Real life motherhood from a real life awesome mom.

Night sweats, tearing, fecal leaking, milk letdown... All the things you may not have known about prior to having babies. Things that aren't talked about but that are real issues we deal with postpartum.

Postpartum anxiety and depression

My good friend and colleague Ashley Chandler recently delivered her second son. For some, that means a little less anxiety after having gone through this whole thing once before. However, that doesn't mean things are all peaches and cream. I asked her to make some videos about motherhood and how she is doing the second time around. I gave her no direction at all to see what issues felt most important to her and the first thing she wanted to talk about was postpartum depression and anxiety.



Postpartum depression and anxiety are not things that we choose to suffer from. They are chemical and/or hormonal imbalances that can make us feel awful, sad, insane, angry, scared, worried, even suicidal. They aren't things we can just sleep away (though sleep deprivation does play into these issues). They are legitimate problems that moms can suffer from in the postpartum period, and it's not always recognized. Very often moms don't realize they may be dealing with these issues until they are past them. And let's be honest, that is no way to live out the early postpartum days. Below is the video she made describing her experience with depression and anxiety. For more videos check out our website or find us on YouTube.

Hopefully your provider has given you a little handout to go through that screens for depression. I must have taken it in the early days after I had my first child, but I can tell you right now it didn't pick up on how bad I was suffering. I think, in retrospect, it was probably more anxiety clouding my brain, but I know I had a bit of both even so.



If you don't know if you've filled out the scale to screen for depression, here is one example.  It's quick but if you have 10 or more points you may want to ask your doc about it. Anxiety is another issue. Here is a scale that you can take if you thing you may have postpartum anxiety. Mild to moderate is 21-41 points and severe is 42 and up.



If you have even a tiny bit of doubt that you aren't okay, ask your obstetrician. Tell your PT. Call your mother or your girlfriends or your priest. Just don't suffer in silence. These issues are SO common, yet we all feel shame over discussing it. Admitting your aren't okay feels so vulnerable so many women hide it. It's too bad, because there is help out there. Whether it's meds or therapy, hormone balancing or exercise, diet or essential oils, there is lots out there to help make you feel better, healthier, stronger. And by all means, get evaluated by a PT so that your new body works as well as it can. Feeling depressed over time because you are limited by incontinence, pelvic pain, prolapse, diastasis recti is no way to live either. Check out  https://www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com/blog for more information about what we offer as Pelvic Health physical therapists.










Lacy Kells PT, DPT
http://www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com


Owner of Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT or
Instagram @lacykellspt and on YouTube 

Standing quad stretch

What exactly is a C-section?

6 years ago I had a scheduled Cesarean birth. Baby B was breech and I just didn't want to risk complications, so we had our twin daughters on our OB's lunch hour. All went well as far as I knew, but back then, I didn't ask many questions. I didn't know what to ask really. I certainly didn't care about how the cesarean was done, I just cared about two healthy babies and a good recovery. Knowing what I now know as a Pelvic PT, I still would have opted for the C-section, but I would have done some rehab as well afterward.


I have included a video I made on C-section birth and how it's done using felt and it's SUPER cool so check it out. The physician cuts through skin, fat, fascia, separates the muscles, cuts through the peritoneum (connective tissue in your abdomen), uterus and amniotic sac all before getting to baby. That's a lot of layers to heal! And every layer has the potential to develop more scar tissue than is ideal. I mean, some scar tissue is essential of course, but if things aren't moving well or if there's excessive amounts, we can run into issues.


For me, it's back pain. When my scar gets sticky and bound down, my abdominal wall does not work as well as it could, and my low back muscles start to freak out and overwork themselves. That, then, leads to low back pain at the very best. At worst, it's pain in my back, butt, and leg.


If you are wondering why this would happen if they don't cut through muscles, it's because muscles, fascia, bones are all connected. If one layer of tissue can't move properly, nothing else can work at its best. The solution? Honestly, it's PT. I'm not just saying that because I am a PT. It's that pelvic health physical therapists know exactly how to assess you and your movement. So after a big abdominal surgery, we know what is safe for you to work on right away, what things you can start to work on as time goes on, and what to teach you for the future so you can continue to live your best life. Pelvic PT is not just about the pelvic floor. Yes, that's a component, but you do NOT have to have had a vaginal delivery to see a Pelvic PT. We are also experts in the rest of your body!


