Urinary incontinence

  • Does your bladder leak when you cough, sneeze, laugh, or run?

  • Do you rush to make it to the toilet and sometimes don’t make it in time?

  • Do you feel like water runs right through you and you can’t hold your bladder?

Pelvic floor physical therapy will consist of meeting with you to assess how your diet, lifestyle habits, and muscle function can affect your bladder. Based on your needs, you will be built a tailored program to improve your bladder control so that you can continue your life without bladder problems.

urinary frequency, urinary retention, recurrent uti’s

  • Do you limit your fluid intake so that you won’t use the restroom as much?

  • Do you always feel like you are using the restroom to urinate?

  • Can you use the toilet again soon after you just emptied?

Pelvic floor physical therapy is not just doing kegels. During an evaluation and examination, your pelvic floor muscles will be assessed to figure out how they are affecting your symptoms. Sometimes the pelvic floor needs to relax or lengthen instead of contract in order for symptoms to improve.

constipation and fecal incontinence

  • Do you struggle with having regular bowel movements?

  • Are you bloated and have abdominal pain?

  • Is it difficult to hold your bowels with urgency?

Pelvic floor physical therapy can also consist of assessing how the gastrointestinal system may be affecting your symptoms. Gut motility, anal sphincter tone, and pelvic floor muscle coordination and control can all be assessed during an appointment.

pain with sex, endometriosis, vulvodynia, painful bladder, pudendal neuralgia

  • Do you have painful periods?

  • Does it hurt to wear tight clothing?

  • Do you have unexplained pelvic pain?

Pelvic floor physical therapy will consist of not only assessing the pelvic floor, but also how the lower back, hips, sacroiliac joints, and tailbone may be contributing to your issue. Your care will be comprehensive and may include collaboration with gynecologists, primary care doctors, urogynecologists, hormone specialists, and more.

postpartum issues

  • Do you think you may have diastasis recti or abdominal muscle separation?

  • Are you worried about possibly having a prolapse?

  • Do you have scar tissue from perineal tearing or c-section?

  • Do you feel weak and want to get back to your usual activities?

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a postpartum standard of care in many European countries, whereas in the United States, it is not. A woman’s body goes through many changes physically and hormonally during pregnancy and postpartum. It can take up to two years for a woman to physically recover from pregnancy and childbirth. A full body assessment from your neck all the way down to your feet can be done to see how you can return to feeling like yourself again.

pregnancy-related issues

  • Are you having lower back pain/hip/tailbone/groin pain?

  • Are you worried about having a smooth delivery?

  • Do you want to minimize tearing?

Pelvic floor physical therapy can make your pregnancy feel better by addressing how posture and changes in your body can affect your symptoms. Birth preparation can also be a focus of your sessions and you can be taught how to push properly, what birthing positions may be ideal for your body, and what to do to minimize tearing.