You are what you eat. Trash in equals trash out. You can’t exercise yourself away from an unhealthy diet. These adages are often on my mind as I make my food choices because of the myriad health professionals who have taken time to come to our practice to tell us how we can improve our own and our patients’ health by taking more time to look at what we are consuming in our diet. Lately, many of these clinicians have been focusing on candida overgrowth and diet, which can contribute to pain and inflammation conditions.
What we eat can directly affect the bacterial and fungal makeup of the gut, AKA the gut microbiome. The gut requires a certain level of good bacteria to help us digest what we eat. Over time a poor gut microbiome can affect how efficiently the gut works. The function of the gut goes beyond just digesting food but also is vitally important for the production of neurotransmitters, which help to spread messages within the brain and throughout the whole body. The microbiome also plays an important role in our hormones and immune system. When the microbiome of the gut is not balanced, it is called dysbiosis.
One of the most common culprits in gut microbiota dysbiosis is candida, (Yeast!). Candida is a naturally occurring inhabitant of the body and when it’s at appropriate levels, it doesn’t tend to be noticed, but anyone who has experienced a yeast infection knows that if this little guy is allowed to go unchecked, it can do a lot to make you miserable. Besides plaguing women with itching, burning vulvas, a yeast overgrowth may cause many other ailments.
Science has pointed to the role candida can play in contributing to chronic and inflammatory conditions. In one study by Kumamoto in 2011, candida overgrowth was associated with delayed healing of inflammatory lesions and was associated with pro-inflammatory cytokines (chemicals) and increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Yeast overgrowth can also affect the bladder along with over colonization of Saccharomyces (another form of fungus). In fact, yeast and Saccharomyces were found to be higher in women during a flare of interstitial cystitis than when their symptoms were low.
Yeast is not the only organism that can get out of balance and affect our bodies in harmful ways. There are many other players that can get out of balance. Some signs of an altered gut microbiome is a history of allergies, eczema, or repeated fungal infection.
What to do?
It all seems pretty dire, right. How do you control who is colonizing your gut, when you barely have enough time to make it to the gym after work? There are a few simple steps you can start with.
Avoid antibiotics, unless your doctor thinks you need them.
The medical community has become a lot more aware of the dangers of over-prescribing antibiotics from their perspective, but it is important to keep in mind that a powerful antibiotic can wipe out good bacteria and bad bacteria in one fell swoop. If the good guys in your gut are reduced, the bad bacteria have a better chance of taking over. Take antibiotics only when recommended. Keep in mind antibiotics will not help treat viruses like the flu, they can only treat bacterial infections.
Modify your diet
Increase your consumption of good fats (omega 3’s) to help reduce inflammation.
Food high in omega 3’s includes flax and hemp seed/oils, fish (the fishier the fish, usually means more omega 3’s, for example, herring is higher in omega 3 than a milder fish like snapper). Also, reduce your consumption of processed foods which can increase inflammation levels and eliminate simple sugars and fried foods. If this is only minimally successful, try a gluten and dairy free diet.
If simple changes are not helping consider seeing a professional
Find a naturopath, functional or integrated MD, or nutritionist who can investigate more fully whether or not you have SIBO (Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), candida overgrowth, or other gut microbiome disorder. Or perhaps you are lacking certain ingredients, vitamins or mineral. These professionals can tailor a diet and medication regimen to help return your gut microbiome to tip-top shape.
Fiona McMahon is currently seeing patients at our Midtown Location
If you have questions about orthopedic, pelvic, or sports physical therapy, BBPT is offering free phone consults to those living in the greater NYC area for a limited amount of time!
Beyond Basics Physical Therapy
212-354-2622 (42nd Street Location)
212-267-0240 (William Street Location)
Sources:
Kamamoto C. Inflammation and gastrointestinal candida colonization. Cur Opin Microbiol. 2011;14(40): 386-391
So we busted some myths in our last Pelvic Floor Myth Buster Blog, where we discussed whether or not holding your pee causes urinary tract infections. If you haven’t gotten a chance, check it out here. People living with bladder conditions, like pain, hesitancy, frequency, post void dribbling, and incontinence know that an unruly bladder can be really disruptive. In this blog, we are going to take some time to discuss some practical tips and tips you can employ right now to tame an unruly bladder. Many of these tips come from Amy’s book, Heal Pelvic Pain, available here.
