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Pelvic Floor Therapy

Unlike other offices, your first visit to Femina Physical Therapy is a thorough 85 minute evaluation.

Here's an outline of what to expect when it comes to pelvic floor therapy.

The goal of this initial evaluation is to understand all the different layers that could possibly be contributing to your condition. Once we understand the root causes of your issue, we will formulate a treatment plan to help you start feeling better, experiencing less pain, and getting back to the activities that you care about.

Getting 85 minutes alone with a practitioner is pretty rare. At our clinic we believe in the importance of having time to hear your story, perform a thorough orthopedic exam, and of coures the pelvic floor exam.

In this article we will outline exactly what to expect on your first visit.

Part One: Listening to Your Story and Education About Pelvic Floor Therapy

The therapists at Femina Physical Therapy are specialists in pelvic health and all of the different things that can contribute to pain: medical history, past surgeries, conditions such as endometriosis, menopause, pregnancies, bowel/bladder habits, diet, sexual history, and so on. The bottom line is that we want to hear your stories, and will listen closely to what you have to say.

So What's The Lowdown On Pelvic Floor Therapy?

Your therapist will begin by answering questions such as:

  • "What is the pelvic floor?"
  • "What does pelvic floor therapy look like?"
  • "How will this therapy help?"

And we will of course address any other questions or concerns you may have. We want you to feel that you are in collaboration with your therapist, and a primary goal is to help you learn how and why pelvic floor therapy may help you.

Part Two: The Orthopedic and Whole Body Assessment

Most pelvic floor conditions involve other parts of the body. At Femina Physical Therapy, we believe in treating the whole person, not just individual areas or muscle groups.

Following the discussion of your history, your therapist will screen the entire body, looking for muscle imbalances, dysfunctional movement patterns, and neuropathic or orthopedic issues that might be playing a part in your pelvic floor issue.

We will evaluate your posture, pelvis position, hip and spine flexibility and range of motion, position of the sacrum, and muscle tone throughout your abdomen, back, hips, glutes, and thighs. We may do tests to see if the peripheral nervous system is involved in your pain. We will also test your core strength and how stable your pelvis/back area is, and test for issues like Diastasis Recti (separation of the abdominal muscles that is common after pregnancy).

Part Three: The Pelvic Floor Assessment

After your orthopedic exam an evaluation of your pelvic floor muscles will be performed with your informed consent.

Our pelvic exams are much different than what you may have experienced at the gynecologist or urologist - there are no stirrups and you will not be asked to scoot to the end of the table. There are NO speculums. YOU are in control of what happens and how far your therapist examines.

Instead, you’ll be asked to relax on a big comfy pillow and to throw your legs over a big soft bolster, the idea is to help you and your pelvis relax so we can best assess what your pelvic floor muscles are doing that day.

The examination is generally performed with a single gloved finger, and the therapists will always work with you and your body so as to not cause you any unnecessary pain. The therapist will leave the room so you can undress from the waist down and put on an examination gown. When the therapist returns they will begin the pelvic floor examination with a skin check, looking for any irritation or dryness of the tissues.

After that, there will be an external palpation of the pelvic floor muscles from the outside. The therapist will palpate around your pubic bone and sitting bones, assessing pelvic floor activity and looking for dysfunction. After a palpation, the therapist may ask you to do a kegel (contract the pelvic floor muscles as if you are stopping the flow of urine), and they may also ask you to bear down as if you are passing gas or a bowel movement. This is in order to see if muscle control is normal and to screen out possible conditions such as dyssynergic defecation (read my blog about that by clicking the link).

After this external assessment of the pelvic region, is the internal portion of the pelvic floor exam. For adults, this is generally done either intra-vaginally or intra-rectally. Again, this is performed generally with a single gloved finger, no speculums, tools, or anything else. All of our therapists have a very gentle touch and are constantly checking in with you to make sure you are comfortable, safe, and feel in control. I do have to be honest, the lube is cold, so be ready for that! But you can be sure that our therapists will work with you to keep the exam as tolerable as possible, and YOU are in charge of how far we examine you.

Part Four: Treatment on the First Visit

Since our evaluations are a full 90 minutes, there is often time to start treatment on your first visit. Your therapist will communicate to you what they are finding and will start treatment that day, often prescribing you some “homework” to work on right away, to start improving your condition.

What does the treatment look like?

The treatment modalities you will receive in pelvic floor therapy depend on your body and the issues present. In general, if your muscles are tight, the techniques used will focus on releasing the tension. If your muscles are in need of strengthening, the therapist will work with you on gaining strength and coordination in your muscles.

