Dr. med. Christine Seitz is Head of Gynecology with extensive clinical and surgical experience. She holds the MIC III certification in minimally invasive surgery and is a member of several leading professional societies, including the Working Group for Gynecological Endoscopy, the Working Group for Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Reconstruction, the German Menopause Society, the German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics, and the AG CPC for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy.
Her professional focus areas include the treatment of endometriosis, pelvic floor medicine, and holistic women’s health across all stages of life.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: Can you give us a brief insight into your professional background and what personally led you to gynecology?
I completed my midwifery training in Würzburg, followed by my medical studies in Berlin. I then pursued my specialist training in Mühlhausen and Bad Hersfeld, before continuing as a senior physician and completing MIC training at Sachsenhausen Hospital in Frankfurt under Dr. Hessler. Since 2019, I have been working at Klinikum Werra-Meißner in Eschwege, first as a Senior Consultant and since 2023 as Head of Gynecology.
My path into gynecology was actually quite a unique one, because I originally completed training as a midwife in Würzburg and also worked for several years as a midwife. During that time, I accompanied women through one of the most intense and defining phases of their lives. I experienced firsthand how important not only emotional support is, but also, in certain moments, quick medical decision-making and a broad therapeutic spectrum. It was precisely this combination of close personal care, medical responsibility, and surgical possibilities that inspired me to study medicine and become a gynecologist.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What are your main professional focus areas today in your daily work as Head of Gynecology?
My professional focus areas are operative gynecology, particularly minimally invasive surgical procedures, as well as urogynecology and pelvic floor medicine. What is especially important to me is combining high medical quality with very personal and individualized patient care. As Head of Gynecology, I also see it as part of my responsibility to continuously develop our department: shaping modern women’s healthcare together with a strong team in a compassionate and future-oriented way.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What are the most common concerns related to the pelvic floor, musculature, or hormonal changes that patients come to you with?
Patients most commonly come to us with varying degrees of pelvic floor weakness. We support patients both preventively and therapeutically before and after childbirth using different conservative treatment approaches, including pelvic floor electrostimulation therapy, pessary therapy, and medication for urinary incontinence. In more advanced cases, especially when family planning has been completed, various surgical procedures may be considered depending on the patient’s wishes, such as laparoscopic procedures or vaginal surgeries with or without mesh implantation. Every patient receives an individualized treatment plan tailored to her specific needs.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What role does a healthy pelvic floor play in long-term women’s health, especially after pregnancy or during menopause?
A healthy pelvic floor plays a central role in women’s long-term health and quality of life, although its importance is often only recognized once symptoms appear. The pelvic floor is much more than just a group of muscles. It stabilizes the pelvic organs, supports continence, contributes to posture, and also influences physical well-being and sexuality.
Especially after pregnancy and childbirth, the pelvic floor is naturally placed under significant strain. Many changes recover over time, but not always completely. That is why prevention, postnatal recovery, and early awareness are so important.
During menopause, the situation changes again. Hormonal changes cause the tissue to lose elasticity and stability, which can make symptoms such as pelvic heaviness or incontinence more common. However, this should by no means be accepted as an unavoidable part of aging. What is important to me is communicating that pelvic floor health is neither a taboo topic nor simply a matter of age. It is an essential part of women’s health at every stage of life, and today there is a great deal we can do both preventively and therapeutically.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: You specialize in endometriosis. What connections do you see between this condition and the musculature, particularly in the pelvic floor area?
Endometriosis is often primarily perceived as a condition affecting the abdominal cavity or pelvic organs. In reality, however, it frequently affects the entire pain and muscular system within the pelvis. Many patients with endometriosis develop chronic muscular tension, particularly in the pelvic floor area, as a result of ongoing pain. This is, in a way, a protective reaction of the body. When pain occurs repeatedly, the muscles increase their resting tension. The problem is that this can develop into its own cycle of symptoms. An overactive or tense pelvic floor can itself cause pain, for example while sitting, during sexual intercourse, urination, or bowel movements, and can further intensify the actual endometriosis symptoms. That is why treating only the visible endometriosis lesions is often not enough. From my perspective, modern endometriosis treatment must follow a multimodal approach. In addition to surgical or medical therapy, this also includes addressing muscular and functional components, for example through specialized pelvic floor physiotherapy, pain therapy, or an interdisciplinary treatment concept.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: Many women know they should train their pelvic floor, but do not implement it consistently. From your experience, why is that?
I believe there are several reasons for this. First, the pelvic floor is something very abstract for many women. You cannot see it, you often do not consciously feel it, and many women are not fully aware of how essential it is for continence, stability, and overall quality of life.
What we do not immediately notice often fades into the background of everyday life. At the same time, the pelvic floor is still associated with a certain level of taboo. Many women only talk about postnatal recovery, incontinence, or prolapse symptoms once the level of suffering has already become significant. Naturally, prevention has a much harder time in that context. And very practically speaking, many women’s lives are simply full. Between work, family, and the demands of everyday life, self-care is often neglected. As long as symptoms are not yet acute, they frequently do not become a priority.
From my experience, there is another important aspect: many women know they should do something, but they do not really know how. Pelvic floor training is not simply about “tightening muscles. ” It often first requires good body awareness and sometimes professional guidance as well. If exercises feel uncertain or no immediate effect is noticeable, motivation is quickly lost.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What practical advice do you give women to help them better perceive and strengthen their pelvic floor muscles in everyday life?
The first important step is actually not the training itself, but awareness.
