The Unsung Hero of the Human Body:
A Brief (and Surprising) History of Pelvic Health
Whether they are sitting in one of our workshops or walking into our clinic for an initial evaluation, the realization is often the same: “I didn’t even know pelvic floor physical therapy was an option.” For most of our patients, this life-changing care wasn’t something they were proactively offered. It was a happy accident discovered through a tip from a friend or family member or a passing comment from a medical provider.
This lack of awareness stems from a long-standing healthcare gap. We’ve spent generations treating this area like a forgotten basement, a dark corner of the body we only visit when there’s a leak or a structural failure. It’s time we shift that perspective and recognize the pelvic floor for what it truly is: the bedrock of our physical health. It doesn’t just sit there, it anchors our organs and stabilizes our spine, influencing our most basic functions and our most intimate moments.
Let’s pull back the curtain back on where pelvic floor therapy came from, why it was created, and the pioneers who fought to make sure we didn’t have to “just live with” pelvic pain or dysfunction.
It Started With a Rhythm (Literally)
Most people assume pelvic health started with Dr. Arnold Kegel in the 1940’s. But the real story goes back a bit further, to a woman named Margaret Morris in London in the 1930’s.
Margaret wasn’t just a physiotherapist; she was a professional dancer. She looked at the human body through the lens of movement and posture. In 1936, twelve years before the “Kegel” became a household name, Margaret was teaching women how to consciously contract and relax their pelvic muscles to treat incontinence.
Her secret weapon? Schubert’s Waltzes. She actually taught her patients to coordinate their pelvic floor movements to the rhythm of the music. She understood something we still preach today: The pelvic floor isn’t just a muscle to squeeze; it’s a dynamic part of how we move through the world.
The Man Who Named the Move: Dr. Arnold Kegel
In 1948, an American gynecologist named Dr. Arnold Kegel published a groundbreaking paper. At the time, if a woman had a “dropped” uterus or bladder (prolapse) or couldn’t control her bathroom habits after childbirth, the only answer was surgery, and the success rates weren’t great.
Dr. Kegel was frustrated. He realized that the surgery was often failing because the underlying muscles were too weak to hold the “repairs” in place. He started prescribing “Progressive Resistance Exercises.”
He even invented a device called a perineometer to measure the strength of the contraction. Suddenly, women had a non-surgical option. For the first time, medicine acknowledged that the pelvic floor could be rehabilitated just like a bicep or a hamstring.
Why Was This Necessary? (The “Why” Behind the Science)
For a long time, pelvic issues were treated as a “silent tax” on being a woman or getting older. If you leaked when you laughed, or if intimacy was painful after a baby, you were told it was “normal.”
Pelvic floor therapy was created to challenge that. It was born out of a necessity to give people their quality of life back. It was created because:
- Surgery isn’t always the answer. Muscles need to be trained, not just tucked.
- Childbirth is an athletic event. You wouldn’t run a marathon without training or recover from a knee injury without rehab; why should the pelvis be any different?
- The “Core” is more than just abs. Without a functional pelvic floor, your back and hips have no foundation.
The Modern Movement: Elizabeth Noble
If Margaret Morris started the rhythm and Dr. Kegel gave us the exercise, Elizabeth Noble (the “Mother of Pelvic PT” in America) gave us the heart. In the late 1970’s, she founded the Section on Women’s Health for the American Physical Therapy Association.
Elizabeth shifted the conversation from just “stopping leaks” to a holistic view of the pelvis as the “center of gravity and creativity.” She reminded the medical world that this isn’t just about anatomy, it’s about a person’s confidence and ability to live a full, active life.
Why We Do This at Shar Buza PT
At the end of the day, the history of pelvic floor therapy is a history of empowerment. It’s the story of pioneers who refused to accept that discomfort was inevitable.
When you come to see us, you’re stepping into a tradition that started with dancers and doctors who knew your body was capable of healing. We aren’t just here to give you “exercises”, we’re here to help you rebuild your foundation so you can get back to the music of your own life.
