At Results Physiotherapy, we treat a number of pelvic pain health conditions at our pelvic health clinics. We help patients with a number of pelvic health conditions including: fecal incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, tailbone pain, post-partum issues, and more.
“With a majority of the fears that women present with are the unknown. The changes that my body are going through. Is this normal? Is this common? What’s to be expected? Am I going to be like this forever? Is there help? Should I be talking to my doctor about this? Is there anybody else that I can talk to about this that can help me with what I am going through?
“One of the benefits of seeing a pelvic health physical therapist may be seeing a postpartum mom who’s dealing with pelvic pain. Perhaps, she’s discussing with her OBGYN about pelvic pain and there doesn’t seem to be a solution. I think seeing a pelvic health physical therapist can be an important piece or a missing piece in that mom’s full recovery.
“At Results Physiotherapy, every therapist has advanced training beyond graduation. As a pelvic health physical therapist, we have advanced training as well beyond graduation. A pelvic health physical therapist treats men and women with specific pelvic health issues.
“I think sometimes, just on their first visit, women are given a sense of hope that there is somebody, a coach or an accountability partner. As therapists, we can be that person for them. They have somebody that they know they can actually talk to about all of these issues and uncertainties that they are going through. We have a certain amount of time with these patients behind close doors. We are here to provide them a safe environment so they can talk about these concerns and feel that they may be vulnerable and it’s okay.
“We are here for them. We are here to support them in that way. Results Physiotherapy specializes in treating these patients and we’ve dedicated specialty clinics in a variety of locations and regions because we want to provide that safe environment, knowing that patients who are around them are also being troubled or challenged with some sort of pelvic health issue. For the majority of the women, on their first day, they have that sense of hope. They say wow, for the first time I actually feel like I have hope. If you are having any trouble or concerns or challenges in any of these areas, we can help you. We’ve treated thousands of patients with similar issues in those areas and we know there’s hope. There is hope.
“We can help you get back to your everyday life and get you back to you where you want to be.”
Some fo the most common types of pelvic pain and abdomen pain conditions we treat patients for includes broad pelvic pain, incontinence, pelvic health issues, mommy bounce back treatment, and more.
Have you had recent pregnancy that has lead to residual pain or difficulty returning to your prechildbirth activities? Are you having pain with intercourse? Trouble sitting or standing for prolonged periods of time due to pelvic or groin pain? These are just a few of the common, but not normal scenarios that can limit one’s activities of daily living and quality of life. Pelvic pain may include pain or discomfort felt in the lower abdomen or pelvic region. Due to the complex nature of these areas, there are several possible factors to these conditions that have been shown to effect about 20% of the US population in both women AND men.
Symptoms vary between painful conditions which include pain around tailbone, lower abdominal pain, groin pain, low back pain, pelvic floor pain, and hip pain. Symptoms also include bowel and or bladder dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction. This includes urinary retention and frequency, constipation, and pain with intercourse. These painful conditions can lead to pain with sitting, urination, bowel movements, and intercourse. The symptoms are frequently described as burning, aching, stabbing, and throbbing. These symptoms can occur in men and women.
Symptoms of pelvic related pain can vary from person to person depending on the cause of the issue. Commonly, people will complain of aching or sharp pain on or near the lower abdomen or genital regions. Pain may be increased with activity and improved with rest. However, in other cases, a person may report symptoms such as inability to sit for normal lengths of time and improved symptoms with walking.
Other common symptoms include stiffness or reduced ability to move hips or low back, pain with sexual intercourse, urinary frequency, urgency, or incontinence, painful urination, constipation, and pain, tingling, or numbness in the pelvic/genital regions with activity.
Frequently these symptoms are caused by pelvic floor muscle dysfunction which can be weakness or spasm of these muscles. Common history includes abdominal surgeries (hysterectomy, C-section, prostatectomy), and infections. Common history includes pelvic surgeries (prolapse, bladder sling, mesh), trauma (falls, accidents), high levels of stress & anxiety, traumatic delivery (episiotomy, laceration), and sexual abuse.