Many women do not really know what an activated pelvic floor is supposed to feel like. This is where pelvic floor electrostimulation therapy can help. Similar to EMS training, a vaginal probe is used to stimulate the pelvic floor muscles with electrical impulses, helping to activate and strengthen the musculature. At the same time, the patient can consciously feel the contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. The training is usually carried out independently by the patient on a daily basis over a period of three to six months. Afterwards, with a strengthened pelvic floor and improved body awareness, most patients are able to consciously activate and control their pelvic floor muscles themselves. These are specialized home-use devices, and the costs are generally covered by public health insurance providers.
It is also important to integrate pelvic floor training into everyday life instead of viewing it as another major task. Small, conscious exercises while brushing your teeth, waiting at a traffic light, or sitting at your desk are often far more realistic than committing to long workout sessions. Another important factor is breathing, because the pelvic floor and diaphragm work very closely together. Many patients unconsciously push or hold their breath, which is usually counterproductive. And most importantly: not every woman simply needs “more tension. ” Especially in cases of chronic pain, endometriosis, or certain pelvic floor conditions, excessive muscular tension may already be present. That is why an individualized assessment is so important.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What role does prevention play in modern women’s health, and what can women actively do today to support their own bodies?
Prevention plays a central role in modern women’s health. Ideally, we support women not only once symptoms or illnesses have already developed, but much earlier. For me, modern women’s medicine is not only about treatment, but above all about preventive healthcare, education, and empowering women to take an active role in their own health.
Many aspects of women’s health can be positively influenced through early prevention, from pelvic floor health and incontinence to cardiovascular health, bone health, hormonal changes, and cancer screening. Because women go through various hormonal and physical transitions throughout life, such as pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, prevention is not a one-time topic, but a lifelong process.
What can women actively do themselves? In fact, quite a lot: regular movement, targeted strength training, pelvic floor care, a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, stress management, and attending preventive medical check-ups. But also something equally important: taking their own body seriously, not downplaying changes, and addressing symptoms early.
It is important not to present prevention as additional pressure, but as an opportunity to actively shape and support one’s own health. Women should not only react once something stops functioning, but understand how they can strengthen and maintain their health in the long term.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: How do you generally assess the use of electrical muscle stimulation in the field of women’s health?
Electrical muscle stimulation can be a useful component in women’s health. Especially in the area of pelvic floor therapy, it can be beneficial for certain patients, particularly when body awareness of the musculature is limited or when targeted muscle activation is initially difficult, for example after childbirth or in certain forms of pelvic floor weakness.
However, the correct indication is essential. Not every woman with pelvic floor complaints automatically benefits from it. Particularly in cases of chronic pain syndromes, endometriosis, or an already overactive and tense pelvic floor, additional stimulation may even be counterproductive under certain circumstances.
From my perspective, electrical muscle stimulation is most valuable when it is integrated into an individualized and professionally guided overall treatment concept, not as an isolated technical solution, but as a complementary tool alongside diagnostics, targeted training, physiotherapy, and, where appropriate, additional therapies.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: In medical applications, different frequency ranges are distinguished. From your perspective, what significance does medium- frequency stimulation have compared to other forms of stimulation?
Medium-frequency stimulation is often perceived as more comfortable because tissue resistance is lower at higher frequencies. This means that deeper tissue structures can sometimes be reached more comfortably than with traditional low-frequency electrical stimulation. In certain applications, including in the pelvic floor area, this can be an advantage.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: Is it correct that medium-frequency applications have already been used in therapeutic settings for many years, for example in pelvic floor training, and what advantages does this offer?
Medium-frequency electrical stimulation has been used for many years in various therapeutic fields, including rehabilitation and urogynecological applications such as pelvic floor therapy. Depending on the specific application, the goal is to support muscle activation, neuromuscular control, or improved body awareness.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: From your perspective, how important is it to make modern training methods easily accessible for everyday life, independent of traditional therapy?
I believe this is extremely important. One of the biggest challenges in preventive healthcare is not a lack of knowledge, but the implementation in everyday life. Even the best method has little value if it is too complicated, too time-consuming, or only accessible within a therapeutic setting.
The easier we make meaningful health prevention part of everyday life, the greater the chance that women will actively strengthen their health in the long term, ideally before symptoms even arise.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: Which developments or innovations in the field of women’s health do you currently see as having particularly strong potential?
I currently see several developments with significant potential in women’s health. One of the most important shifts is that women’s health is increasingly being viewed more holistically. For a long time, many topics were considered in isolation. Today, we are gaining a much better understanding of the connections between hormones, metabolism, cardiovascular health, muscle and bone health, pelvic floor health, pain medicine, and mental well-being.
Digital health solutions will also become increasingly important, whether in prevention, training, telemedicine, or in the improved support of chronic conditions such as endometriosis or pelvic floor disorders.
Another very important development is the destigmatization of traditional women’s health topics. Issues such as endometriosis, menopause, incontinence, sexual health, and chronic pain are finally receiving more attention, and that is medically highly relevant.
Diba Nazar-Czaplinski: What are the three most important recommendations you would give women when it comes to their long-term health and well-being?
1. Take movement and muscle health seriously.
Our bodies are designed for movement, and muscle health is a key factor for overall well-being, not only for strength and mobility, but also for metabolism, bone health, pelvic floor stability, and healthy aging. It does not have to be high-performance sport, but consistency makes the difference.
2. Listen to your body and do not downplay symptoms.
Many women tend to endure symptoms for a long time or accept them as normal, whether it is severe pain, incontinence, exhaustion, or changes during menopause. My advice is to take your body seriously and seek support early.
3. View prevention as self-care, not as an obligation.
Attend preventive check-ups, pay attention to nutrition, sleep, and mental health, and consciously make time for your own well-being. Women often take excellent care of others, but their own health should not continuously come last.