An awarding-winning health guide by a Caithness physiotherapist that takes the mystery out of the benefits of pelvic floor exercises for young women has gone global.
The booklet, developed by an NHS team that included Sylvia Craine, the clinical specialist physiotherapist for pelvic health based at Caithness General Hospital in Wick, was originally designed just for use in the UK.
But such has been the success of “Your Pelvic Floor” Guide first published in 2011, it now provides vital health-enhancing information to help girls a far afield as north America, Australia and Europe.
It has even been translated into Portuguese to promote pelvic floor health to young girls in Brazil as part of a pilot study by a team at the University of Campinas, Sao Paulo.
Now, on the back of this success, Sylvia is helping to develop a YouTube video version to promote the benefits of pelvic health exercises to an even wider audience of young girls.
“Back when we first started the guide, we developed it using a focus group of 17-18-year-old girls from Morecambe High School in Lancashire,” said Sylvia.
“I used to work in Morecambe and Lancaster Hospitals.”
Working with Liz Howard-Thornton, of NHS North Lancashire, Clare Holden of NHS Central Lancashire and Gill Pearl from PromoCon, a Manchester-based charity working with people with bladder and bowel problems, Sylvia said the team listened and worked with the girls to develop a guide that teenagers would want to read.
“For instance, we showed them lots of health leaflets for young people that provide them with information, including about sexual health and relationships, and asked them to tell us the ones that they liked – which ones they would pick up and read,” she said.
“We also asked them about the designs, the colours, and the format used.”
This resulted in the team using a small booklet format for the guide rather than the usual three-page tri-fold NHS format, using lots of colour and illustrations; and promoting pelvic health as a topic in its own right.
Sylvia, who came to work in Caithness in 1995, said: “A lot of girls think that pelvic floor exercises are more for their mums than for them.
“But the booklet helps explain why they need to do them.
“If they exercise their pelvic floor it not only helps them control their bladders, but keeps the core muscles strong, assisting in improving posture and preventing back pain.
“By engaging and improving their postural tone, it helps girls look good and feel good.
“If you have a strong pelvic floor, it can even assist in childbirth and prevent any complications afterwards by supporting the pelvic organs and helping prevent prolapse and bladder issues.”
Sylvia added that following the exercises in the booklet helped improve bladder control, so removing any potential embarrassment when doing physical activities.
She said: “The lack of pelvic floor strength can lead to embarrassment when doing sports, for instance, which can mean some girls never go back. The booklet helps eliminate that problem.
“If teenage girls know more about pelvic floor problems, and what to do to solve them, then a lot less people would have them.”
An initial print run of 500 booklets funded by the sponsors was followed by a further 15,000 being printed.
Benefits of a strong pelvic floor
Good bladder and bowel control
Core stability. Prevents back pain and provides more support for the spine
Sex life improvements
Assists in childbirth and prevents complications afterwards by supporting pelvic organs, so preventing prolapse and bladder issues