So what are we working with?
Male or female, we all have the same basic structure of the bladder, with a few exceptions. Here’s what everyone has in their lower urinary tract.
Detrusor Muscle: Forms the body of the bladder and is responsible for squeezing the bladder to empty its contents. It spends most of its time relaxed in order to allow for bladder filling. Trigone Muscle: Forms the neck of the bladder, and is a powerful sensory organ. When the trigone stretches in response to the filling of the bladder, it sends a message to the brain that it’s time to pee. Internal Urethral Sphincter: Smooth muscle (involuntary) which seals off the exit of the bladder and allows for continence. External Urethral Sphincter: Striated or voluntary muscles which also seals the exit of the bladder. Urethra: This is the tube that leads out of the bladder and is the pathway for urine into the outside world.
Sex differences:
Many men have a prostate. The prostate is a sex organ and is responsible for keeping the semen at the right pH to fertilize a waiting egg. It wraps around the urethra and lives just under the bladder. It also provides a mechanical buttress or support for the bladder, lessening the load on the pelvic floor. Because of its proximity to the urethra, problems with the prostate can cause problems with the bladder. An enlarged prostate, which can be a part of aging, cancer, or infection, will restrict the flow of urine out of the urethra, resulting in a weak stream, painful, burning urination, and difficulty urinating (however, the same thing happens with tight pelvic floor muscles with or without prostate involvement, which makes bladder issues super confusing).
Another important difference between guys and gals are the respective length of their urethras. Male urethras are a lot longer than female urethras. This is one of the reasons women are more prone to bladder infections. In a female, bacteria have a lot easier time making the trek to the bladder because of the shorter urethra.
So how do I help my bladder?
Posture
If you are having problems fully emptying your bladder or you have post void leakage (dribbling following going to the bathroom) consider your toileting posture. People with bladder issues should sit on the toilet (even dudes), to allow the pelvic floor muscles to relax and allow the bladder to fully empty.
Stretch!
Here’s a great stretch from Amy Stein’s book, Heal Pelvic Pain available here in hard copy and digital download.
Here’s how to do the stretch
1. Lie on a firm surface-on a mat on the floor or on a hard mattress. Bring your knees up to your chest and then let them relax and rotate out to the side so that they flare outward. Use your hands to hold your knees in this position.
2. Stretch as you deep-breathe for six to eight breaths. Do not bounce, and do not push hard. Just gradually and progressively fill and empty your lungs.
3. Hold the stretch for 30 to 60 seconds. Do three repetitions, two to four times a day.
Bladder Training
If you have bladder frequency or leakage with urge now is the time to try and train your bladder to hold more urine. Keep in mind you should start treatment to address pain with physical therapy and in certain cases, with medication, to allow you to be successful with bladder training. I always tell my patients to start their bladder retraining at home, where a bathroom is available to take the stress out of possible leaks or not being able to find a bathroom. Start by simply waiting to go to the bathroom 5-10 minutes past your first urge to urinate. Use behavioral strategies, such as deep breathing and pelvic floor drops, mindfulness, gentle stretches, distraction, and others. If you don’t have to go after 5-10 minutes, Great! If you do, go to the bathroom. As waiting 10 minutes becomes easy, stretch your time to 20 minutes and so on until you are able to go 2-3 hours in between urination.
Diet
This can make such a huge difference. My boss and Beyond Basic’s founder, Amy Stein, writes in her book Heal Pelvic Pain, that we should really try to get eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, and try to finish them at least two hours before bed, to reduce your chance of needing to go at night. We call this symptom, nocturia.
