth, women are hormonally influenced (this is a nice way of putting it,) on a monthly basis by hormonal changes that are programmed, in a healthy body, to facilitate fertility. As we grow out of the childbearing years, hormone levels fluctuate and then decline, until there is very little of that cycle left.

​

This can occur naturally in your fifth decade, as the ovaries stop producing viable eggs, and therefore endometrial tissue stops building and then shedding in the menstrual cycle. As this “change” occurs, chaos can, and often does, ensue. On either end of the spectrum, we have the extremes. On one end, we have the women who barely even notice this has happened, and on the other, the women who are overwhelmed by every possible symptom of menopause. The majority of women will experience something in the middle.

​

Surgical and medical menopause results in the same outcome, the cessation of ovulation and menstruation. Surgical removal of the uterus, a hysterectomy, can induce early menopause, and the symptoms can be more extreme with the immediate loss of hormonal messengers in the system. Even if the ovaries are spared in a hysterectomy, menopause will still occur earlier than it might have naturally, and the symptoms may tend to be more extreme. Undergoing chemotherapy can also induce menopause. Some women experience an early menopause before forty.

​

Menopause can bring about various changes in a woman's body, including those affecting pelvic health. Symptoms such as urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness, joint pain, changes in the sexual experience, and pelvic pain, to name just a few, are common during this time. Others include brain fog, mental health struggles, sleep disturbances, memory issues, cardiac changes and bone density impacts.

​

The good news here, is that, unlike what you may have been led to fear by your mother and her mother, menopause isn’t always something to live in fear of. Instead, it can be a welcome change that gives you a new opportunity to thrive in life, if well prepared for and managed. IOPT distinctly focuses on menopause care and is ideally positioned to help you navigate this change with confidence and understanding.

​

Pelvic health physical therapy offers specialized treatments to address all of these, and often collaborates with other providers to offer you a full spectrum approach to management. Through education, goal setting, lifestyle changes, nervous system management, soft tissue management, as well as targeted and integrated exercise programs, your personal physical therapist can help you manage menopause-related pelvic health concerns, improve muscle function, and enhance overall quality of life throughout the health span you envision for yourself. Your best approach to navigating this time with ease is to educate and prepare yourself.

​

Partnering with IOPT for personalized care and support as you approach and progress through this shift will ensure the best experience possible. We look forward to helping you change the rest of your life!