So, if you have pain and have a history of a C-section birth, find a PT.
If you are scheduled for a Cesarean section, find a PT to prepare.
If you are worried about a Cesarean, find a PT.
If you just had a C-section, find a PT.


Do yourself a big favor and take your health and wellness into your own hands. There are Physical Therapists out there who don't need a referral, so you won't have to fight for your right to see one of us. There are so many physicians out there who are more than happy to send you to a PT if you ask. So use your momma bear voice and your mom smarts and find one near you! If you want more info about what we do and more about my own practice, check out my website!












Lacy Kells PT, DPT
http://www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com


Owner of Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT or
Instagram @lacykellspt

Standing hamstring stretch

Sit to stands for a quick desk exercise!

I’m pregnant. Should i wait until after delivery to see you?

Stress and Pain

What is dry needling? Do I need it?

I'm not sure what day it is but I know that can't be a good thing.

Motherhood. The most maddening, exhausting, often thankless but also the most incredible, gratifying, joyful job in the whole world. And it can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of seconds. This rollercoaster ride is exhausting even on a good day and it doesn't take long to learn that just with every new phase comes new challenges and rewards. It never ends. It's a burden that never lets up. There are no vacation days and even if you do get a "break," you are never fully removed from your duties because it's impossible to turn off that part of your brain and your heart.

I know that I don't speak for everyone when I describe the ups and downs of motherhood, but I also know that if any of my closest friends read the above statements they'd agree. Which means there's probably a lot of women who feel this way about being a mom. And if a chunk of us can acknowlege the incredible challenges of motherhood, why do we continue to add the burdens of perfection to our plates? It's heavy enough just trying to do the mininum. Most of us want to do better than the bare minimum as mothers but it's really hard. Society pressures us to do more, be better, curl our hair, put on makeup, bake for the bake sale, be on all the committees, do it all. It's too much. At least for some of us who already deal with mental health issues like anxiety and depression and fear and constant worry.

I had a crazy week last week and it was obvious that I wasn't handling the stress of life all that well. I spent Tuesday thinking it was Wednesday, Wednesday thinking it was Thursday, and then Saturday I got the time of a work talk mixed up and was late. This is not okay when you are a new business in town trying to make a good impression. Of course, all of these things were my own fault. I could, for instance, have just pointed my eyeballs onto my phone to see what day it was and certainly could have double and triple checked the time of my event on Saturday.

But look, I don't think our mom brains are designed to be this busy, have this many pressures on us. Today, we are expected to work (many of us full time), be the best Pinterest mom out there, look put together, act put together, get kids to 1 million activities on time with the right snacks, join the right clubs or church or boards. It's too much. Social media is too much. It's all just too much. How is this okay? How is okay to have a brain so cluttered with information and worries that you literally don't know what day it is for TWO FULL DAYS.

Now, I need to say that I realize this is not everyone. Not everyone struggles with anxiety and has a hard time functioning on overdrive. I know many incredible women and mothers who are their best selves when they are going full throttle all the time. Moms who crave that instead of recoil from it. For me, that breaks me down. I crave silence, peace, solitude in order to recharge my batteries. That's why this past week was such a signal to me to slow it down.

I spend several minutes in my birth classes telling my mommas that they have to allow their bodies to heal after childbirth. That it takes over a year for our bodies to heal from pregnancy and birth, often longer since we end up having to go back to work so quickly despite lack of sleep, continued tissue trauma, pain, etc. I'm very good at telling other moms to give themselves grace. I tell them to be kind to themselves, to allow themselves to be imperfect. Yet here I am, late for an important event because I've allowed myself to be overwhelmed. I've allowed myself to say yes to everything in an effort to please everyone. The result is that no one gets my best self. Not my clients, not my husband, not my kids, not me.

