Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
What is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?
- Frequent trips to the bathroom during the day or at night
- Urine loss when coughing, laughing or exercising
- Painful sexual intercourse
- Pelvic pressure or pain
- Difficulty getting to the toilet on time
- Postpartum moms
- Diastasis Recti
- Prolapse
- Tailbone pain
- Bladder schedule and retraining
- Lifestyle modifications
- Internal or external manual muscle therapy
- Pelvic floor muscle strengthening
- Relaxation techniques
- Therapeutic exercise
- Dry Needling
- Soft tissue mobilization
- Cupping
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Lifting heavy weights
- Being overweight
- Chronic constipation
- Pre-menopause and menopause
- High-impact exercises
- Post Radiation or Cancer treatment
Pelvic floor physical therapy is often the only or best option for treating pelvic conditions. When surgical options are available, and your health and condition qualify you for surgery, pelvic floor physical therapy can be beneficial both before and after surgery.
During your initial exam, your pelvic floor physical therapist will go over your medical history with you and ask you questions about your health and any behaviors that may be affecting your condition, such as fluid intake, bladder health and other personal questions that may affect your pelvic health.
The exam will last one hour and will take place in a private room. If you are comfortable having a pelvic exam, your pelvic floor physical therapist may perform one during your initial consultation.
As part of an internal pelvic floor muscle exam, your pelvic floor physical therapist will need to an internal exam in order to assess your pelvic floor muscles and coordination.
An internal pelvic floor exam is necessary for developing an accurate treatment plan. We can, however, assess your pelvic floor muscles using other methods, such as:
- Pelvic girdle assessments. Your pelvic floor physical therapist will assess the condition of your pelvic girdle, which is a complex ring of ligaments, joints, and muscles that connects the skeleton to the lower limbs and the pelvic floor.
- Pre- and post-partum abdominal screening. We will examine your abdominal muscles to see if there is any separation (abdominal diastasis).