Let’s Talk About Sex - Addressing Sexual Function With Your Patients

Overview

The rehabilitation clinician is trained to provide treatment to restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent disability. Sexual activity is a valuable part of a person’s function and can be impacted by physical as well as psycho-social changes that occur in illness and disease processes.

All medical providers should be aware of multiple dimensions of sexual health and also the domains that can be addressed to resume a meaningful sex life and satisfactory sexual experiences.

Pelvic Physical Therapists can be instrumental in addressing the mechanical and ergonomic adaptations needed to participate in sexual relations regardless of multiple system involvement. In addition, clinicians working with patients must also be sensitive and possess cultural competency skills in order to establish successful patient rapport in a very sensitive area of function.

Learning Objectives

This online physiotherapy course brought to you by Pelvic Health Solutions (PHS) and taught by Karen Brandon, covers female and male sexual functions introducing basic anatomic, physiological, and ergonomic considerations, as well as adaptations and rehabilitation after surgical interventions.

The purpose of the course is to educate the health care professionals working in pelvic health in the use of a patient-centred interview, evidence-based evaluative techniques, and treatment approaches for addressing musculoskeletal impairments that affect sexual participation.

We will also discuss how to approach patients with sexual concerns or dysfunction from a biopsychosocial perspective and how to screen for psychosocial and medical conditions that require appropriate referral to other disciplines. The attendee will become familiar with different outcome measures used in sexual medicine.

This course overviews numerous variations in sexual expression so that the therapist can be familiar with same-sex, heterosexual, transgender, and aging populations.

Through completion of this course, participants will:

• Describe and compare/contrast the female and male sexual response cycle.
• Explain the domains of sexual function.
• Identify the origins of sexual attitudes and beliefs.
• List risk factors associated with common sexual dysfunction conditions.
• Understand sexual activity from an anatomic, physiologic and ergonomic perspective.
• Describe orthopedic modifications for ergonomics and body mechanics during sexual activity.
• Understand surgical procedures and pharmacological management of sexual dysfunction.
• Become familiar with the usefulness of FSFI, VQ, Marinoff, Kinsey, PFDI-20 questionnaires.
• Explain the components of interviewing and history taking with sexual conditions.
• Become familiar with the PLLISIT model of addressing sexual concerns.

Audience

This online course is for all rehabilitation professionals, including physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, chiropractors, athletic therapists, exercise therapists, kinesiologists among others.

This course is also relevant for movement specialists, yoga teachers, yoga therapists, and those interested in learning more about pelvic floor health and wellness.

Prerequisites

This course is for trained pelvic health physiotherapists with Level I and II, or MD, RN, NP, or Midwife.