This is not sustainable. I can't be everything to every person. It's true, I just started a business and that is important. My friends are important. My church and my kids' school is important. But for this season, I'm supposed to be a mother. My number one priority changed when my son was born, and sometimes I have to remember that it's okay to say no, to set boundaries, to walk through Harris Teeter without makeup if it means I was able to quiet the chaos of my mind for a bit so I can be a better mom and wife.

I have decided already that my New Year's resolution for 2020 is going to be setting more intentional goals for each week as well as boundaries for what we as a family can commit to. I know it won't be easy, but I know that I have to practice what I preach for the good of my kids and my family. It means quieting my anxiety-ridden brain so that I can be a better PT for my patients who need that from me. It means being a better friend when my village needs me. It means saying yes to myself and motherhood and no to some of the noise. We'll see how it goes. Just remember, none of us know what another mom is going through, how she feels inside. We are very good at faking it. We are great at pretending to have it together, when sometimes it becomes obvious that we don't. Sometimes our friend has to text us to tell us what day it is, and that's when you know you need to regroup and reset your priorities. At least, for me that's a telltale sign.

Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Owner

lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com
910-309-3726


Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Follow me on Instagram: @lacykellspt

Website coming soon!!
www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Breathing break

What is dry needling? Do I need it?

Posture Reset

Arachnophobia and the Damp Panties

It's October and my son is obsessed with holiday decorating. We have a Halloween light show set to music currently set up in our front yard and this is just a tiny little warm up for his Christmas spectacular that will be coming soon to the lucky people of our neighborhood....Sorry y'all.

Part of his decor includes a couple of small spiders. Spiders are my number 1 fear in the entire world. I hate them, I can sense them near me, I can't look at them. It's a legitimate phobia and my children think that it's hilarious to hold up a fake tarantula near me and watch my terror. Super fun.

Here's the thing-  lots of women would not only be freaked out by the arachnic near their shoulder but also be freaked out by the fact that screaming and jumping would cause leaking. The case of the damp panties. No one wants to walk around Spirit Halloween in damp panties y'all. No one. And guess what, WE DON'T HAVE TO.

Did you get that? IT'S NEVER NORMAL TO PEE ON YOURSELF.

Even if there's a disgusting hairy fake spider near you and you'd rather curl up and die than have it touching your body. Even then. Not okay to pee.

What causes us to leak urine? 
1. Well, it could be weak pelvic floor muscles. Often, the muscles in our pelvic floor don't do a great job of keeping pressure on the urethra and keeping our pee inside of us. Our urethras are shorter than mens' so there's not as much distance between our bladders and the outside of our bodies unfortunately. The downward pressure of the shriek, cough, jump, sneeze can overcome the muscles and allow pee to squirt out.

2. Sometimes, the muscles are strong but get tired easily. Do you notice that you leak more at the end of the day? Your muscles may have good power, but get fatigued and just can't help you as much at the end of a busy day. This can cause leaking as well!

3. There is also the case of the tight muscles. A big number of us women are actually weak because our muscles are tight. Our muscles are too tense to work well for us, so when we try and use them they just can't get that good power behind them. Plus, when we cough, sneeze, run from a tarantula, the muscles are so tight that they can't let go to help take the load. Think of it like a trampoline. When you land on the trampoline, it gives a little before bouncing you back into the air. This is similar to how it works when you jump or laugh, the pelvic floor has to give a little before activating and lifting back up. If it can't, then you are jumping up and down on a firm floor and you are going to leak.




So, the next time your darling children, neighbor's children, grandchildren, students come at you with a horrifying beast such as a fake arachnid (or snake, frog, ghoul and ghost, whatever makes you recoil in fear), take a minute to think about your panties. Are they damp? If so, you know there's a little something that can use some attention in your pelvic floor!! Kegels may or may NOT be the answer for you and there IS a right way to Kegel, so get the help you need so that next Halloween even the nastiest eight legged creature won't scare the pee out of you!

Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
Lacy Kells, owner

lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com
910-309-3726


Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Follow me on Instagram: @lacykellspt

Website coming soon!!
www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Cesarean Recovery Before I Knew Better

Six years ago I found out I was pregnant with twins. It was a complete shock and we didn't find out until our anatomy ultrasound halfway through the pregnancy. Because I am how I am, I had a full on panic attack in the ultrasound room because I did NOT want twins. I don't know why, I guess I felt like I had just now crawled out of the depths of depression after my son and now I was going to have to do it again, except with two.

Anyway, my pregnancy was very uneventful. Thankfully, both baby girls were healthy and I didn't have any complications. The only slight issue was that Baby B was breech. She never ended up turning and after lots of consideration, my husband and I opted for a Cesarean delivery. I'd had a vaginal delivery with my son two years earlier and while everything went okay, the recovery was  hard for me. I was depressed, had a pretty gnarly tear, and my kid didn't sleep. I was also not a Pelvic Health PT at that time and didn't know a whole lot about recovery back then. I didn't know much about Cesarean birth or recovery at that time.

Picture then night before our twins were born!

I will say that a scheduled Cesearan felt like a vacation after the labor, fatigue, and complete exhaustion from my first delivery. We'd gotten a night of sleep, were able to get up and putt around the house with our son before heading to the hospital around 10am. The surgery went well and for a good many hours that day I was still nice and numb which meant I could focus on nursing the babies instead of the pain.

However, there wasn't much information for me after the delivery. Not a whole lot of education on what I should expect after this major surgery, how to help my body heal, even what was normal pain versus something to worry about. I was sent home with a cheap belly binder and told to schedule my follow up with my OB for 6 weeks. 



It was a lonely time and sometimes filled with fear. I remember feeling a pain in my belly that I became convinced was nerve related and would never go away. I started catastophizing about how I'd have this pain forever and become depressed and suicidal and never be able to care for my kids. I did call the nurse and she felt like it was okay and sure enough, the pain went away, but those days of fear were exhausting because I just didn't know.

First hour at home two days after Cesarean section.

Now, if we all had Pelvic PTs in our lives, things might look a little different. We would have a good bit more knowledge about what to expect, how to heal, and what's normal and what's not. Here's how things would have been better for me had I known then what I know now:

First of all, I would have been working on proper core activation and breathing long before delivery, Cesarean OR vaginal birth. This would have not only helped my core stay happy, but would have allowed my pelvic floor to move through a nice range of motion in preparation for delivery. I would have immediately started working on this breathing in the hospital bed that first day, certainly before the effects of the spinal wore off so that my belly could get a nice, natural movement and let my pelvic floor come along for the ride also. Not only does this help with relaxation and pain relief but it also promotes healing and a reduction in swelling in the belly and labias. Who knew right? I probably would have done some belly binding (like my friend Melissa at The Fayetteville Doulas showed me recently) that would have helped me move around better, promoted healing, reduced pain). A few weeks later I would have started gentle abdominal massage to promote bowel motility (I tried to stay off the pain meds but just being in the hospital taking them can promote constipation). This could have also helped my abdominal muscles function better, therefore helping my abdominal separation become less of an issue AND helping me lift the babies with less pain and risk of injury to my back (which still bothers me six years later). I would have gotten the go ahead from my doctor around 6 weeks once the scar tissue had healed to begin scar tissue massage. This is gentle massage of the Cesarean scar that helps the tissues move well and reduce the risk of things getting super stuck later on. A Cesarean scar that doesn't allow tissues to move well can actually contribute to low back pain, hip flexor pain, urinary urgency/frequency, continued dysfunction from abdominal separation, pain when you are moving or exercising and more! It's defintely something I would have worked on to help get me moving on the right foot. I would have also had a Pelvic PT do an internal exam to check my pelvic floor muscle function. I would probably at that point have started on some Kegels since I wouldn't have had pelvic floor tension and this would have greatly helped my back pain and my leaking over the last few years.