Some of the modalities used at Femina Physical Therapy can include (but are not limited to):

  • Manual therapy including soft tissue massage, connective tissue manipulation, muscle energy techniques, and myofascial release to treat connective tissue dysfunction and myofascial trigger points
  • Internal pelvic manual therapy to treat sensitive tissues, muscle spasms, trigger points, and muscle guarding that can cause issues like pain with sex, frequency and urgency of urination, and pain with bowel movements
  • Therapeutic exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor
  • Biofeedback technology to help you focus on relaxing the pelvic floor
  • Electrical stimulation using the InTone device
  • Photobiomodulation Therapy for pain relief and encouraging cellular healing and desensitization of scar tissue adhesions, tender trigger points, and muscle spasm pain.
  • Visceral mobilization (gentle massage techniques that loosen internal adhesions and restore movement to the organs including the intestine, bladder, uterus, and ovaries) to improve motility and GI organ function
  • Training in self treatment techniques so you can start to manage your systems at home. These techniques can include self pelvic floor massage using medical dilators
  • Neuromuscular re-education and autogenic relaxation to reduce chronic muscle over-activity and improve parasympathetic nervous system function, including pain management and digestion
  • Patient Education and Empowerment
  • Lifestyle modifications like sexual positioning, stress reduction, bladder and bowel habits, hygiene, and optimal fluid intake and dietary fiber intake.

Pelvic floor issues can greatly affect quality of life. Let the therapists at Femina Physical Therapy help you along the journey back to wellness and happiness! Make an appointment today and let’s get started.

What Our Patients Have to Say

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Testimonial by Ann V.

I wish i could give this place 10 stars!! 
I have been suffering from vaginismus for 5 years and never found the cure to it. I had seen an ob/gyn and he diagnosed me with vaginismus and told me i needed a surgery to cure my condition, which i refused to do. He also referred me to a PT that he works with, i had given them multiple calls and they never responded back to me, so i started searching yelp for another PT. I am SO HAPPY I found Heather's office! I was working with Laureen, and with her guidance and techniques i was able to be cured from vaginismus in only 2 1/2 short months!!! I couldn't believe how quickly their program worked for me! I am forever grateful and thankful from Heather, and Laureen! They are the absolute best at what they do!

Read more: Testimonial by Ann V.

Testimonial by T.C.

While pregnant with my twins, Heather took care with keeping me on my feet and pain free. She saved my back, my sanity and the holidays! I would recommend her to every “mom” looking to stay on her feet during pregnancy and post-partum.

-- T.C.

Testimonial by A.W., age 32

I wanted to let you know that my pelvic floor held strong and gave me no trouble whatsoever in my trail race this morning (12 miles)! In a way, I felt like I ran better than ever because my core feels so rock solid from all the exercises you have me doing. That was especially valuable on the technical downhill - I just flew down the trail because I had confidence in my balance and form. Thank you for helping me get back to doing what I love.

-- A.W., age 32
(completed Post-partum Renewal Program using the InTone biofeedback/stim unit)

Testimonial by Alexandra B.

Heather is without exaggerating AMAZING! After years of trouble with a certain part of my body, in no time, she made everything change back to equilibrium and to what would be considered normal. She explains everything in detail and therefore gives you a better understanding of why things are the way they are, and how you can work towards turning things around. I would highly recommend Heather for any type of Physical Therapy. She has created her own "Method/Therapy" through years of studying (with some of the greatest practitioners), practice and breaking down the issues of her past patients, enabling her to fine tune her own system. I'm so thankful to have found her, and I'm especially grateful for the quick recovery I've achieved, after years of distress. If you cannot afford her, I recommend you purchase her book. Although it may not be Heather in person, it can still help you to get on the right path to recovery!

-- Alexandra B., 5/20/2015 via Yelp!

Testimonial by M.M.

My husband and I were married for 5 years and unable to have intercourse, but I never knew why. After numerous awful experiences at doctor’s offices (where many doctors told me I “just needed to relax”), a surgery that didn’t fix the problem, and a year of owning dilators that didn’t get me anywhere, someone finally referred me to Heather for Physical Therapy. I finally had answers and information from someone who knew exactly what I was dealing with!

Read more: Testimonial by M.M.

Testimonial by Fritzette H.

I went to Heather after the birth of my third child. It was lucky, really, that I was referred to her, because my doctor had referred me to a surgeon for a possible hysterectomy or pelvic wall rebuild. Thankfully, I went to Heather before undergoing either surgery, she was able to fix the problem. She has studied extensively in women's health--even written a book about it--and was able to diagnose my problem, suggest a course of treatment (6 weeks), and then follow through with said treatment. By the end, as she said, I was as good as gold. Boy, was it worth it! Though uncomfortable to talk about, much less write about, it is worth getting the word out there. If you have painful intercourse, especially after birth or other trauma, the treatment may be as simple as Physical Therapy (with Heather, of course). I highly recommend her.

-- Fritzette H., 3/24/16 via Yelp!

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