What is Pelvic Floor PT?
I’m sure many of you are wondering what pelvic floor physical therapy is, what it looks like and what is involved with an internal exam? These are all questions I had when I heard about pelvic floor PT because we never really had exposure to this type of therapy when I was in school.
I decided to learn more about women’s health after having a baby because no one really prepares you for what your body goes through to create another life. As I learned more about the woman's body and the stress it endured, I saw the need for pelvic floor rehab during and after pregnancy.
But what is this Pelvic Floor therapy; is it just doing kegels all day? The answer is no, it involves extra training to be able to assess external and internal pelvic floor muscles to help target tissues that are causing particular issues/symptoms.
Internal exams are minimally invasive and are used to help assess tissue tenderness, pelvic floor strength, prolapse and proper healing postpartum. Women think it must be like the one I get at my OBGYN, and that is incorrect. Almost all internal exams only require one finger to assess the pelvic floor and throughout the process the patient and clinician are conversing about symptom reproduction or education on the clinician findings.
The exam itself does not need to be long. The ones I have done have been between 5-20min depending on the patient.
The information that we are able to gain from the internal exam can really help make sure that we are choosing the right treatment strategy and exercise progressions. It has really helped me learn more about my body and understand the areas that I need to improve on so I don’t injure myself as I continue to rehab myself post baby.
If you are having pelvic pain, leaking or urge issues, constipation, feeling of pelvic heaviness, pain with sex, sexual dysfunction or have just had a baby, I encourage you contact your local Pelvic Health specialist. I can’t say enough how important it is to not ignore these issues, because most of the time they will lead to more serious problems and might need surgical interventions.
I would love to help you in any way I can. I provide complimentary consults where I will listen to your issues and help you get the care you deserve.
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