Below you’ll find answers to some of the more common questions I’ve received. Read on to learn more about services and what to expect. If you feel like you didn’t find the answer you were looking for, feel free to contact us for more information.
We are always happy to answer any questions you may have!
Pelvic Health Physical Therapy (or Pelvic PT) is a specialized type of physical therapy that treats bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction through the musculoskeletal and neuromuscular system.
Basically, what that means is that there is a bowl of muscles between your hips, holding up your organs: your bladder, rectum and uterus, if you have one.
Lots of things can go wrong with those muscles and the nerves that feed them, and when the muscles and nerves aren’t happy, everything else can go a bit haywire, too. Muscles can be too tight, too weak, in spasm, full of scar tissue — all things that make it hard for them to do their job properly. For example, 1 in 3 new moms report bowel and bladder issues after giving birth, and about half of all new moms have pelvic pain in the months after they’ve delivered. These problems don’t just go away on their own, and many just suffer in silence, assuming this is “the new normal.” Others take medication and get surgery to “fix” the problem. Instead of all that, we, pelvic floor physical therapists, use our clinical expertise to work on the muscles, tissues and nerves that need it, empowering you to heal yourself and work together with your body to resolve those “down there” problems.
Many people think that pelvic floor PT is all about kegels. It’s an incorrect thought. Kegels are a very small part of what we prescribe and may not prescribe at all as in some cases, this can put you at further risk of worsening your condition. We make sure you are actually doing those kegels properly, learn the correct form, and provide you with a tailored training program to help you recover much faster. But not everyone needs kegels! Sometimes the issue is tightness, not weakness. Pelvic PTs can help you figure all that out.
Getting a complete history is really important in order to understand your condition and how it has been affecting your life. So for the first part of the appointment, we will be asking a lot of questions — about treatments you may have already tried, surgeries you’ve undergone, your birth history, your toileting habits and whether it is painful to urinate, have a bowel movement, or have intercourse with a partner. Intake forms that are thoroughly filled out before your visit means we’ll need less time to clarify the details of what brings you in. We’ll listen to what you have to say and jot down some notes.
Yes, these are personal topics and it may be difficult for you to discuss them openly. Please know that our conversations are entirely confidential and the more complete of a history that you can provide, the better we can understand your problem, provide an accurate diagnosis and develop your personalized treatment program for our sessions together.
After getting your history, we do a postural and musculoskeletal assessment: basically, looking at the way your joints and muscles move, their range of motion, strength and endurance, and assess any imbalances you have that may be contributing to your condition.
With your permission, we conduct an external and internal pelvic floor muscle exam to check your pelvic floor muscles and identify what other factors may be contributing to the issues you’re dealing with. There are no stirrups or speculum involved, and we can stop at any time. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or in pain, let your therapist know immediately. Though we do this work with our patients every day, we completely understand that what is a totally normal day of work for us may be a highly stressful or anxiety-provoking experience for others. Our priority is to ensure that you feel as comfortable and as safe as possible throughout your visit.
Pelvic floor physical therapy is only successful if we work together and communicate openly.
Afterwards, we will go over the clinical findings, address any questions or concerns you may have, and discuss our treatment plan going forward to meet your goals.
Everyone has a pelvic floor! Men can greatly benefit from working with a pelvic floor physical therapist to address a variety of issues, such as erectile dysfunction, bowel or bladder incontinence, scarring or weakness, painful intercourse or ejaculation, testicular or scrotal pain. These problems can sometimes arise after surgery (e.g. prostatectomy, abdominoperineal resection), injury (e.g. car accident, during intercourse), or activity (e.g. biking, martial arts).
Pediatric Pelvic Floor PT can address bladder and bowel habits, constipation, bed-wetting, urinary incontinence, and a variety of pain issues. An internal exam is never completed on pediatric patients. We may use a tool called biofeedback which involves electrodes that we place externally, to assess pelvic floor coordination and function.