Alas, I didn't have one in my life at the time so it's been a lot of years of dysfunction that have made it a lot harder to deal with now. I hate that women aren't getting the education we deserve, the preparation we desperately need before childbirth and in the postpartum periods. I do think things are getting better. In the past year I've met several amazing doulas in town who share the passion for educating women that I do and they are doing great things. I have met women who have been fortunate enough to have seen a Pelvic PT and are so excited for all the knowledge they had going into their births. I have colleagues in town working their tails off to make women's experiences better and so many on social media who are doing the brave thing and putting this information out there into the universe. However, I think we have a ways to go. We still need to talk about birth more openly, about recovery and our experiences with less embarrassment and shame. There is NOTHING shameful about childbirth - and when I say childbirth let me make it clear that no matter how that baby comes out, it's birth. Cesearean section or vaginal birth is all still birth. There is nothing shameful about recovering from up to 9 months of difficult physical exertion (growing a human being in our body) and then going through a birth. It's no joke and it's not easy and it's okay to have to take a long time to heal and recover.  What's NOT okay is the lack of knowlege moms have going through all of this.

My hubby with our baby girls.
This was one of their favoritate places
to sleep! 

Please, tell your loved ones that there is so much more out there for them. Find a doula and start asking questions, ask your provider for information, or find a Pelvic PT in your area to help get you started. I offer monthly Birth Body classes where we talk about how to prepare your body for labor and delivery and how to start your healing process just hours after you give birth in a safe and healthy way. We talk about how to start using your abdominals and pelvic floor after birth in ways you can work on while you are breastfeeding, rocking, playing with baby. We talk about what's normal and what's not and when to ask for help. I'm not writing this blog to promote this class though, I'm writing it to continue to try and spread awareness for women, specifically mommas this time, that there is SO much we don't know that we really ought to know. Let's continue to demand better for ourselves, get the education we deserve, and become healtier moms for our babies!

Lacy

Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
Lacy Kells, owner

lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com
910-309-3726


Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Follow me on Instagram: @lacykellspt

Fireworks

If you have never experienced pelvic pain, it's hard to imagine that sex can sometimes be a pain, literally. The prevalence of pelvic pain tends to depend on which study you find or what area of the world you are researching, but chances are at least one of you in your friend group (probably more) has had pelvic pain at some point in their lives. Sometimes this pain can manifest as pain with intercourse.

There are a number of things that can lead to painful sex, but know that it's never normal to experience pain with intercourse. There are a lot of myths out there - things like "it hurts because you are getting older" or "it's probably just because you need to keep trying" or "you aren't relaxed enough, have some wine."

I'm just going to throw this out there: those are bullshit things to say to a woman who hurts with sex. If you have pain with sex, you've not experienced good sex, normal sex, certainly not "fireworks." None of those myths make sense to a woman with pelvic pain.

Here's the thing: It's never normal to have pain with sex. Common, yes, normal, no.

One obstacle women often encounter is that upon GYN exam, everything may look okay. GYNs are typically trained to look for the scary stuff, things like cancer or major prolapse, anatomical abnormalities... big picture stuff. What they sometimes don't get a chance to assess is the muscles, tendons, movement patterns, sensation... things that PTs are experts in looking at. That's the beauty of my job. I get to look at all of that and try and get to the bottom of the issue, often after a woman has been through tests to rule out the "scary stuff."

Pelvic pain during sex can come from a number of issues. There are too many to get into in one blog, but let's talk about some of the biggies.

1. Spasms or tension in muscles: This is one of the most common causes of pain that I treat as a PT. The pelvic floor is made of muscles and the vagina is supported and surrounded by these muscles. If the muscles are tight, stretching them can be painful. If you attempt vaginal penetration, it's going to hurt. Sometimes penetration isn't even possible because the muscles are so tight or spasmed. So many patients ask "Why." Really, it's hard to say. Neurologic issues, anxiety/depression, trauma, adverse childhood experiences, or even something like injury to a seemingly unrelated area can lead to pelvic floor tension. Unfortunately, this tension can lead to plenty of other issues besides pain with sex. Leaking, constipation, pain with sitting/tampons/GYN exams, etc. The good news is that there are lots of tools in our toolbox to work on this. Typically we discuss the big picture - diet, exercise, mental health, breathing... It needs to be a holistic approach.

