Bozeman Magazine

The pelvic floor is an integral part of the core system. One third of women have pelvic floor dysfunction and this statistic includes women who haven’t had children. In fact, ¼ high school girls leak urine with strenuous exercise. Most of these women do not seek treatment and/or know that treatment is available. Women’s Health Physical Therapy is an underutilized tool that can help women with pelvic floor and core dysfunctions. In this talk, Shannon will discuss common pelvic floor dysfunctions: Stress Incontinence (leakage with coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising) Pelvic Organ Prolapse Pelvic Pain (including pain with intercourse) Urinary Urgency Diastasis Recti (separation of the abdominal muscles after childbirth) She will then discuss the deep core system as it relates to the pelvic floor. Finally, Shannon will give us tips and tricks on strategies and exercises to alleviate pelvic floor and core dysfunctions. Shannon Sepulveda (McCarthy), DPT, M.Ed., CSCS, WCS is the owner and Physical Therapist at Shannon Sepulveda, DPT, PLLC. She is a Women’s Health Physical Therapist and is currently the only Board Certified Women’s Health Physical Therapist (WCS) in Montana. Shannon received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, Masters in Education from Harvard University (M.Ed.) and Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) from the University of Montana. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She has been a practicing Physical Therapist in Bozeman for over 6 years. In her free time she enjoys running, biking, skiing, hunting and spending time with her husband, son and daughter.