"Start By Doing What’s Necessary"

When it comes to discussing nutrition with our clients in pelvic rehab, it is normal to initially feel both uncertain and perhaps a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of delving into this topic. Yet we know that there must be links, some association between nutrition and the many chronic conditions we encounter. Gradually, over the last several years, a cornerstone of my practice with patients in pelvic rehabilitation has become providing nutritional guidance.

I was both humbled and immensely grateful when many of my colleagues and peers attended Nutrition Perspectives for the Pelvic Rehab Therapist (NPPR) in Kansas City last March. In the following months, our clinics underwent a significant change in the types of discussions occurring with our patients. By embracing concepts presented in NPPR, a continuous stream of patient stories developed about lives having been touched by this shift. For many, “one small change” made a very big difference or served as the catalyst to many more positive lifestyle changes. Simply placing a high priority on re-thinking health situations through the lens of nourishment has been a very important shift, one that can occur across the spectrum of pelvic rehab practitioners if we choose to answer the call to “do what’s necessary”.

Learning the essence of a topic outside our comfort zone is not easy, yet in present time is necessary for providers trying to grapple with how to wrap our professional minds around what we know in our hearts to be true: the effect of nourishment on health is profound. This brings to mind the resonating wisdom of Francis of Assisi:

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible;
and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

At this crossroads in our health care system we know that nutrition matters. We must start by doing what’s necessary: acknowledging our role in helping patients along their path to a better life through less pain, ease of movement, normalization of function, and healing. With commitment to our patient’s well-being, we too must commit to investigating the realm of nutrition and rehabilitation. Next, we can strive to do what’s possible. NPPR can serve as a springboard for professionals ready to develop programs incorporating sound nourishment principles in relation to both specific conditions in pelvic rehab and general health and well-being. Finally, we may - in a few short years - realize that suddenly we are doing the impossible; integrating these vital principles as standard care in rehabilitation.

Please join us in White Plains, NY March 31-April 1, 2017 for Nutrition Perspectives for the Pelvic Rehab Therapist. Whether you are just beginning to integrate nutrition and its correlates to pelvic rehab or are already well on your way along this path, you will come away with both a strong understanding of how food affects function along with tools you can immediately begin sharing with the clients you serve.