As far as things we chew on, many foods can irritate the bladder, but not all foods bother everyone in the same way. It’s all about experimenting to find your triggers. Some common foods include food high in sugar, spices, acid (like tomatoes and citrus), tannins (like in wine). John’s Hopkins has a really good list, which you can access here. This list is totally overwhelming at first blush, but remember my bladder irritant may not be yours. Typically you will know shortly after eating the offender, on the same day. So the best thing to do is to try the suspected bladder irritants one at a time to see if you can identify a triggering food or drink.
Manage Constipation
The bladder does not have a lot of space, where it lives. In front of it lies the pubic bone, behind it lies a vagina for some of us, the rectum, and then the sacrum bone. The bones sandwich the bladder like bookends. Although these bones have some movement, which we treat, it’s not enough to allow for much more space for the bladder if your rectum is full of poo from being constipated. With an overfilled rectum, the bladder gets squashed against the pubic bone. With a squashed bladder, you may not empty it as well, feel urgency, or even experience bladder leakage. Therefore, avoid constipation at all costs! We advise our patients to drink more water and eat more soluble and insoluble fibers.
Physical Therapy Can Help Cure!
Physical therapy is considered a mainstay and the number one treatment for musculoskeletal causes of bladder disorders and bladder and urethral pain. Expert pelvic floor physical therapists (PFPTs) are clinicians who can find the cause of your bladder issues and provide you with a customized plan that will provide you with the best results possible. PFPTs can work to relax spasmed muscles, treat constipation contributing to bladder issues, improve your toilet posture, reduce tightness and shortening of tissues around the bladder, abdominal and thigh region that can contribute to bladder dysfunction, as well as strengthen weak muscles. If you are experiencing bladder issues, please come to see us. There is so much we can do to help!
If you have questions about orthopedic, pelvic, or sports physical therapy, BBPT is offering free phone consults to those living in the greater NYC area for a limited amount of time!
Set up: Lie facedown on the box with naval pulled up towards the spine, chin tucked in with neck lengthened (as if you are holding a tangerine under your chin), glutes engaged, and legs extended. Pull yourself to back bars of the reformer and hold onto the poles with both hands. Use one blue spring for resistance.
Execution: Inhale to lengthen elbows, exhale to bend elbows.
Focus: The main muscle group targeted here are the lats. Think about pulling down from the armpits while the elbows bend and extend. This action will help stabilize the shoulders, keeping them out of the ears. Also, focus on releasing the upper traps and lengthening the back of the neck. The more work we can get from underneath the shoulder blades, rather than above, the better!
Importance: Improves posture! Strong back extensors lead to better posture, especially in this day in age where phones and computers are constantly pulling our shoulders forward and weakening our backs. Incorporate a few lat pulls into your routine and feel taller almost instantly!
Modifications: To make it easier, drop tension to one yellow spring. To make it harder, place a squishy ball between ankles and add hamstring curls or pulses between lat pull sets!
Today, December 1st, 2018, is World AIDS Day. World Aids Day has been held on the first of every December since 1988. World AIDS Day works to spread awareness of the disease and to remind the general public that AIDS and HIV still must be taken seriously and that there is still a lot of work to do in order to prevent the transmission of new cases, as well as to better care for those who are infected with the disease.
What is AIDS/HIV?
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), is caused by a virus called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV can be treated in order to prevent AIDS, however, there is currently no cure for HIV.
HIV causes AIDS by attacking the immune cells of a person’s body, which can leave a person vulnerable to infections that otherwise would not have made them sick. These infections are referred to as opportunistic infections, an opportunistic infection is a signal that someone’s HIV may have progressed into AIDS.
As we said earlier, HIV doesn’t always have to progress to AIDS. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can work to help keep the immune system healthy, as well as lower the risk of transmitting the virus to others. People on ART have dramatically improved lifespans. It is imperative to get on ART as soon as possible to lessen the effects the HIV virus has on your immune system.
HIV Testing
1 in 7 people infected with HIV does not know they have the virus. Testing is necessary to start treatment and reduce the harm done to your immune system as well as the risk of transmission to others.
