2024-03-02 11:29:07
Shellfish fishing on foot is a predominantly female activity. Of the more than 3,600 permits given by the Xunta de Galicia for extraction – especially of clams – in the sandy areas, more than 75% correspond to women. Their back, knee or hand problems are more than well known, but now the focus has been placed on a much more silent but equally important aspect, the pelvic floor.
They are not the only ones. We spoke with an expert, Raquel Carracedo, a gynecologist specialized in pelvic floor, who receives dozens of women at The Women’s Clinic, in Santiago de Compostela. “Shellfish harvesters, women who care for dependent people or supermarket workers, this affects everyone.”
Break taboos
More and more women want to solve problems of urine loss, pain in the lower abdomen or genital area, or discomfort during sexual relations. “We all have an inherited tendency, the pelvic floor is no exception, there is a genetic component, and then there is lifestyle,” explains the doctor.
In this clinic, a reference in the comprehensive treatment of women’s health, they talk about everything. “We do an in-depth interview to know in detail the situation of our patients,” says Carracedo. And many of these issues were taboo until recently. “Now women are more aware that they want to be well and have a good quality of life; they are already evolving in this sense.”
Running or crossfit risky activities
Pregnancies, childbirth or menopause influence the health of the pelvic floor and gynecological health in general. Women undergo many hormonal changes throughout their lives and even having had cancer can cause complications.
“Vaginal dryness, discomfort, recurrent urinary infections or pain during sexual relations are aspects that cause a lot of discomfort in women,” says Carracedo.
These situations could sometimes be avoided or at least reduced by maintaining correct posture and having good body awareness. “Running or CrossFit are high-impact activities for the pelvic floor. By this I mean that they should not be practiced? Of course not, but you have to know how to practice them to protect it.”
The same goes for certain work activities. Shellfish harvesting is one of them, which is why the Xunta de Galicia has taken measures and decided to launch a program to prevent these problems in the community. How is this going to be realized? In informative talks and even in visits to the sandbanks themselves to directly show the shellfish harvesters what positions they should adopt to put less effort in the abdominal area and compensate for it with other muscles such as the glutes or thighs.
Electromagnetism as a solution
Although the first objective of experts is to raise awareness to prevent the problem from occurring, the truth is that today it is estimated that urinary incontinence affects 15% of women in Spain.
To alleviate this situation there are different techniques and one of them, through electromagnetism, is giving very good results. “We have been using the electromagnetic therapy chair for 5 years, it is a chair that emits a number of magnetic impulses per minute that is impossible to do on your own and the results are very good,” explains the doctor.
So although the key will always be prevention, the message is clear; there’s a solution. So let’s not settle for living in discomfort.
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