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Yoga in Bamboo House

PELVIC FLOOR PT

WHAT IS PELVIC FLOOR PT?

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a treatment to help address dysfunction in the pelvic floor muscles. The type of therapy prescribed will depend upon the symptoms you’re experiencing: some will require relaxing and lengthening of the muscles, while others may require strengthening the muscles. Your pelvic floor physical therapist will conduct a thorough interview and assessment before determining any diagnosis for you. 

 

Common reasons to see a pelvic therapist include but are not limited to: 

  • Urinary problems

    • Urinary leakage, stress or urge

    • Urinary frequency

    • Urinary urgency

    • Painful urination

    • Interstitial cystitis (IC) 

    • Difficulty stopping or starting urinating

    • Difficulty fully emptying the bladder

  • Sexual dysfunction

  • Pelvic organ prolapse

    • Pressure in your pelvis

    • Feeling like your organs are falling out

  • Bowel problems

    • Fecal leakage  

    • Fecal urgency

    • Straining, constipation or painful bowel movements

  • Pelvic pain  

    • Pain in the genitals and/or rectum

    • Lower abdominal pain

    • Pain during pregnancy or postpartum

    • coccyx(tailbone) pain

  • Postoperative care

    • Post-hysterectomy 

    • Endometrial excision surgery

    • Hernia repair

    • C-section

  • Diastasis Recti

  • Postpartum recovery

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What should I expect for my treatment?

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A pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation is individualized and specific to each patient’s condition and concerns. We provide private, one-on-one sessions to maximize comfort for each patient. During your appointment, your pelvic floor physical therapist will get a thorough history before deciding how to proceed with any physical examination. She will explain the assessment and treatment options to get your input and consent before spending time educating you on the anatomy, the condition, how the assessment will proceed, the treatment intervention and answering all of your questions. Most treatment for pelvic floor dysfunction is hands on, which may include internal and/or external therapy. 

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Physical therapy techniques may include but are not limited to:

  • Manual therapy to the abdomen, lumbar spine and hips

  • Vaginal or rectal trigger point releases* 

  • Strengthening exercises for your pelvic floor, hips and core

  • Breathing and relaxation techniques for your core and pelvic floor

  • Self-care and management strategies

*Therapists are sensitive to the needs of every individual and will not perform vaginal/rectal physical therapy unless given consent

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The goal of the first session is to determine what your concern is, how I can help you and how we can work together to get your whole body working together to meet  YOUR goals. Please don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions or concerns that you may have about pelvic health PT.  

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM PELVIC FLOOR PT

  • Anyone experiencing issues listed above

  • New mothers returning to activity

  • Anyone looking to increase their knowledge of their pelvis and body

  • Those wanting to avoid medications and surgery (or not let it be their only options)

  • Anyone looking to reduce urinary urgency or leakage

WHAT WE OFFER

Pelvic Floor Exam and Rehabilitation

First we will sit down and get to know each other - making sure you're comfortable with your therapist as you then move to telling them your history - pain, post partum issues, trauma, sexual dysfunction, incontinence - you are not alone!  We've helped so many clients who never knew there were specialists who dealt with these issues, and just being able to tell your story without interruption is just the first step in the healing process. 

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After that a comprehensive movement exam of the whole body, including manual palpation of the pelvic region if agreed upon by you and the therapist, tell us the story of your body's strength, flexibility, coordination, and more.  This helps us triangulate your symptoms to the tissues in your body that need help.  

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Then we develop a plan - combining exercise, ergonomics, retraining, pain relief techniques, manual therapy - all targeted at meeting your goal of living your best life, free of pain, incontinence, or embarrassment.  

Pre and Post Surgical Rehabilitation

Getting ready for surgery?  We’d love to help you plan, strategize, and head into the procedure in optimal shape to streamline recovery. There is a plethora of evidence that shows that improve muscle function and reduced pain heading into surgery of the pelvis is KEY in restoring optimal functioning.  Sometimes we find people are able to delay or even cancel surgical procedures after they start their PT course! 

Chronic Pelvic Dysfunction Rehabilitation

So many people have histories - injuries, fractures, pelvic trauma, birthing issues, persistent urinary tension, constipation - that just have never been addressed because clients just never new where to start.  Sitting down with our pelvic PT experts to get a thorough history and a full examination are just the first steps in managing issues that have been plaguing you for years. 

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Got something that keeps popping up in your body that you just haven’t been able to figure out? Or maybe you’ve got an issue that you’ve gotten to a plateau and haven’t figured out how to get off of it? Give us a call and reach out. 

HOW DOES ANTI-FRAGILE PHYSICAL THERAPY WORK?

The question is not WHAT hurts, but WHY it hurts. 

 

Some answers are simple (fell down, stepped on rock), but many are not. They are a long standing variable (how frustrating to not be able to even predict WHEN you might have symptoms), and tend to respond less readily to the quick fixes that work for everyone else.

   

This is not exclusive to runners – jaw issues, headaches, spinal pain, tennis elbow, tendon injuries throughout the body – all can be issues related to UNDER stress throughout daily activities and consequent failure (fragility). Or due to OVER stress simply because your baseline to system failure is different or altered for any number of reasons.

 

We believe that the difference we offer is not just manual therapy we provide, our exercise selection, or our eye for analysis. We believe that each person deserves a personalized program to match their distinct needs. We apply these things to YOU in order to turn your problematic movement, pain, or activity choice into a stress that makes you bend, rather than break.

 

Fragile = Weakens under stress

Resilient = Returns to original state under stress

Anti-fragile = Gains from stress

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Where do you want to be? 

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