According to HIV.gov, you should be tested if:
“you a man who has had sex with another man
you had sex—anal or vaginal—with an HIV-positive partner
you had more than one sex partner
you injected drugs and shared needles or works (for example, water or cotton) with others
you exchanged sex for drugs or money
you been diagnosed with, or sought treatment for, another sexually transmitted disease
you been diagnosed with or treated for hepatitis or tuberculosis (TB)
you had sex with someone who could answer “yes” to any of the above questions or someone whose sexual history you don’t know?
Taken directly from HIV.gov, click here to learn more
HIV/ AIDS and Physical Therapy
Physical Therapists do not treat AIDS or HIV, rather, they can treat some the symptoms of AIDS/HIV and HIV/AIDS treatment, to allow patients to live as fully and independently as possible. Both the disease itself and the treatment for it have effects like increasing fatigue, decreasing strength and endurance, and increased pain. Physical therapy can help by tailoring programs to help with pain, ability to perform everyday tasks, improve heart health, balance, endurance, strength, and flexibility.
You can mark today by doing a number of things:
Wear a red ribbon to spread awareness
Donate to groups that work to help people living with AIDS and help to prevent its transmission:
I love the TV show Mythbusters, I have for the last 15 years, (yes ladies, gents it has been on for that long). If you aren’t familiar with this show, the hosts Adam and Jamie try to prove or disprove popular myths like, is shooting fish in a barrel easy? Spoiler alert: yes, but maybe not in the way you think it is. I’ll let you look that one up on your own. I loved how this show took everyday assumptions and applied real science to see if they were indeed true. In the same spirit of my beloved show, we are going to try and bust some pelvic floor myths. Since I don’t have the funding or ethical review board to conduct large-scale experiments on pelvic floor questions, I am going to the next best (albeit, slightly less glamorous thing) and see what I can find on PubMed, while applying known pelvic floor science to the question. Most of us have probably been told that holding in your pee for a long time can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), but is it actually true? Can peeing at every single urge cause other problems? Through gathering the available evidence we will look at this time old axiom to determine whether it is true or false.
What is a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection)
A UTI occurs when bacteria colonize or grow in your urinary system, which is composed of your bladder, urethra, ureters, and kidneys. Usually, we see these infections in the bladder. Women tend to get UTIs more often at an 8:1 ratio to their male counterparts. This is because the male urinary system has a substantially longer urethra, as well as the fact that the female’s urethral position makes it vulnerable to bacterial colonization in women who have penetrative vaginal sex. Although it is more common for adults to contract UTI’s, children can too. UTI’s in children can be an indicator of possible bladder conditions, such as vesicoureteral reflux (when urine seeps back into the upper part of the urinary system and can cause infections in the kidneys). Any bladder infection in children should be followed up by imaging to rule this condition out. Untreated reflux can be harmful to the kidneys. Much of the literature I reviewed pertains to women with UTIs but it is possible to apply some of this information to males. That being said, at least half of women will report a UTI at some point in their lifetime.
We can further classify UTI’s by how often one contracts them. Recurrent UTI is defined as 3 positive cultures in 12 months or 2 positive cultures within 6 months. Uncomplicated infection occurs in people who have a normal urinary tract, whereas a complicated infection occurs in individuals with complications in the urinary tract, such as vesicouretral reflux.
Known Risk Factors for UTI
Our main question is, “does holding pee cause UTI’s?”, but what things do we absolutely know are risk factors for UTIs? First thing is having a female urinary tract. The female urethra (where the pee comes out) is shorter than the male’s, making it easier for UTI causing bacteria to get a foothold and cause infections. Along those lines, having receptive vaginal intercourse can make you more prone to get a UTI because objects inserted into the vagina can introduce bacteria to the urethra, which live nearby each other. Pregnancy, diabetes, and immunosuppression have also been shown in the literature to increase the chances of getting a UTI. Being post-menopausal can also increase your risk of developing a UTI as it may thin the tissue of the vulva and make it easier for bacteria to get to the bladder. Other factors include the use of spermicides, catheterization (both indwelling and intermittent), wiping back to front (ladies), diaphragm use, or incomplete bladder emptying (guys and gals, we will discuss this in detail below).
