Urogynecology, or Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, is a specialty designed to treat pelvic floor disorders in women. A holistic approach means that traditionaland non-traditional treatments may be used and we will be open to any safe approach to treat these disorders.  Traditional western medicine generally tends towards medications or surgery, although pelvic physical therapy has been widely recognized as a useful first line therapy by the Ob/Gyn, urogynecology and urology communities.  Going further, however, we truly need to look at the entire person and involve every aspect of her life in the process of healing a pelvic problem.  My experience has been that surgery is often used as first-line therapy when it should be a last resort.  A holistic approach takes into consideration the lifestyle and needs of the woman, her diet, fluid intake, activity level, stress levels, genetics, environment and other health conditions that may have an impact on her pelvic health.  It is important to remember that the pelvis is quite literally the seat of everything in the body, and everything from motor functions such as walking and moving as well as urinating and defecating to physiologic functions such as evacuation and menstrual cycles are affected by and affect the pelvic floor.  As urogynecoogists we are dedicated to learning as much as possible about the pelvic floor and how it interacts with the rest of the body.  Using a holistic approach involves incorporating science and technology with close attention to the basics, such as diet, exercise, stress, genetics, and environment.  We can use our understanding of the fact that every person is unique, each person brings a unique set of experiences, strengths and weaknesses to the table when we are dealing with a problem that may be very common.

Taking the most conservative path and emphasizing the importance of the seemingly mundane daily experiences we all have in an effort to achieve wellness is a hallmark of the holistic approach.  Good science does not have to be at odds with holistic medicine, in fact, they should be part of the whole picture.  We do not always have the ability to complete prospective, randomized control trials of every modality, but we need to accept that some treatment options may not have been validated via the scientific method but may still be valid.  Treatments that are clearly dangerous or ill-advised should be discarded, but we must remember too that in western medicine we have many examples of treatments that seemed beneficial at first but then clearly were shown to be harmful.  Patients and physicians should be learning from each other, and as physicians it is our duty to teach our patients everything we can about how to maintain or regain health.  It is also our duty to learn from our patients and listen to them when they describe their concerns.  I realized long ago that most patients with even the most bizarre sounding symptoms are not “making them up”.

If you have an issue with pelvic health and would like to seek a holistic approach to the problem, call Palm Beach Center for Pelvic Health at 561-701-2841