Female Pelvic Health

Just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s normal.

Many health issues can be incredibly common. You ask your best friend about something and they say, “Oh I deal with that too!”, so you brush it off and don’t address it. Then the next thing you know, it’s a much bigger issue. We are here to help you return to optimal health by addressing the things that may be “common", but aren’t normal. Instead of being told “that’s just how it is” or “this is normal once you’ve had a baby”, we are here to tell you otherwise. More often than not these things CAN get better. If you want to start making steps toward improvement, we are here to help!

What is Female Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

Female Pelvic Health Physical Therapy focuses on the pelvic floor muscles within the pelvis. These muscles and other various tissues are responsible for several things. A few of these are bladder and bowel health, sexual health and function, pregnancy and postpartum healing, and pelvic dysfunction as noted by pain both within the pelvic region and sometimes in the back and hip regions.

Pelvic Health Physical Therapists require additional training after completing physical therapy school. All of our pelvic floor PTs have done extra course work to deepen our understanding of this area to best treat you.

How we can help:

  • Pelvic pain

  • Pelvic heaviness

  • Stress incontinence (leaking with sneezing, coughing, jumping or running)

  • Urge incontinence

  • Pain with sexual activity

  • Back and hip pain that won’t seem to go away

  • Guidance for exercising during pregnancy

  • Prepping for labor and birth 

  • Return to exercise postpartum 

The pelvic floor does not function on its own, so a full body exam is key to success for a pelvic related issue! Our one on one model allows us to dive deep into the details of what’s going on!

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  • The pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the bottom of your pelvis. They attach from your pubic bone to your tailbone and are between your sit bones. This group of muscles is important for support of your pelvic organs; imperative for your pelvic function: peeing, pooping, sexual health and function, & birth. It is a key part of the core. .

  • Pelvic health physical therapy sessions do not look much different than an orthopedic therapy session, however as a pelvic floor therapist, we are able to view things through a different lens.

    The pelvic floor functions in conjunction with the whole body. We will do more than just look at the back or hips, but look at you as a whole. If you are leaking while jumping, our goal is to break down the pieces that contribute and get you back to jumping without leaking.

    Sometimes an internal examination is indicated where your physical therapist will examine the pelvic floor musculature internally. If this is indicated, your physical therapist will discuss this with you and only include this if consent is fully given.

  • The internal exam consists of examining the muscles inside the pelvic region. Each pelvic health physical therapist must have specialized training in this area in order to conduct this exam. The exam is very gentle and consists of your therapist inserting one gloved finger into the vagina. This allows the therapist to directly feel the muscles inside the pelvis in order to identify any tension or weakness of the muscles or if these muscles could be directly causing your pain. We often find that these muscles can largely contribute to hip or back pain. Additionally, the exam allows the therapist to determine the coordination of the musculature during movement, coughing, laughing, and breathing, which can assist with the overall treatment. The therapist can also examine the muscles located externally around the outside of the vagina.

    A speculum is not used and inserted into the vagina as is in most gynecologic exams.

    While the internal pelvic examination is the gold standard for examination and treatment of pelvic floor musculature, it is never a mandatory procedure and if you choose to forgo the internal examination, you will be able to receive treatment from your physical therapist based on the external examination.