Finding My Voice Again: Elena Martin
Elena Martin shares their experience navigating pelvic prolapse with rectocele and how pelvic health physical therapy became an important part of their healing journey. Their story highlights the impact of persistence, individualized care, and the many ways pelvic health rehabilitation can improve quality of life.
📍 Westminster, MD USA
My Story
I’m a 4’9” professional vocalist, keyboardist, bandleader, IT professional, wife, and mom who spent nearly 15 years struggling with a voice that no longer felt like my own—something I now understand began quietly after pregnancy changed the mechanics of my body in ways no one recognized at the time.
Thankfully, I stuck to my guns as I was offered misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis. I finally started feeling symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. This was discovered when I began seeking answers for GI issues no one realized were connected.
It turns out my last pregnancy as a catalyst for the breakdown of my entire pressure canister. Diastasis, organ displacement rendering my diaphragm basically useless, and eventually a diagnosis of severe pelvic prolapse with rectocele.
Pelvic floor physical therapy, osteopathic work to restore organ position and diaphragmatic access, and a deeper understanding of how the body actually supports the voice began to change everything.
Essentially, I am reprogramming my body—retraining the breath, the core, and the pressure system that supports my voice, while relearning how to use muscles I had no access to for years. Every session, every exercise, every mindful breath is part of learning to access what has been locked for so long. It’s challenging, sometimes slow, but profoundly transformative.
Before Pelvic Health Physical Therapy
My voice was strangled for years (didn’t realize this was related), there was constant abdominal pressure, and the bowel symptoms that come with rectocele.My Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Journey
I was referred to PT specifically to address the rectocele. I put 2 and 2 together that this was also the underlaying cause of my voice issue. I am still in PT as I rebuild my pressure canister from the bottom up.Where I Am Today
My rectocele symptoms have gotten better, and my voice is slowly coming back.A Final Reflection
I kept telling voice specialists my abdomen felt “locked” - NOBODY ever suggested having my abdomen checked!
I would like to point out that I never stopped singing through this.
