What is Pelvic Floor or Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy or Pelvic Health Physiotherapy involves pelvic floor muscle strengthening, relaxation, and coordination to help treat pelvic floor muscle tightness or weakness and the associated problems that result. When the pelvic floor muscles have normal strength and tone, the pelvic organs are adequately supported and control normal urination, bowel movements, and sexual function.
Pelvic floor muscle tone can become altered when the muscles become too stretched and loose, often from childbirth or weakening with aging, or too tight and restricted, often due to stress. Both decreased and increased muscle tone in the pelvic floor muscles can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction.
What you can expect in your first visit?
On the day of your pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation, involves a one-on-one assessment with a trained Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist. A detailed medical history will be taken including specific questions about your bladder, bowel, and sexual health. Your physical therapist will then perform a physical exam, which will consist of an external and internal component.
During the external exam, your physical therapist will assess your lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, and muscles that surround or attach to the pelvis—including the rectus abdominis, iliopsoas, and piriformis—to check for pain, tightness, or tenderness.
After your physical therapist has completed examinations and made a clinical assessment about the possible causes of your symptoms, you will be scheduled for follow-up sessions. Each session will take place in a private treatment room.
Who will benefit from Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?
pain due to surgical adhesions in the pelvic region
dyspareunia (pain with intercourse), vaginismus and vulvodynia
chronic pelvic pain syndromes
prolapse discomfort
lower back pain and pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy and postpartum
diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal that may occur due to pregnancy)
bladder dysfunction
bowel and bladder incontinence