Women, even those who've never had children or been pregnant, can experience extreme pelvic health problems but when they do, many assume it's an issue with their back.
Winn LaRue made the same assumption after an injury while jogging.
"I ended up stumbling and I thought no big deal, until I went home and I put my leg in my bathtub and something popped in my back," says LaRue.
The pain she in her torso was so bad, she resorted to only wearing long flowing dresses to reduce the amount of pain.
"I would sneeze and my entire back would spasm and I would just fall to the floor in a fetal position," says LaRue.
The 35-year-old comedian went through months of rehabilitation but still didn't achieve the wellness she had hoped for.
"Other surgeons wanted to perform a spinal fusion on me and I wanted to avoid that at all costs," says LaRue.
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LaRue was referred to the Ben Hogan Sports Medicine at Texas Health Fort Worth for the sports rehabilitation and pelvic wellness program.
She ended up in the care of pelvic wellness physical therapist Jenny Kurz, who knew right away the problem was no longer in LaRue's back.
LaRue learned that her pelvic bone and wall had both tilted forward and that the muscles in the pelvic floor had tightened up, causing the pain she was feeling.
"If you think about what happens, if someone punches you in the stomach, you want to pull away. It's a protective mechanism and for a lot of people, that happens in your pelvic floor as well," says Kurz.
"Just like any other muscle in the body, these muscles need to have strength. They need to have coordination. They need to have the ability to relax. So if these muscles aren't acting appropriately, it makes sense that you're going to have faulty movement, which can then lead to pain," adds Kurz.
Winn spent six more months in physical therapy focused on the pelvic floor of her body.
"I changed the way I sit, the way I stand, the way i exercise. Everything had to change in order to avoid surgery and I don't regret a moment of it," says LaRue.
"Now I can do comedy again. I can engage with life. I work with my church again and I can stand tall."
Poor pelvic health can lead to back pain, incontinence or balance issues.
