At Rhea Physical Therapy, I aim to demystify the world of pelvic floor physical therapy and provide you with the knowledge you need to take control of your pelvic health. Before we dive into the therapy itself, let’s start with the basics: What is the pelvic floor? The pelvic floor is a crucial group of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissues that form a hammock-like structure at the base of your pelvis. These structures play a pivotal role in supporting your pelvic organs, controlling bladder and bowel function, and contributing to sexual health. To get more details, check out my post about pelvic floor anatomy and physiology.
What is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized branch of physical therapy that focuses on assessing and treating issues related to the pelvic floor muscles. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from pelvic floor PT:
1. A Detailed Assessment: Your pelvic floor physical therapist will begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of your body and your health. This may include questions about your medical history, lifestyle, and any symptoms you’re experiencing. The therapist will also perform a physical examination to evaluate your strength, flexibility, and coordination. They should do this for pelvic floor muscles and for other parts of your body. The pelvic floor does not exist in a vacuum! They will likely test muscles in your legs and core, watch you walk, assess your posture, and analyze your movement during daily tasks.
2. A Customized Plan: Based on their findings, your therapist will create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your unique needs and goals. This plan may involve a combination of exercises, manual techniques, biofeedback, and lifestyle changes. It’s important that this plan is truly based on your goals. The plan should have an obvious connection to what you want to achieve, whether that is getting back to an exercise routine or enjoying yourself in the bedroom.
3. Empowering Education: Understanding your body is a critical aspect of pelvic floor therapy. Your therapist will educate you about your pelvic anatomy and the specific issues you’re dealing with. This knowledge empowers you to actively participate in your recovery process. Make sure to ask as many questions as you need in order to feel confident. And don’t be shy! A good PT would rather have you ask a ton of questions than have you leave feeling confused and frustrated.
4. Hands-on Care: manual techniques, such as massage, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy may be used to alleviate muscle tension and improve circulation in your tissues. These techniques are gentle, and your comfort is top priority. You might also learn about ways to perform your own manual therapy using special tools, like a pelvic wand.
5. Help from Biofeedback: Some therapists use biofeedback to help you gain better control and awareness of your pelvic floor muscles. Biofeedback means using information (feedback) about what your body is doing automatically to help you actively mediate your body’s response to specific situations. For instance, if a person has pain with sex, their pelvic floor muscles could be clenching during intercourse without them being consciously aware of that reaction. By using biofeedback technology, a pelvic floor PT can help you recognize how your body is responding. Then, you can learn strategies to transform that reaction into something helpful. Biofeedback reveals our reflexive and automatic bodily responses so that we can change them for the better.
6. Targeted Exercise: Your pelvic floor physical therapist will guide you through specific exercises to target the areas of your body that need support. When I say “exercise,” I don’t necessarily mean lifting weights or doing squats. Sometimes the exercise will be a gentle stretch or a guided breathing activity. The exercise could be aerobic, like walking or rowing, or it could be related to balance or coordination. The important thing is that the exercise addresses a specific finding from your exam.
7. A Home Program: Your therapist will provide you with a set of exercises to perform at home. Consistency is key to achieving optimal results, and your therapist will guide you through proper technique and progression.
Who Can Benefit from Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?
You might believe that pelvic floor physical therapy is only for postpartum mothers. That couldn’t be further from the truth! Pelvic floor PT is for anybody with a pelvis—that includes men, women, and children! It can benefit a wide range of individuals, including:
- People who are pregnant: To prepare for childbirth, have less discomfort during pregnancy, and optimize postpartum recovery
- People struggling with incontinence: To regain bladder control
- People battling constipation: To improve bowel motility and stool consistency
- People who have chronic pelvic pain: To alleviate discomfort and improve quality of life
- People experiencing sexual dysfunction: To enhance intimacy and address pain during intercourse
- Little people struggling with bladder and bowel dysfunction or pelvic pain: Children have pelvic floors, too! A pelvic floor PT can help manage and overcome bedwetting, constipation, encopresis, pain, urinary urgency, and more
The Path to a Healthier Pelvic Floor Starts Here
Understanding pelvic floor physical therapy is the first step toward improving your pelvic health. It’s a holistic approach that empowers you to take control of your body and live your life to the fullest, free from the burden that comes with pelvic floor dysfunction.
If you’re experiencing any pelvic health issues or simply want to discover more about pelvic floor PT, don’t hesitate to reach out to a pelvic floor physical therapist in your area. We are here to support you on your pelvic health journey. Plus, we are super excited and extra nerdy about it! So don’t hold back—we aren’t weirded out by what you’re experiencing, and we truly want to help.
Remember, your pelvic health matters, and you deserve care that puts your pelvic health first.
Rhea Physical Therapy is a mobile pelvic health clinic serving women and children in the St. Louis, MO area and beyond. Rhea PT is owned and operated by Dr. Savannah Carlson, PT, DPT, RYT. Dr. Carlson is a pelvic health specialist who is dedicated to helping her clients overcome pelvic floor dysfunction so they can reach their full potential at home, work, and play. She earned her doctor of physical therapy degree at Washington University in St. Louis. The information provided on But First, Pelvic Health is for educational purposes only and should not be used as personalized medical advice.
But first, Pelvic Health. 