2. Nerves: You have a lot of nerves running through your pelvis. Sometimes there are issues with the nerves coming from your spine or sacrum. Sometimes the nerves within the pelvis can have issues (getting pinched or irritated). This often involves muscle tension as well, so treatment for this is not remarkably different than muscle tension. It's still a big picture look at everything going on so that we can improve movement and reduce tension and irritation of the nerves.

3. Inflammation: Some women feel pain ONLY on the outside. For me, it was right at the vaginal opening. Sometimes it's the entire vulva. This can lead to muscle tension and further pain, leading to a cycle of pain and more inflammation. This can sometimes keep women from not only being able to have sex, but even from wearing underwear or tight pants. Again, this is something that we address holistically, looking at the whole system and working with physicians to help calm down the inflammation and get things working better.

4. Endometriosis/IBS/other medical issues: Sometimes pain with intercourse may be a result of issues that aren't directly muscle related. Conditions like endometriosis, IBS, even dysfunction in the low back can refer pain to the pelvis and make sex difficult due to pain. These are not treated solely by PTs but instead require lots of communication between PT, GYN, urogyn, neuro, GI, etc. As PTs, we can contribute a good bit to the treatment of these conditions through extensive education, improving things like pelvic floor motion, abdominal strength, motion, etc. Very often muscle tension can be a factor associated with these conditions as well.

This is certainly a much oversimplified version of pelvic pain. Things like vaginal dryness, hormones, positioning, emotional wellbeing, orthopedic concerns can all play a role in pelvic pain. It's almost never simple. The pelvis is complex. There are a lot of muscles that attach the pelvis and a lot of systems that sit within it. It is often called the "root" or center of our energy in the body. It's hugely important, so when things are a little off, it's not usually just a quick fix. However, as a PT my job is to take a step back and assess the entire picture. Looking at the pelvic floor muscles, nerves, the low back, the muscles surrounding the pelvis is just the start. Looking at how a person breaths, moves, bends, lifts, sits, stands, sqauts is just another step in putting together the puzzle. It's complex, but it's essential to get to the bottom of things. Get it, bottom??

When a woman has pain with sex, it's awful. It's an emotional nightmare, a physical nightmare. It burdens the woman with guilt, shame, fear, worry. It burdens a relationship with the same issues. I have known women who have had relationships end because of this. It's ugly and awful to carry. No one talks about it, no one knows what to say, and often "everything looks okay."

We can do better than this. We can give women hope. If you, a loved one, your spouse, your friend, anyone you know has pain with intercourse, please tell them there's hope. Tell them about physical therapy. Tell them to find someone to look further. Tell them to speak up, demand to be heard, demand better for themselves. Pain with sex is never normal. Get the help you deserve. Bring the fireworks back to your sex life y'all. It may not be an easy journey, but it will be very worth it.




Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Owner of Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com


Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT or
Instagram @lacykellspt

www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Pregnancy, Postpartum, and Physical Therapy

I have been blessed to be pregnant twice. Once with a son and a second time with twin daughters. While I was so incredibly thankful to be expecting healthy babies, I did NOT enjoy pregnancy. I wasn't one of the glowing pregnant women who walked around basking in her own glory. I was the one over the toilet every day for months, the one turning green at work and trying not to vomit on my coworkers as I sprinted past them to the bathroom. The woman lying in the bed whining and sleeping half the day getting nothing done because my body just couldn't take another minute of being up and moving.

35 weeks with my son (1st pregnancy)

I tried to stay active during my pregnancies, but after being so sick for the first trimester it was hard to do much once I felt better. Then, in the third trimester, I hurt everywhere. My entire body felt like it was sore 24/7. Getting out of bed was a huge challenge. Using the bathroom was a test of my endurance since at some point one must stand back up off the commode. Even trying to wipe was a bit of a struggle because I was so stiff through my entire spine that twisting was hard. (Sorry y'all, but I'm not embarrassed to share). My back hurt, my neck hurt, my hips hurt, I had shooting shock-like pains in my pelvis from nerves being pinched. It was not pleasant. I was not a nice person to be around. 