The Unsung Hero of the Human Body:
A Brief (and Surprising) History of Pelvic Health
Whether they are sitting in one of our workshops or walking into our clinic for an initial evaluation, the realization is often the same: “I didn’t even know pelvic floor physical therapy was an option.” For most of our patients, this life-changing care wasn’t something they were proactively offered. It was a happy accident discovered through a tip from a friend or family member or a passing comment from a medical provider.
This lack of awareness stems from a long-standing healthcare gap. We’ve spent generations treating this area like a forgotten basement, a dark corner of the body we only visit when there’s a leak or a structural failure. It’s time we shift that perspective and recognize the pelvic floor for what it truly is: the bedrock of our physical health. It doesn’t just sit there, it anchors our organs and stabilizes our spine, influencing our most basic functions and our most intimate moments.
Let’s pull back the curtain back on where pelvic floor therapy came from, why it was created, and the pioneers who fought to make sure we didn’t have to “just live with” pelvic pain or dysfunction.
It Started With a Rhythm (Literally)
Most people assume pelvic health started with Dr. Arnold Kegel in the 1940’s. But the real story goes back a bit further, to a woman named Margaret Morris in London in the 1930’s.
Margaret wasn’t just a physiotherapist; she was a professional dancer. She looked at the human body through the lens of movement and posture. In 1936, twelve years before the “Kegel” became a household name, Margaret was teaching women how to consciously contract and relax their pelvic muscles to treat incontinence.
Her secret weapon? Schubert’s Waltzes. She actually taught her patients to coordinate their pelvic floor movements to the rhythm of the music. She understood something we still preach today: The pelvic floor isn’t just a muscle to squeeze; it’s a dynamic part of how we move through the world.
The Man Who Named the Move: Dr. Arnold Kegel
In 1948, an American gynecologist named Dr. Arnold Kegel published a groundbreaking paper. At the time, if a woman had a “dropped” uterus or bladder (prolapse) or couldn’t control her bathroom habits after childbirth, the only answer was surgery, and the success rates weren’t great.
Dr. Kegel was frustrated. He realized that the surgery was often failing because the underlying muscles were too weak to hold the “repairs” in place. He started prescribing “Progressive Resistance Exercises.”
He even invented a device called a perineometer to measure the strength of the contraction. Suddenly, women had a non-surgical option. For the first time, medicine acknowledged that the pelvic floor could be rehabilitated just like a bicep or a hamstring.
Why Was This Necessary? (The “Why” Behind the Science)
For a long time, pelvic issues were treated as a “silent tax” on being a woman or getting older. If you leaked when you laughed, or if intimacy was painful after a baby, you were told it was “normal.”
Pelvic floor therapy was created to challenge that. It was born out of a necessity to give people their quality of life back. It was created because:
- Surgery isn’t always the answer. Muscles need to be trained, not just tucked.
- Childbirth is an athletic event. You wouldn’t run a marathon without training or recover from a knee injury without rehab; why should the pelvis be any different?
- The “Core” is more than just abs. Without a functional pelvic floor, your back and hips have no foundation.
The Modern Movement: Elizabeth Noble
If Margaret Morris started the rhythm and Dr. Kegel gave us the exercise, Elizabeth Noble (the “Mother of Pelvic PT” in America) gave us the heart. In the late 1970’s, she founded the Section on Women’s Health for the American Physical Therapy Association.
Elizabeth shifted the conversation from just “stopping leaks” to a holistic view of the pelvis as the “center of gravity and creativity.” She reminded the medical world that this isn’t just about anatomy, it’s about a person’s confidence and ability to live a full, active life.
Why We Do This at Shar Buza PT
At the end of the day, the history of pelvic floor therapy is a history of empowerment. It’s the story of pioneers who refused to accept that discomfort was inevitable.
When you come to see us, you’re stepping into a tradition that started with dancers and doctors who knew your body was capable of healing. We aren’t just here to give you “exercises”, we’re here to help you rebuild your foundation so you can get back to the music of your own life.
