We are pleased to announce the formation of the Women’s Health Student Special Interest Group (SSIG).  This SSIG was unanimously approved by the SOWH Board of Directors at the Combined Sections Meeting in Nashville. 

The purpose of the Women’s Health SSIG will be to educate PT and PTA students about women’s health physical therapy, and to encourage active involvement in the SOWH.  Goals for the SSIG include providing opportunities to learn about women’s health physical therapy; promoting discussions between students, physical therapists, and faculty; and networking with future colleagues.  Meetings for the SSIG will be held annually at National Student Conclave and at CSM.  In addition, networking within the SSIG and discussing relevant women’s health topics will occur via email and discussion boards.

A Steering Committee for the Women’s Health SSIG will be formulated in the next couple of months.  This committee will include two students who are in their third year of a physical therapy program, two students who are in their second year of a physical therapy program, and two students who are in their first year of a physical therapy program.  In addition, there will be a Board of Directors, which shall consist of two representatives from each of the five SOWH regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest).  The committee and the board will be an excellent way to get involved with developing the first Women’s Health SSIG.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to join the Women’s Health SSIG or participate in the Steering Committee or Board of Directors, please contact me via email: christina.holladay@duke.edu .

"As Seen On Oprah:  Noted author Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, recommends physical therapist management for pelvic floor dysfunction."

On the Oprah Winfrey Show Thursday January 17/08

Dr. Christiane Northrup responded to the comment "Laughing makes me run to the bathroom-- help!"

"Does a good, hard laugh make you pee just a little? Does a sneeze push your bladder over the edge? Dr. Northrup says that you can decrease the urinary stress incontinence causing these embarrassing slips by strengthening your pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises. "Kegel exercises are the exercises developed to strengthen the pubococcygeus muscle and to pull up the bladder-the bladder falls sometimes after you have a baby," Dr. Northrup says. "You can actually strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, the levator ani, the pubococcygeus, so strong that the bladder doesn't push down anymore and you don't lose urine."



If you don't think Kegel exercises work, Dr. Northrup stresses that it is important to make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. "I'd go to a physical therapist who specializes on the pelvic floor because a lot of women do not know how to do them properly-and if you do them properly-they're very, very effective," she says."

(excerpt from ww.oprah.com.  Find it at this link )

Life-long learning and continuing education are imperative to today’s practicing physical therapist.  While PT schools now incorporate didactic and clinical learning in women’s health first professional education, there are also many opportunities available for the practicing women’s health practitioner.  The SOWH is a leader in providing an array of quality professional development opportunities for women’s health clinicians that work to advance Vision 2020 of the APTA.  Here is a brief outline of some of the existing opportunities as well as a chart that assists the clinician in choosing the method that best fits their goals, needs, and lifestyles.