Back then, I wasn't practicing Pelvic Health. I was toying around with the idea in my head, knowing I wanted to do it some day but was preoccupied with my own babies. I hadn't yet taken the OB classes for physical therapists so I didn't know much about how to help myself other than some yoga (which was really the only thing that helped me keep going!). 

28 weeks pregnant with twin girls 

Nowadays I know so much more. I have taken classes on what PTs can offer during pregnancy, I have had clinical experience working with pregnant women and helping them through their pregnancies. I have read and asked and learned since those days. Unfortunately, I don't think that most women have any idea that they don't have to suffer through a pregnancy feeling miserable. Quite honestly, I never once complained to my OB about my aches and pains, knowing that the docs would probably shrug their shoulders and tell me it's just part of pregnancy. The sad thing is that this is not how it has to be.

Our bodies go through an incredible journey during pregnancy and every week things in our bodies change, but that doesn't mean that you have to "suck it up" and suffer. There are often small and easy things to do to help reduce pain. Certainly there are ways to keep your body moving well and prevent pain as your pregnancy progresses. Often, I see pregnant mommas weekly to keep them moving, work out some of the new pains they may have, get rid of other pains and keep them from returning. We talk about labor positions that are best for their condition (did you know that certain positions during labor and delivery are better if you've suffered from back pain in the past, or pubic pain, or hip pain, etc...??). We go over exercises to keep things working well for the remainder of the pregnancy. We talk about perineal massage to get the pelvic floor ready for birth. We talk about pelvic floor relaxation and strengthening to prep for delivery. We talk about postpartum healing that lets women start on the right foot from the moment they head to the postpartum ward. There is so much education I never had as a pregnant mom or a new mom that I would love to have known 7 years ago. So much I would have done differently for my mind and body. I was fortunate to have yoga to help get me through, but even so I would have loved to have had someone to help me feel better during those months. A pregnancy is such a short time in a woman's life really, but the effects of it can last forever if you don't know how to take care of yourself.


Regrettably in the US, many women aren't educated on how to care for themselves, either during pregnancy or in the days, months, years after. I definitely wasn't. It's incredibly frustrating as a PT who can help women have pain-free (or at least less painful) pregnancies and better postpartum experiences. As a woman and mother, it's infuriating. It's not fair that we are told that pain is "just part of the experience." That we are left to recover from vaginal tearing or Cesarean birth with little more than an ice pack or a hospital issued binder. We are expected to head home and continue on with life without complaint, without help, certainly without showing any weakness. This is completely and utterly unreasonable and unacceptable. We could do SO MUCH better.

Very pregnant with twins - I think only a couple of weeks away
from being a family of 5 here. 

PT during pregnancy can be a game changer. It can keep you moving, active, able to care for other kids or stay at work, manage weight gain or heart health, and keep your body in shape to have an easier labor. Not only that, but it's a great resource for birth prep and recovery. I have many local friends doing amazing things for women that I often recommend to my clients. I see this as another bonus to having a PT during pregnancy- these links to some amazing doulas (for both labor support and postpartum care), lactation consultants, nutrition counselors, mental health professionals, local mom groups, and places to exercise with childcare or awareness of good postpartum health.

As women, we often put ourselves last. We sometimes let our physical issues fall by the wayside only to catch up with us years later. If we were educated during the years of pregnancy and immediate postpartum time periods we could avoid a good bit of this down the road. If our healthcare system was more proactive, more preventative, we could all be the superheroes that we already are, but without pain or leaking urine or constipation or back issues. Very often it feels as if the system is broken, but as women we are powerful. We are amazing. We can work to help each other know better. And when we know better we do better. No more suffering through pregnancy and postpartum. Find a local Pelvic Health PT to help you and expect better! Get it, expect better?? Well, I for one think it's clever. Please share the message, spread the word to your friends and family. Let's change the game y'all!








Lacy Kells PT, DPT
Owner of Fayetteville Pelvic Health & Wellness
lacykells@fayettevillepelvichealth.com


Follow me on Facebook: Lacy Kells PT, DPT or
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www.fayettevillepelvichealth.com

Offereing boutique-style specialty Physical Therapy for men and women of Fayetteville, NC. 

