Leaking when you laugh, painful sex, a hundred Kegels a day — pelvic health is full of things we’ve been told to just live with. In this episode of Myths to Medicine, host Ashma Baruwal sits down with Dr. Kim Parker-Guerrero, a pelvic health physical therapist and president of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy, to unpack what’s normal, what isn’t, and what can actually be treated.

In This Episode

• The common thread Kim sees in patients of every age: poor bowel and bladder habits — from teachers and nurses who hold their urine all day to kids who are afraid to have a bowel movement
• Symptoms people normalize for years, like painful sex and leaking, and why Kim asks about constipation first when treating urinary incontinence
• Why stopping your urine midstream should never be used as an exercise, and why Kegels are not for everyone — especially people with pelvic pain, prostatitis, or anal spasms
• How to do a Kegel correctly: pairing the contraction with your exhale, avoiding breath-holding and glute squeezing, and using a “pelvic brace” for everyday lifting
• What trauma-informed pelvic care looks like: asking permission, letting the patient lead, and helping women who couldn’t tolerate a speculum get ready for their pelvic exams
• How stress, the vagus nerve, and shallow breathing affect the pelvic floor — and why a clenched jaw can be a clue
• Pregnancy and postpartum care: perineal stretching at 36–37 weeks, delivery positions that protect the pubic symphysis, diastasis recti, and why waiting until the six-week checkup is too late
• The postpartum pelvic health bill Kim helped write, now in Congress, aimed at educating providers and patients, especially in the Medicaid population
• Perimenopause and topical vaginal estrogen, plus how pelvic floor tension affects intimacy and why Kim invites partners into treatment
• Pelvic health beyond women: men after prostatectomy, kids with bedwetting on a two-hour bladder schedule, gender-affirming care and dilator programs, and why a hysterectomy doesn’t fix endometriosis

“You’re not broken. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

About the Guest

Dr. Kim Parker-Guerrero is a physical therapist and the owner of Renew Physical Therapy in Roswell, New Mexico, where she provides trauma-informed pelvic health care for men, women, children, and gender-affirming patients. She serves as president of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy and as a delegate to the APTA House of Delegates, and she advocates on Capitol Hill for postpartum pelvic health.

Connect With Kim

• Website: @Renew Physical Therapy, Roswell, New Mexico

A Note From Kim

Kim sees patients at Renew Physical Therapy in Roswell, New Mexico, including men, women, children, and gender-affirming patients, some of whom travel from out of state for care. She’s also advocating on Capitol Hill for a postpartum pelvic health bill now in Congress, focused on educating providers and new moms about why postpartum pelvic care matters.