Pelvic Health 101

Pelvic wellness is seeing an uptick in both the number of practitioners as well as the number of patients seeking care. Once taboo, this topic is becoming more mainstream.

“Women became empowered to speak up about their experiences,” says JORDAN MARTINE, owner and physical therapist at her practice Salt & Light Physical Therapy and Wellness. “Social media has also played a pivotal role in educating women on pelvic health and wellness. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, urologists, sexual medicine doctors, and gynecologists are engaging the masses with evidenced-based information that is accurate and easily digestible.”

Martine says that roughly 1 in 4 women in the United States suffer from some form of pelvic floor dysfunction. This includes bowel/bladder dysfunction, pelvic pain, tailbone pain, sacroiliac joint pain, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic organ prolapse.

Martine holds a clinical doctorate in physical therapy from Thomas Jefferson University and a bachelor’s of science degree in exercise physiology from East Carolina University. She is double board-certified as a clinical specialist in orthopedic and women’s health physical therapy.

Martine says pelvic wellness is the keystone to women’s health as it is often the root cause of dysfunction. “Once I began treating patients through this lens, I was seeing greater results,” she says.

Salt & Light Physical Therapy and Wellness specializes in providing holistic treatment for women’s health care needs. As a guide on a woman’s health and wellness journey, Martine treats patients utilizing a variety of modalities such as internal pelvic manual therapy, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, dry needling, and cupping. She values walking alongside patients as a member of their life team.

Martine includes mindfulness, progressive relaxation, behavioral retraining, strengthening, breath mechanics training, pelvic stabilization, and impact drill training in a personalized one-on-one approach. “I blend embodiment practice within the framework of physical therapy, which allows the body to be a tool for healing through self-awareness, self-regulation, mindfulness, connection, and balance,” she explains.

Martine’s passion for her work stems from her mother, a certified nurse-midwife.

“I grew up watching my mother pursue her passion for helping women give birth to life,” Martine says.

Now she is passionate about serving and educating women from their early twenties to late eighties, helping them to thrive and live life to the fullest.

“This is brave work for women that requires courage to begin. However, there is so much freedom and joy waiting for them on the other side,” she says. “This is my calling and my gift to the world.”

AMANDA KNAUFF, founder and owner of Pender Pelvic Health and Therapy Services and mother of two, understands the hardship that labor and delivery has on the body.

“And at this point in my life, I understand how hormonal fluctuations affect the body,” she says. Pender Pelvic Health and Therapy Services specializes in pelvic health care for men, women, and children, treating pelvic pain, urinary leakage, pelvic organ prolapse, low back pain, and difficulty returning to exercise after having a baby.

“But don’t let the name fool you,” she says. “We are also passionate about treating orthopedic conditions, lymphedema, and Parkinson’s disease.”

An athlete her entire life, Knauff has first-hand experience with rehab for various injuries.

“As a patient and now a provider, I know the difference between high quality and mediocre health care. I wanted the best, and now I offer my best,” she says.

Knauff is a University of North Carolina Wilmington graduate, with a doctorate in physical therapy from University of Rhode Island. Physical therapist NATALYA FLATLEY, who has ten-plus years of experience, the majority of her career in pelvic floor rehab, and husband BEN KNAUFF, also a physical therapist and front office manager, complete her team.

Pender Pelvic Health and Therapy Services is currently in a growth phase, hiring staff and expanding space to offer yoga, Pilates, and birth education.

Both Knauff and Martine say that women should not suffer in silence.

“I became certified in pelvic health, not only because treatment worked for me, but because there are so many women out there suffering in silence. Treatment really can prevent, reduce, and eliminate symptoms related to pelvic floor dysfunction,” Knauff says.

Martine adds, “Women are having pain-free sex for the first time, are able to successfully have a vaginal birth after a Cesarean section, and are no longer suffering from chronic constipation. More and more women are returning to the exercise of their choice, even running and jumping, without leaking urine. That’s what freedom and abundance look like through the lens of pelvic healing.”

To view more of photographer and stylists Drewe & Kate’s work, go to dreweandkate.com

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