Did you know that 80% of individuals will suffer some form of pelvic pain or pee or poop problem in their lifetime?  

That’s 8 out of 10 people. The same number of people will also suffer back pain.  But guess what?  When an individual has back pain, they’ll get medical help within 2 weeks. When you have pelvic pain, or pee or poop probs, the average human waits 5-7 YEARS to bring it up. 

That’s crap, my friends.

Hi  🙂 My name is Dr. Kelly Sadauckas. I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy, one of a handful of Doctors of Physical Therapy IN THE WORLD that are double board certified in Pelvic Health and Orthopedics.  Today, I’d like to shed some light on how kegels can, in fact, save the world. Let’s begin! 

Pause for a moment…

Consider the reality of suffering from a pee, poop or seggsy time problem for 5-7 years…or longer

That’s 5-7 YEARS of a person’s life!! 

5-7 years of spending money on doctor appointments, medications , medical devices and pads or other products to cover up the result of the leakage, without dealing with the cause. 

5-7 years of internal suffering, depression, feeling broken and reduced confidence

5-7 years of lost connections. You haven’t been going out socially, or exercising, because you’re afraid of leaking and/or smelling like urine.

5-7 years of progressive weakening of your muscles, heart and mind, especially if you’ve been purposefully dehydrating yourself in attempt to stop the leaks (spoiler: that only makes it worse)

Knowing that…what if I were to say the following: 

Kegels Can Save the World

Do you think I am being too bold with that statement?

Let’s see if you agree after reading the rest of this blog post.  And, of course, we have caveats 🙂

2 Caveats

1. Humans with official diagnoses of Interstitial Cystitis (“IC”, a condition of a clinically VERY angry bladder) should NOT do the concentric form of Kegels (ie, don’t try to tighten your pelvic floor on purpose..EVEN if you goal is to then relax it…unless a specific medical professional has told you how and why).  For people with IC, Bearing Down, or relaxing, is the ‘part’ of the Kegel that is needed for you.  Doing THAT part of the Kegel, as well as learning about your body as a whole, can change your world for the better, as well 🙂
2. While many improvements begin to happen in days, full effect of care (due to the WHOLE BODY approach, and the need to BUILD MUSCLES everywhere, not just in your cooch….but that’s for another post), can take 3 months.   In order to be SUPER CONSERVATIVE, in the rest of the article, I’m looking at what we can save if we get better in 6 months….

Here’s 5 Ways That Kegels Can, in fact, Save the World  

IF, the average results of Pelvic Physio and Wellness interventions occur within 6 months of start of care.

IF, we could get people to seek and receive pelvic wellness care within 4 weeks of the start of the pee, poop, or seggsy time problem…rather than them waiting 5-7 years…we discover:

1. Pelvic Physio & Wellness Adds Quality of Life Years

If we got people to seek skilled PT care within 4 weeks of when they first notice it (just like back pain), we would save this human 4.5 to 6.5 years of suffering!!!  (or FOREVER of suffering if their complaint is healed for good!!)

This person is now back to a fully functioning member of society for 4.5 to 6.5 more years. That is 4.5 to 6.5 more years to be productive in their chosen life path; 4.5 to 6.5 more years to play with their children, friends and loved ones;  4.5-6.5 more years to invent, explore, discover cold fusion, etc.

2. Pelvic Physio & Wellness Has Mental Health Benefits

This person now has 4.5-6.5 LESS years of pain, pee, poop or seggsy time problems, so they have a significantly reduced chance of developing depression and other mental illness.  

3. And MORE Mental Health Benefits

This human now has 4.5-6.5 LESS years of social ostracization from ‘smell’ of urine, or self-isolation due to fear of leakage, further improving their mental health.

4. Pelvic Physio & Wellness SAVES YOU Money!!!

Incontinence products (pads, liners, special pants, diapers, etc) cost an average person $1,300 PER YEAR (probably more since the COVID-19 pandemic, as prices have increased, and remain increased as of late-2023).  

If someone is 50 years old, and lives until they are 90, that is $52,000 they’ve spent on incontinence pads!  YIKES!  What else could they do with that $$.

And what if they had been leaking since they were 30, and lived to 90??  That’s  $78,000 spent on covering up the problem without addressing the solution!!!  

5. Pelvic Physio & Wellness Reduce Trash!

Here’s where we get to how Kegels could save the world. 

It’s not just the money, but the WASTE. 

$52,000 worth of liners, pads and diapers is a LOT of disposable waste.  

Reducing the pad usage by half would be helpful to mother earth…eliminating it?  I feel like hugging Earth right now.  And yes, there are amazing reusable incontinence products that we discuss in other blogs at length.  Check back for hyperlinks or use the search bar in the blog section of our website.

6. And one Bonus Benefit: Heal the Mamas, Heal the World!

In a study of over 13,000 families, researchers found that happy, healthy moms raise kids with fewer mental problems in the next generation. 

Heal the mamas, heal the world, friends.

Just another benefit of fixing pelvises.

But Dr. Kelly, in the past, didn’t you say that kegels don’t work?

Read up in the blog about how “telling someone to just do kegels” indeed doesn’t work.  The pelvic floor is just too complex, and in fact, most people need to learn to relax their pelvic muscles before they can responsibly strengthen. 

But being TRAINED to do ‘whatever part of them YOU need’, can change your life. Want a taste? Try out this post!

Seeing a trained pelvic floor physiotherapist, or purchasing a kick-ass online program designed by a legitimate trailblazer in online pelvic wellness and being trained in your own body and how it can work?  That can be magical.  

That’s how Kegels can save the world

I hope you learned something new, and have a few new wonders to discuss with your besties, friends and families over the next few days.  

xoxo, Dr. Kelly