But Does Holding Your Pee Cause UTIs???!!!!!
Yes… and no. The data out there is pretty darn sparse, and what I’ve read has not provided any clear-cut studies examining the issue. Keep in mind it’s a pretty hard experiment to design to prove that holding your pee can cause UTIs. Peeing as a preventative to reduce UTIs works by flushing out the urethra, but you need a good amount of liquid (however don’t force or push out your pee) to clean it out. This is why I advise and will continue to advise patients to pee after intercourse. It flushes everything out.
Now, that being said, if you are peeing too frequently, and only a little bit comes out at a time, you may not be effective in cleaning out your urethra fully. Normal bladder frequency should be about once every 2-3 hours and that is if you drink 7-8 glasses of fluid a day (if you drink less than that then frequency will be less). And, obviously, things will pick up a bit if you’ve had a bunch to drink, (water or otherwise), but that’s the average. Another way to tell if you are on track is if you are peeing for 8-10 seconds (real “one-Mississippi” seconds) and it is a strong, consistent stream. If you train yourself to pee when you don’t have a large amount of pee in the bladder, you could actually be training your bladder to be more frequent, which can be a problem.
What if when you are peeing, you have to strain and only have a dribbly stream and not a lot comes out? This is a problem that could lead you to get UTIs. It is called incomplete emptying. Incomplete emptying happens when the bladder does not empty properly. Because of this, urine is not expelled out of the urethra at a rate that is sufficient to clean out the urethra and that means bacteria may have an easier time getting to your bladder. Symptoms of incomplete emptying can include post-void dribble, having to strain to pee, and or feeling like you have to pee again shortly after your first attempt to pee.
Does Pelvic Floor Health Have Anything to Do with UTIs
It can. Also, problems in the pelvic floor can commonly mimic symptoms of UTIs (burning with urination, frequency, urgency, etc.,.). The pelvic floor is a group of muscles between the tail-bone and the pubic bone, and they surround the urethra, bladder, anorectal opening, and genital region. For people with incomplete bladder emptying, a tight pelvic floor may be playing a role. The pelvic floor has many functions, but one of its functions is to open and close the doors (sphincters) that hold pee in and let it out. If the pelvic floor is tight, it’s hard for the muscles to relax and for the pee to exit. More importantly, when the pelvic floor is held in tension it prevents the detrusor (bladder squeezer muscle) from emptying the bladder well.
Additionally, tight pelvic floor muscles, specifically in the urogenital diaphragm layer (the superficial pelvic floor muscle layer), can feel a lot like a UTI when they are tight. Some women will experience irritation in this area after intercourse, which can feel a lot like a bladder infection. Women who repeatedly test negative for UTI’s but have symptoms could have pelvic floor dysfunction! It’s wild, I know.
Bladder Tips for us All
Wash yourself and your partner before sex
If you have a vagina, wash it with water before getting it on. The fact of the world, is we are covered in bacteria, if you wash your vagina and vulva before anything goes in it, you lessen the chance of bacteria getting pushed into your urinary tract. Your partner should also wash his or her fingers, toys, or penis as well to avoid infection. Using a USDA organic mild soap with no extra ingredients or additives is best.
Pee After Sex!
Pee after sex. It is so important. It’s better to have a bladder that’s more full than not, so you can clear out that urethra, but regardless try and pee relatively soon after having sex.
Wipe Front to Back
Please excuse me for being indelicate, but if you wipe back to front (anus to vagina), you are helping to drag poo bacteria up towards the urethra, which is something we definitely don’t want to do while we are trying to prevent UTI’s.
Test your Urine
If you have symptoms of a UTI, get yourself to the doctor, nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, etc. He or she can see if you really do have an infection. The importance of this is two-fold. To nab an infection before it gets worse or goes to your kidneys, and to make sure you actually have an infection, not pelvic floor dysfunction. Making sure you get your urine tested also ensures you won’t have to take unnecessary antibiotics which can negatively affect yeast and gastrointestinal symptoms.
