Unlocking the Power of Pelvic Floor Muscles - Diane Newman

July 17, 2023

In this presentation, Diane Newman discusses pelvic floor muscle exercises to improve lower urinary tract symptoms, such as storage, voiding, and post-micturition. She underscores the wide applicability of these exercises for diverse patient needs, emphasizing the importance of understanding their use.

Biographies:

Diane K. Newman, DNP, ANP-BC, BCB-PMD, FAAN, Adjunct Professor of Urology in Surgery, Research Investigator Senior, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and Former Co-Director of the Penn Center for Continence and Pelvic Health, Philadelphia, PA


Read the Full Video Transcript

Diane Newman: Hello, I'm Diane Newman. I'm a continence nurse specialist, advanced practice provider. I'm a nurse practitioner and I've been practicing in this field for over 35 years, and I have a series of presentations on my website Awaken Pelvic Health that I thought I would share with you. It's all my expertise, my knowledge, because I have been successfully treating patients with lower urinary tract symptoms with behavioral treatments. This next presentation is on pelvic floor muscle training or pelvic flow muscle exercises, so I hope you find this very informative.

You can use your pelvic floor muscle to improve lower urinary tract symptoms, whether they're storage, voiding, and post-micturition, and I have the list here. We use it for actually urgency and stress incontinence for urgency frequency. We use it to improve voiding in individuals who may have incomplete bladder emptying. I see patients post-bladder cancer surgery who have Studer pouches who may not empty well. I have them use their pelvic floor to try to improve that emptying. So these are used for a wide range of pelvic floor symptoms that may be bladder storage or emptying. A good understanding of what to do with your pelvic floor muscle is important if you are treating these patients or if you are a patient who has these symptoms.