Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

A specialty of Physical Therapy, we have extra knowledge of the muscles, nerves, and joints of the lumbar, sacral and pelvic floor regions.

If your condition warrants, we use advanced treatments such as internal vaginal or rectal muscle examination and muscle treatments like massage, strumming, or trigger point release to reduce pain and spasms.

We often find low back or hip pain currently or a history of injuries in these areas concurrently with pelvic floor dysfunction and always treat the whole body to improve your primary complaints.

Painful Sex

Sex should not hurt. If it does, you may have a tight pelvic floor. This is true for women and men, but usually more common in women. Medical terms for painful intercourse include vulvodynia, vaginismus, dyspareunia, or chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Ultimately, participating with sexual intercourse should elicit pleasure, not pain, and pelvic floor physical therapy can help you achieve these goals.

Constipation

The struggle is real. Chronic constipation can lead to so many other problems. Did you know there are massage techniques, pelvic floor relaxation methods, and general stretching and exercises that can promote healthier bowel movements?

Urinary Incontinence

Leaking urine is not normal. It is not normal if you had big babies. It is not normal just because you have experienced menopause. Leaking urine is a result of the pelvic floor not working properly. This can be weakness, lack of coordination (the muscles are strong, just sometimes slow to react to a cough or sneeze), or tightness. The signs that you may have a tight pelvic floor responsible for your incontinence include pain, recurrent UTI symptoms without UTI on urinalysis, strong urges (with or without incontinence), or pain during intercourse.

Pelvic Pain

This tends to be a catch all term, often used by medical professionals as a diagnosis when “we don’t really know why you hurt” or “we really don’t know what to do to help you”. This is usually a person who has had a lot of testing and trials of medications and still struggle with pain. You may also have medical diagnoses like PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), endometriosis, bacterial vaginosis, chronic yeast infections, recurrent UTIs or even false UTIs that may all be related to tension in the pelvic floor causing pain. Another common diagnosis in the “persistent pelvic pain” category is Interstitial Cystitis or Bladder Pain Syndrome. These are all conditions we are beginning to understand better, but consistently present with tension and tenderness in the pelvic floor muscles and relief is achieved by using physical therapy techniques to reduce the tension and tenderness in the muscles.

Fecal Incontinence

The one no one likes to talk about. But if it happens to you, it can be devastating to your confidence in social situations. It can also cause infections or skin irritation very easily. Leaking feces can sometimes be diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome or Chron’s disease, but there are factors like weak muscles or overactive nervous system that can be treated with pelvic floor physical therapy.