Activity and urinary incontinence in women
Urinary incontinence affects up to one in five Canadian women. Stresses induced on the pelvic floor during high impact activities such as running are associated with reports of urine leakage during these activities. This experience of “stress urinary incontinence” ultimately leads women to withdraw from these activities, and inactivity can lead [...]
Designing Questionnaires for Exercise Induced Urinary Incontinence
The health benefits of physical activity are many, and exercise appears to protect many women from bladder control issues. Yet in some cases, urine leakage in women can be aggravated by physical activity. This “exercise-induced urinary incontinence” is not well understood, both in terms of the underlying problem and how best to [...]
What is the nature of Pelvic Floor Muscle Involvement in Dyspareunia?
Many women experience pain during sexual activities. This is known as dyspareunia. This pain, while not well understood by health care providers, can interfere with women’s physical and mental health, and be a source of stress in romantic relationships. The pelvic floor muscles, located at the base of the pelvis, appear [...]
Is low-level laser therapy an effective intervention for provoked vestibulodynia?
(We are no longer recruiting - Please stay tuned for what we have learned!!). Low level laser therapy (LLLT) is a technology that was first introduced in the 1960’s as a means of healing damaged tissue. LLLT has demonstrated effectiveness in terms of healing diabetic ulcers and many forms of dental lesions [...]
Urinary Incontinence and Your Nerves
Background Many women experience daily urine leakage which is also referred to as urinary incontinence and the most commonly reported among women is stress urinary incontinence, which is defined as the involuntary loss of urine during an exertion, cough, or sneeze. Pelvic floor muscle exercises supervised by a pelvic floor physiotherapist [...]
Uterine Fibroids and Ultrasound Technology
Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecological condition, accounting for 1/3 of all visits to gynecologists in Canada, and can cause severe symptoms including pain, bleeding, and infertility. Due to potential risks associated with surgery, medical therapies are becoming more favorable, yet not all patients respond to medical therapy and side-effects [...]
Brain input influence on pelvic floor muscles.
In recent studies, non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the brain has been suggested as an ideal and pain-free way to evaluate the way in which the brain controls the pelvic floor muscles. However for clinical and research purposes, we need to be sure that measures obtained are repeatable- that is, that the [...]
Pelvic Floor Ageing Study
If you are interested in learning more about your pelvic floor muscles, our lab is looking for female volunteers, over the age of 60 that have never given birth vaginally nor by c-section to study age-related changes in the pelvic floor muscles in order to develop interventions to target these age-related changes. [...]