There are several possible causes for what or why they can occur. For example, post-partum pain can be due to muscle imbalances of the pelvis, hips, or low back. Another example could be pain with prolonged sitting or standing that could be related to poor postural muscle contro/awareness orl joints at or near the pelvis that have become stiff or dysfunctional. In each case there may be tender areas in the muscles or joints in the pelvis, abdomen, low back, or groin areas that can contribute to symptoms. As noted above, pregnancy and childbirth may impact structures that make up the pelvic, lumbar and hip areas. For this reason, the joints and muscles in these areas can become tender or weak leading to difficulty such as pain, incontinence, and/or feeling of instability or weak.
It is also common to have scar tissue following surgeries or other procedures in the pelvic and abdominal areas can lead to scar tissue build up and increased tension. In these cases, increased tension can begin to put pressure on nerves that can contribute to symptoms such as groin, buttuck, or thigh pain.
Physical therapy can help in each of these cases by helping to target the areas that are at fault and work to decrease pain and correct joints or muscle that have become dysfunctional. This is often an area people don’t realize PT can be very effective and beneficial for.
A physical therapist will complete a thorough review of your medical history and perform a physcial examination to determine the cause of your symptoms. Through movement assessment and a hands-on examination in order to see and feel what structures are at fault, a specific and individualized treatment plan can be developed for each patient. Depending on symptoms and what is found at your initial evaluation, your physical therapist can also help determine if more specialized care or treatment is needed.
Effective treatment requires a comprehensive evaluation of the pelvis, lumbar spine, and hips. Hands-on therapy includes joint and soft tissue mobilization and muscular re-training. These are effective techniques for normalizing the muscle tone of the pelvic floor. Treatment may also include modalities such as bio-feedback, ultra-sound, and electrical stimulation.
After a thorough evaluation, your physical therapist will work with you to put together a treatment plan based specifically on your condition and goals. Along the way, your physical therapist educates you on your condition and identifies problem areas, performs hands-on manual therapy to decrease pain, muscle tightness, or joint stiffness, and shows techniques and exercises to help improve overall function. In some cases, there are other modalities such as taping or trigger point dry needling that may be beneficial to treatment as well. Your PT will also help modify activities as needed and put together a home exercise program to help along the way and help prevent future occurrences. Every case is unique and different, however, most conditions improve over a 4-6 week time frame for recovery.
At Results Physiotherapy, we have several clinics across the area that can help with this. Our therapists are trained with strong outpatient orthopedic backgrounds that can often treat these conditions at each clinic. However, in some cases, further, more specialized treatment is necessary. We offer these treatments at our Pelvic Health Specialty clinics.
As with most conditions, early intervention is key. Often, patients wait until they have been suffering from pain or functional limitations for a long time before seeking help or don’t realize it isn’t “normal” to live with pain or dysfunction.
Risk factors related to general overall health such as obesity, smoking (coughing), nutrition, age, and level of activity may be considerations as well.
After you have concluded PT, your physical therapist will equip you with an individualized home exercise program (HEP) to assist with any ongoing symptoms and help prevent future occurrences. It is generally recommended to continue with exercise and activity as prescribed to help.
Urinary leakage can include stress, urge, or mixed incontinence and can occur after a prostatectomy in men. Symptoms may include involuntary loss of urine with sneezing, coughing, laughing, and any strenuous activity such as running, jumping, and lifting. Leakage may also occur with a strong urge to urinate.
25 million adult Americans suffer from incontinence. Urinary incontinence may occur in elite athletes, during and after pregnancies, post-op, after abdominal, hip, pelvic, and prostate surgeries. Urinary incontinence becomes more common as men and women age. Other causes can include weak pelvic floor, deep abdominal muscles, and painful conditions.
Bio-feedback, muscle re-training, strengthening, core stabilization, bladder re-training, and electrical stimulation, and patient education have proven very effective in treating incontinence.