Journey of Rural Pelvic Health

I received the rural pelvic health scholarship and wanted to write a blog to draw attention to rural areas and healthcare. Many times, in rural areas, there is a lapse in care due to the distance that patients must travel. The majority of patients in the rural area I am in must travel 30 to 80+ miles to receive specialized care. This puts patients in a difficult position of choosing between their health and the availability of care due to transportation issues, provider shortages, financial burdens, and many other factors. 

When I went to physical therapy school, I knew I wanted to move back to my small rural town. Not only because I loved the area and wanted to be in the town I grew up in, but because I would be able to bring quality care back to my local people. I had specifically wanted to further my education in pelvic health, because nobody within a 40-mile radius provided that — much less for men, obstetrics, and pediatric pelvic health.

Another complication that rural America and healthcare face is low health literacy. Many patients face difficulties with trying to navigate the healthcare system simply because they are not educated on how best to advocate for themselves or do not have a provider who will educate them. I have found in my practice of generalized home health physical therapy that many patients believe that if they have urinary leakage with movement, that it’s normal and nobody has told them otherwise. Patients do not know where to begin to even seek help for generalized health concerns, much less something specialized like pelvic health. I am hopeful that with furthering my education on this, I will be able to teach and arm my patients with education to make sound decisions that are in the best interest of themselves and their health.  

I have also found that many rural folks find it to be “taboo” to talk about pelvic health, which I am sure that in urban populations is also true. But in rural areas, you’ll typically find that people believed anything with female- or male-specific anatomy should not be discussed. That you must just “suck it up” and deal with the issues you are having and not talk about it. I have already started to have discussions with current patients and members of my community about this and continue to bring awareness that pelvic health matters and is necessary to talk about. The few patients I have discussed this with have reacted positively and want to receive pelvic health care. Which is amazing because we are finally starting to break down the walls and barriers of these “taboo” subjects! 

I am excited to further my pelvic health education with Obstetric courses – as I feel there is a huge gap in my rural area of education and providers in this. Women struggle to find good-quality providers in this area, especially with any sort of complicated pregnancy or just even with finding resources and education on how to best take care of their own bodies as they go through these changes with pregnancy. Being able to have further education on this to provide to my patients and community will be able to close the gap in care. I have had several discussions with women who are pregnant or who have had children – and wish they had received some sort of pelvic health physical therapy to have had a smoother pre- and post-partum. I plan to not only treat patients – but to provide community classes and resources for women to best support themselves and to navigate pregnancy. 

Again, I am so excited to be able to further my education in pelvic health, especially in a rural area, and am grateful that I was chosen as a recipient for this scholarship. I greatly appreciate this opportunity.

Meet the Author

Alex Orr, PT, DPT

2026 APTA Pelvic Health CAPP Scholarship Recipient 

I am a new Pelvic Health Physical Therapist in a rural Kansas area. I am a proud 2026 recipient of the Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy Rural PT/PTA Scholarship.