| Lauren Peterson
Meet Dr. Lauren Peterson - A Pelvic Floor PT in Oklahoma City
Who is Dr. Lauren Peterson?
I am a wife, mother, and former professional ballerina. I cherish each of those roles. Each role has contributed to where I am today, a pelvic floor physical therapist.
As a wife, or rather a fiancé, my husband and I spoke a lot about our future. We are both driven by a desire to help others, and we both thought we would end up as physicians. We also both wanted a family. As a ballerina, I had danced at a high level, but with that came the ups and downs of physical health. While studying in Canada, at the National Ballet School, I was introduced to physical therapy and it had a tremendous impact on my life. It lengthened my career and gave me a much healthier musculoskeletal system. With the possibility of a two-physician household, physical therapy ended up right in my lap, and I decided to consider another career path within healthcare.
As a first-time mother, I had a difficult first delivery. Nothing extremely out of the ordinary, but difficult none-the-less, and it led to some lingering challenges. Immediately after the birth of my oldest son, I had bladder leaks (technically “Stress Incontinence”) when I would dance, or sneeze, or just pick up my
precious little man. Even as a healthcare provider, I was embarrassed to speak about it with my Ob/GYN. Afterall, friends and family said it was common and it was just something I would have to live with. With time, the symptoms resolved on their own. Partially due to naturally healing, and also because of a strong healthy pelvic floor that I was able to continue to work on after my eldest’s birth.
Baby number two, my beautiful little girl, was different. I began having stress incontinence early on with her pregnancy. I couldn’t play with her big brother and I couldn’t take Zumba or Jazzercise classes without peeing myself. I hated it! Fortunately my Ob/GYN was a good friend. She and her partners were actually looking for a pelvic floor physical therapist and she wondered if I were interested in treating not only stress incontinence but also pelvic pain. Before having my own issues, it was an area I had not wanted to get into, but when living in rural northwest Iowa where there wasn’t a women’s health physical therapist, I decided I would give it a go. So, I became my own first patient. I took continuing
education, I sought mentorship, and I realized that “Leaks Aren’t Normal.” The women in my life who told me it was just a part of being a woman were wrong, and I wanted everyone to know that.
I spent three years treating patients in Iowa, and I saw all manner of pelvic floor dysfunction, from run of the mill stress incontinence to pelvic organ prolapse to a married couple who hadn’t been able to consummate their 5-year marriage because of her dyspareunia. If you haven’t been to northwest Iowa, let me paint you a picture in one word: Corn. Well, corn and women with pelvic pain. I quickly realized the impact pelvic pain was having on the lives of dozens and hundreds of women in my area, and I took great satisfaction from alleviating their pain, improving their quality of life, and restoring the intimacy to their relationships.
Pelvic Pain is not unlike any other pelvic floor dysfunction, or any other musculoskeletal pain, and it is not something you just have to live with. The pelvic floor is made up of muscles and bones just like the rest of your body, and while it is vital to some of the most important functions of your life (if you just
took a breath, don’t forget to thank your pelvic floor), most people don’t pay any attention until it’s not as healthy as it should be. Your pelvic floor is the foundation of your core and it is responsible for keeping the internal organs of your abdomen, inside your abdomen. It is also responsible for all manner
of voiding and sexual functioning.
Your pelvic floor muscles work like a hammock, and much like the ropes on a hammock can stretch, the muscles of your pelvic floor can stretch. This laxity, or muscle looseness, can cause a lot of pelvic floor dysfunction. However, unlike a hammock, the muscles of your pelvic floor can also become overtightened. Overtightening happens for a number of reasons, but three to consider right away 1) stress, 2) over working your pelvic floor (i.e., Kegels when your pelvic muscles are already tight, will just make for tighter muscles), and 3) improper breathing and co-contraction of non-pelvic floor muscles.
A pelvic floor physical therapist, or women’s health PT, is not going to be in every physical therapy clinic you walk into. Women’s health physical therapy is a highly specialized area and takes a physical therapist with advanced training in pelvic floor dysfunction. Beyond physical therapy school, which now consists of a 3-year doctorate on top of 4 years of undergraduate education, a women’s health physical therapist is going to receive hours and hours of continuing education, which should include the opportunity to work with pelvic models (other women who the physical therapist can assess) and often includes a more senior physical therapist with whom the new women’s health physical therapist can interact for mentorship. It is lifelong learning, and each patient helps me to better treat the next.
You might be saying, “Dr. Lauren, your issues cleared up after your son, so will mine.” Let me be clear, before I got pregnant, I had a very strong, healthy pelvic floor. I worked out routinely including exercises that focused on strengthening my core and properly coordinating my breathing. And as a physical therapist I had advanced understanding of general body mechanics. I was in a prime position to never have pelvic floor dysfunction, and yet, while I got better for a time, the underlying issues were not resolved before I got pregnant with my daughter. A pelvic floor physical therapist, or a women’s health physical therapist, is trained to deal with the issues you are facing. Yes, these issues are extremely personal, so finding a physical therapist who can help you with your unique challenges, who can connect with you on a personal level is extremely important. I would love to help you, but even more than that, I want you to take the steps to help yourself. Ladies, its time to bring pelvic floor dysfunction out into the light, and it’s time to take back your pelvic health.
If you are in the OKC area and would like a pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation appt with Lauren, visit her website here: fyzical.com/oklahoma-city
Dilator therapy helps improve pelvic health and female sexuality. They are used to help a wide variety of female health concerns. Speak to your doctor today about how dilator therapy can help you.
Do you need to order vaginal dilators so you can start your pelvic floor therapy process? Made in the USA. Visit www.vuvatech.com
VuVa Dilator Company Helpful Links:
How do Neodymium Vaginal Dilators work?
7 Reasons for a Tight Vagina and How to Loosen
How to Relax Vaginal Muscles, Vaginismus & Sex
Vaginal Stretching - Keeping in Shape with Dilators
Do Dilators Really Work? Yes, and They can Improve Your Sex Life!
Shop for VuVa Vaginal Dilators
Tara Langdale Schmidt is the inventor of the VuVa Dilator Company. She has pelvic floor dysfunction herself and wanted to create a dilator set that is made in America that women can trust. VuVatech has been in business since 2014 and has helped over 50,000 women all over the globe. She patented the Neodymium Vaginal Dilator, that is clinically proven to help with blood flow and nerve pain.
Podcast Episode 22: Tara Langdale-Schmidt
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