Leap High

A long, long time ago I was a ballerina. Nothing professional, but I loved it and I was decent at it, and every time I would get home from class my Dad would ask me the same question-
"Did you leap high?"

NOT ME doing a Grande jete. This is my
favorite Carolina Ballet Principal ballerina
Margaret Severin-Hansen,
an actual professional doing a proper leap. :) 

Grande jetes (big leaps) were my very favorite. Hurling myself into the air (gracefully of course) was easy for me. I remember doing it with total abandon yet a good bit of control. My ballet teacher even made me the donkey in Carnival of the Animals because the donkey's dance was basically just insane hopping all over the stage. When I got my driver's license my Mom and I secretly ordered a vanity plate for my car that said LEAPHIGH and surprised my dad with it. Now that I have kids I realize it was mostly for all of their friends to be able to keep tabs on me around town, but still, it was special and I had it for years.

At my wedding, my Dad walked me down the aisle. When it was time to officially "give me away" he whispered in my ear, "Leap high." It was exactly the right thing to say.


Years later, that careless sense of leaping has been replaced by complete fear of the unknown, of where I may land if I were to jump, of falling when I hit the ground. Adulthood and motherhood have broken me down and have brought my anxiety to the forefront of a lot of decisions, because safety and security just make more sense when you have three kids.

However, when my Nana died a year and a half ago, my world seemed to fall apart and a lot has changed inside of me since then. I don't think I fully grasped what it would be like not to have her in my life after 34 years. I was very depressed, struggling every day to get it together. Slowly I began to question a lot of things in my life. I thought more about what made me the way I was, what I wanted to improve on, how deeply my sense of self worth was broken and why that was, not having experienced anything that could lead to that. Working through a lot of these issues sort of rocked my world. I started to become angry at myself for being so scared all the time. Scared of failure, scared of what other people think of me. I don't want my girls to live with that fear, but if I am their example, how can they not pick up on it?

So, that brings me to the here and now. After almost a year of soul searching, prayer, agony, fear, tears, hope, and more agony, I am leaping. I am taking a big jump for the first time in a long time into the unknown. I am leaving a job that I have had for 10 years and I am going out on my own. I am leaving a place that gave me my first job out of PT school, with a boss who taught me how to be a good PT and allowed me to pursue my dreams of practicing pelvic health. Leaving the place that let me have three babies and work when I could, always giving me support and never judging me for choosing motherhood as my top priority. A place where I could decorate my room with plants and pictures and even a pretty little needlepoint vulva that my best friend gave me for Christmas. (Sidenote: That's true love right there by the way. Stitching your friend a pretty vulva for her clinic room = love.)

I am walking away from Advanced Physical Therapy Solutions and leaping headfirst into what I am calling Fayetteville Pelvic Health. I don't know exactly what it's going to look like yet. I am not sure how it will evolve. I know that I want to continue to serve men and women of my beloved hometown, but I want to do it in a way that looks a little different from the traditional model. I am working a lot of the details out now. There is still a lot up in the air, lots that makes me anxious, but I'm not letting myself live in fear of the unknown anymore. I may fail. I may fall. I will most definitely have some stumbles, but if I don't try I'll never know what I'm capable of. Everyone at APTS has been incredible, supportive, excited for me. In some ways it makes it harder to step away. These people are the cream of the crop. Literally the best PTs around, hands down. Incredibly smart, outside of the box thinkers who never settle for mediocre and are always learning. It's truly a dream job working with such highly skilled therapists. It certainly made me a better PT every day that I came to work and learned from my colleagues. It's going to be lonely and scary not having them to help me, but I want my kids to watch me leap and watch me stumble and then watch me get back up to accomplish something that is on my heart. I want them to know that sometimes doing the scarier thing is okay and that failure does not define them, or me. Perfectionism has kept me living in my safe zone all my life, and I'm sick of it. I am not perfect and I don't have to be.

So here I go. I'm leaping I hope I still have just enough grace to land on my feet. But I am realizing that even if I fall, I'll be okay. I can get up and keep dancing.

Stay tuned for more information on Fayetteville Pelvic Health - coming soon in May!!