Episode 1602 - Breathing, voicing, and the pelvic floor #PTonICE Daily Show

Dr. April Dominick // #ICEPelvic // www.ptonice.com 


In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, #ICEPelvic faculty member April Dominick discusses the anatomy & physiology of phonation, the mechanics of breathing, and the relationship between the pelvic floor & the demands of speaking/singing. In addition, April covers unique considerations for professional singers & speakers and implications for physical therapy treatment.
Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION
Hey everyone, this is Alan. Chief Operating Officer here at ICE. Before we get started with today’s episode, I want to talk to you about VersaLifts. Today’s episode is brought to you by VersaLifts. Best known for their heel lift shoe inserts, VersaLifts has been a leading innovator in bringing simple but highly effective rehab tools to the market. If you have clients with stiff ankles, Achilles tendinopathy, or basic skeletal structure limitations keeping them from squatting with proper form and good depth, a little heel lift can make a huge difference. VersaLifts heel lifts are available in three different sizes and all of them add an additional half inch of h drop to any training shoe, helping athletes squat deeper with better form. Visit www.vlifts.com/icephysio or click the link in today’s show notes to get your VersaLifts today.

APRIL DOMINICK
What's up PT on Ice fam? This is Dr. April Dominick from the Ice Pelvic Faculty Division here today to talk about the pelvic floor and its role in breathing and voicing today. I have a feeling it'll take your breath away. But first, some updates from our pelvic division. First, we have our last live course offering of 2023. It is happening December 2nd and 3rd. with Christina Prevett, and that is gonna be in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And let's not forget about not one, but two of our online eight-week course offerings. Level one is going to kick off next year on January 9th, and the brand new level two advanced concepts are going to get rolling on April 30th. So head over to ptonice.com and secure your seat in one or all three of those offerings. So we wanted to hop on today to outline what we know about the pelvic floor and its essential tasks and things that you've probably already done today like breathing and talking.
THE PELVIC FLOOR & PHONATION
I'll discuss the essential anatomy and then the structures that are involved and then we'll unpack the complex physiology of breathing and voicing with a special focus on what the literature supports right now in terms of what the pelvic floor's role is in phonation. Spoiler alert, there's not a ton. And when I say phonation or voicing, all those terms mean talking. So we need to understand what normal function is in order to identify dysfunction during pelvic floor assessment, especially when it comes to an individual complaining of any bladder issues or bowel dysfunction, leakage, pelvic heaviness, or pain during tasks like breathing and talking, or yelling and singing, This can happen to anyone. Think about the last time you were in a really loud bar or at a concert and you're yelling at someone or trying to talk to people and your voice gets a little fatigued. Maybe there's some fatigue in the pelvic floor as well. This can also happen with other occupations that primarily use their voices. So I'm thinking about teacher