All Things Pelvic Floor Physio
July 15, 2020 Posted in: ASK AN EXPERT
What is Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy?
Intrigued by Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy but are unsure what it is or if it can help you?? We’ve asked Carly some questions to get to know a bit more about it.
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy is the assessment and treatment of various pelvic conditions. It is a specialty, meaning it’s not taught as part of regular Physiotherapy training.
What kinds of conditions or problems does it treat?
Things like urinary incontinence or leaking urine, either because of a sneeze, exercise or just moving or due to having strong urges. I treat an overactive bladder, which may mean that you are having strong urges to urinate frequently throughout the day and might be leaking because of it. I also treat pelvic pain, constipation, prolapse and various other conditions like vaginismus and vulvodynia.
What can we expect from a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Assessment?
Depending on your specific problem, I may look at your posture, pelvic alignment, hip and core strength and then I do an internal vaginal assessment to look for things like scaring, prolapse, and your pelvic floor muscle strength. We’ll often talk about things like your toileting schedule and what you might be eating/drinking on an average day. I may also have you fill out a bladder diary.
How do you treat these problems?
Treatment will vary depending on what we find, but will often include exercises. I will ensure you are activating the correct muscles and prescribe how many, how often, how long you should be holding them and in what positions. In some conditions pelvic floor exercises may make you worse, and then we talk about down training, stretching and relaxing your pelvic floor. Sometimes we may do bladder retraining and urge suppression techniques.
In what sorts of people do you see pelvic floor problems?
It can range a lot! From younger women doing impact sports, pregnant women wanting to prepare their pelvic floor for birth, post-partum women who have pain, prolapse or leaking or simply want an assessment of their pelvic floor after giving birth. Women in their 30s, 40s and 50s who find they are urinating a lot through the day or are leaking urine, and pre and post menopausal women who are having strong urges and are leaking urine are the most common. I’ve treated everyone from a marathon runner who was leaking with running to a 90 year old who had trouble controlling his or her bladder!
What is the success rate?
It’s actually huge! I don’t have personal statistics or anything but the reason I love pelvic floor physiotherapy is because it is so successful. Just recently off the top of my head I’ve had a 70-year-old go from 6-8 leaks a day to 0, a new mom return to her workouts after a prolapse, and a 40 year old stop leaking with jumping jacks.
No matter the age, gender, whether or not you’ve had a baby or gone through menopause, pelvic issues are not normal and you can get help!
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