Using the sensory system as a weapon

Fight the power, harness your nervous system, stop the pain.

Fun fact that many of you already know: I am not a physical therapist. I am an occupational therapist, and I did not originally go into the field to pursue pelvic health (although I pivoted there in year 1).

Nah. I wanted to be an OT because I am myself a sensory kid at heart.

If you’ve ever been to a sensory gym, with its crash pads, ball pits, slings, scooters, and many opportunities to be upside down, you know what I mean. Even the living room I’m starting at has eight sensory movement toys within view. (I counted.) Yes, they’re for my kids. But also I use them. All. Regularly.

not my house, but I genuinely wish that it were.

How is this relevant to pelvic health? For a long time, I didn’t think it was.

Until two disparate events occurred. One was that I just became more experienced in treating chronic pelvic pain, and started recognizing the power of “vibe” to help people feel relaxed and heal. What in the good fuck do I mean by vibe, you might ask?

Think lighting. Smells, or lack of noxious ones. The tone and cadence of my voice as a clinician. The quality of the sheets. The color of the paint on the walls, and the art (or lack thereof) on them. Whether or not I position someone with comfy bolsters and pillows during an exam.

This is sensory shit, y’all. And guess what? It’s in our control. That’s huge.

this is the color I chose for my new office’s walls. don’t we all feel soothed?

The other event that made me recognize the power of the sensory system was my kids, who both have had, shall we say, adventures in pooping issues. My kids are very different humans with different bodies, but they both struggled with the feeling of pooping — either feeling it too much or too little, or both. In the end, we used sensory strategies — heat, weighted blankets, respiratory toys — to get them into a little poop routine that literally changed the game.

So, sensory interventions are remarkably powerful for pelvic floor health. This is especially true if the issue at hand has anything to do with nervous system regulation. So, if pain of any stripe, constipation, digestive complaints, or urge incontinence are in your challenge profile, this one is for you.

If you’re skeptical on all of this, let’s consider the following definition and accompanying visual:

The sensory system is the portion of the nervous system responsible for processing input from the environment. Beginning with detection through the transfer of stimuli to the central nervous system, the peripheral nerves and their associated receptors rapidly relay information.

So what are we doing when we manipulate the sensory input around us?

We’re manipulating the way our nervous system responds to the system as a whole.

That means if you’re struggling with pelvic dysfunction (or anything else, for that matter) that is in any way related to nervous system regulation, use of the sensory system is a huge and viable tool that can change your body’s response to the other things going on inside of it. Maybe that means less pain, or less accidental peeing on yourself, or easier poops (or all three!?).

It’s a tool, or tools, you get to use at any time. Completely in your control. That’s um, kind of badass?

And it’s the first thing I review with my coaching clients. IMO, it’s foundational.

So today, I’m giving y’all an audio recording — a podcast/workshop “pod-work”, if you will — that walks you through how to create what I call a “sensory toolkit”. You’ll walk away with a transportable, easy to use, and game changing method to support your nervous system.

If you’re not a subscriber already, you can change that here! Thank you for supporting my one-woman, working-mother-in-business show. From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it.