If you have symptoms and no infection or trouble emptying your bladder, come to physical therapy!
UTI symptoms that aren’t a UTI are often caused by pelvic floor dysfunction. A skilled pelvic floor physical therapist will be able to assess whether or not your pelvic floor is playing a role in what you are feeling. A skilled pelvic floor physical therapist will assess whether or not you can open and close your pelvic floor well in order to pee effectively as well as checking the pelvic floor for tightness and for any nerve irritation. If there is something not working well with your pelvic floor, your therapist will partner with you to help treat it and get you feeling better. You will be equipped with a home program and behavioral modifications to ease the bladder symptoms so you can go back to a pain and symptom-free life!
Wanna bust more myths?! Good, we’re working on that!
Wanna learn more about the bladder?! Be patient! We’re cooking up a brand new blog with everyday tips to help you better manage your pelvic symptoms! Stay tuned!
Fiona McMahon is currently seeing patients at our Midtown Location
If you have questions about orthopedic, pelvic, or sports physical therapy, BBPT is offering free phone consults to those living in the greater NYC area for a limited amount of time!
Beyond Basics Physical Therapy
212-354-2622 (42nd Street Location)
212-267-0240 (William Street Location)
Al-Badr A, Al-Shaik G. Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections Management in Women. A Review. Sultan Quaboos University Med J. 2013(13) 359-67
Scholes D, Hootman T, Roberts P, et al. Risk factors for recurrent urinary tract infection in young women. J Infect Dis. 2000;182:1177-82
Chances are doing some traveling over the coming months. The holidays are a time when we haul luggage through airports, Christmas trees and boxes of decorations through your house, or load massive turkeys into the oven. With all this lifting on the docket, I have a pretty good hunch you don’t want to start the new year with a heating pad and lying down in bed, so I am going to share with you, some of my favorite lifting tips.
I mean really close. Maybe hug it if you can. The reason why we should get close to what we are lifting calls back to high school physics. The force on the spine equals the weight of the object being lifted by the distance it is away from the spine. Therefore, the farther an object is away from you, the harder it is on the spine to lift. My co-workers use the term “T-Rex arms” to describe how close they want their patients to be holding what they are lifting.
Squat
Don’t lift with your back. You have all heard it a million times, but if you bend forward with your back to pick up what you are lifting, you will end up placing a tremendous strain on the muscles and bones of your spine. Just don’t do it. Instead, bend with your knees to get to what you want to lift, and push through your legs to stand back up.
Don’t be a Hero
Ask for help if something seems too heavy to lift. In the long run, everyone will be better off. Knowing when to ask for help is sometimes the most challenging part of safe lifting practices. If you feel you are asking for more help than you would like or you have back pain that is not resolving, come see us at Beyond Basics to help you get back into lifting shape. The sooner, the better. You don’t want it to become a chronic problem.
Fiona McMahon PT, DPT practices at our Midtown location
Any persistent pain or chronic back or pelvic pain can be tough. It is tough to have and often times it can be extremely isolating. Many of our patients have to go through a number of clinicians before they even get a diagnosis of pelvic floor dysfunction. If you are reading this blog, you probably have some questions about pelvic floor dysfunction and if physical therapy is right for you.
We are here to help. If you are living in the Greater New York Area and have some questions about orthopedic, sports or pelvic floor dysfunction and if physical therapy is right for you, I encourage you to call our office. For a limited period of time, we are offering free 15-minute phone consults with our licensed physical therapists to patients in the greater New York Area. For those of you living outside this area, a fee may apply to the consult but can be applied towards payment for a PT visit if you chose to visit us. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about your pelvic floor and what PT can do for you.
The Physical Therapists at Beyond Basics also treat orthopedic (sport and joint injuries), pediatric pelvic floor dysfunction and orthopedic injury, and much more. Give us a call to discuss how PT can help with any one of these issues!
Increase your consumption of good fats (omega 3’s) to help reduce inflammation.
