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“Pelvic floor” is a catch-all term that refers to the muscles located at the bottom (a.k.a. the floor) of your pelvis. These muscles are involved in many critical activities, including sitting, standing, walking, lifting, urinating, pooping, having sex, and giving birth. Your pelvic floor muscles connect to many other muscles in your torso and legs and can have cascading effects on your health if something goes wrong with them – which is why there are physical therapists who specialize in treating pelvic floor dysfunction.
Pelvic floor dysfunction may be hereditary, but it can also be caused by traumatic injuries, pregnancy, pelvic plastic surgery, overuse, and other reasons. Issues with your pelvic floor affect your daily life and can make simple activities such as using the restroom difficult or even impossible. If you are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction, seeing a pelvic floor therapist could be very beneficial for your health and help you regain your quality of life.
Signs That You Need to See a Pelvic Floor Therapist
If your pelvic muscles are either too weak or too tight, then you might need to see a pelvic floor therapist. Here are some specific symptoms that indicate you may have a condition that can be treated with pelvic floor therapy:
- Bladder leakage when coughing, sneezing, laughing, jumping, etc. (stress incontinence)
- Painful bowel movements
- Painful urination or pain when the bladder is full
- Strong urge to urinate even when you do not have to go
- Feeling of never being able to empty your bladder
- Constant constipation (especially constipation that does not resolve with dietary changes)
- Pain during or after sex
- Pain during vaginal or pelvic examination
- Pain when using a tampon
- Pain in the lower back, lower abdomen, and/or the hips
- Prolapse of pelvic organs (this will feel like something is falling out of your pelvis)
- Pelvic floor muscle spasms
- Postpartum conditions such as diastasis recti or C-section recovery
- Testicular pain and/or pain following ejaculation
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s important to see a primary care doctor or an OBGYN even if you do not need a referral from them to visit a pelvic floor therapist. That’s because these signs can be symptoms of various underlying conditions, such as ovarian cysts or urinary tract infections (UTIs), that will not be effectively treated with pelvic floor therapy alone.
Your doctor will want to run some tests to rule out these underlying conditions first to make sure that you are getting the most effective treatment possible. For instance, if you do have a UTI, you’ll need to take a course of antibiotics to get it to clear up – pelvic floor therapy won’t help much with it. However, if you’ve already ruled out these other underlying conditions, then pelvic floor therapy can be a great component to add to your treatment plan.
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What to Expect at a Pelvic Floor Therapist
Your pelvic floor therapist will ask you to describe the history of your symptoms as well as your medical history. This will help them determine potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and get a full picture of your specific systems. They will also ask to conduct a pelvic exam so they can determine if your muscles are too weak, too tight, or a combination of the two. They will probably ask you to perform some exercises to test your range of motion and check your alignment and posture.
Once they put together a course of treatment, your therapist will lead you through a series of exercises during each appointment. While your treatment plan will almost certainly include specific pelvic floor exercises, it will also likely include core, back, hip, glute, and leg exercises as well. This is because the pelvic muscles connect to many other major muscle groups, so it’s important to work them all in concert to get the most effective results possible.
Your therapist will almost certainly give you physical therapy exercises to do at home outside of your appointment. Getting into the habit of doing therapy exercises on your own at home can be hard, especially because the exercises may seem repetitive or uncomfortable. However, skipping the at-home exercises will slow your progress considerably and reduce the benefits that you are getting from physical therapy. Build your physical therapy exercises into your morning or evening routine so they become a part of your day.
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Make sure to follow your therapist’s instructions, and don’t push yourself too hard, which can result in a setback. For example, don’t try Kegel ball exercises until your therapist clears you to add the extra weight. Always stop if you feel sharp or sudden pain and mention it to your therapist so you can work together to determine the cause and stop it from happening again in the future.
Keep in mind that physical therapy of any kind, including pelvic floor therapy, takes time to work. You will likely need weeks or even a couple of months of therapy appointments and may need to continue doing at-home exercises even after your official therapy appointments end. It will also take time to see improvement in your symptoms. If you need immediate relief, short-term solutions such as bladder control products can help keep you comfortable while you continue to work on your pelvic floor therapy.
Many of the problems that we treat in pelvic floor physical therapy can be brought on by pregnancy, best obstetrician and gynaecologist said. Symptoms may appear before a woman gives birth or they may appear during pregnancy.
If you are experiencing any signs of pelvic floor dysfunction, you should talk to your doctor about seeing a pelvic floor therapist. Pelvic floor therapy can make a tremendous difference in your quality of life and help you get back to living your daily life with confidence. Talk to your doctor about whether or not pelvic therapy can help alleviate your symptoms, or if there is a different underlying cause.