Pelvic Health for Women

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What is pelvic health? 

Pelvic Health is the best possible functioning and management of the bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs. It is not merely the absence of disease or weakness in these organs. Pelvic health plays an important role in complete physical, mental, social, and sexual well-being.

Everyone has a pelvic floor. It’s made up of the muscles that support the urinary and reproductive tracts. This group of muscles also controls your bladder and bowels. In women, the pelvic floor keeps your bladder in place in the front and the vagina and rectum in the back. Your uterus is held in place at the top of the pelvic floor by muscles, tendons, and connective tissue. The pelvic floor muscles attach to your tail bone and pubic bone. If the muscles in the pelvic floor are weak/tight or don’t work as they should, this is called pelvic floor dysfunction. When you have pelvic floor dysfunction, your pelvic muscles can’t relax or work together the way they should which can lead to wide range of disorders like trouble evacuating a bowel movement, an incomplete bowel movement, or urine/stool that leaks, are some of many examples.

Many women experience urinary incontinence (UI) or leakage of urine during and after pregnancy. Urinary incontinence or urinary leakage has been shown to occur in about 10% of cesarian, spontaneous vaginal, and 33% of forceps assisted deliveries. Fecal incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse are also associated with childbearing. Our pelvic health specialists can help you identify when & how these issues can be treated & how you can effectively engage in pelvic floor muscle exercises to take control of your quality of life.

Fortunately, pelvic floor dysfunction can be treated relatively easily in many cases. Pelvic floor dysfunction is treated without surgery. Non-surgical treatments include:

• Biofeedback: This is the most common treatment, done with the help of a physical therapist. Biofeedback is not painful, and helps over 75% of people with pelvic floor dysfunction. Your physical therapist might use biofeedback in different ways to retrain your muscles. For example, they may use special sensors and video to monitor the pelvic floor muscles as you try to relax or clench them. Your therapist then gives you feedback and works with you to improve your muscle coordination.
• Pelvic floor physical therapy: The physical therapist will determine which muscles in your lower back, pelvis and pelvic floor are really tight or weak and teach you exercises to stretch or strengthen these muscles so their coordination can be improved.
• Manual therapy techniques: Pelvic floor manual therapy is a series of internal and external soft tissue release techniques to address unwanted tension in the pelvic floor muscles and fascia. There should be a sense of relief having had the pelvic floor mobilized that results either immediately or over time in an increased range of movement in the muscles and fascia. This in turn should result in an increased ability to either contract or release muscles improving timing in the muscles and pelvic organ position. There may be some initial discomfort at the time of mobilization in the same way that one would feel it with back or neck mobilization but this improves quickly at the time of treatment with the specific techniques. There should not be any post treatment soreness.
• Relaxation techniques: Your provider or physical therapist might also recommend you try relaxation techniques such as mindfulness, guided imagery, warm baths, yoga and exercises, or acupuncture.

• Bladder Outlet Obstruction
• Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
• Crohn’s Disease Related Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
• Constipation/Voiding Dysfunction
• C-Section Pain
• Diastasis Recti Management
• Endometriosis & Infertility
• Fecal Incontinence
• Groin Pain
• Incontinence Management For Athletes
• Interstitial Cystitis Or Bladder Pain Syndrome
• Levator Ani Syndrome
• Overactive Bladder (OAB)
• Pain During Intercourse, Vaginismus, And Dyspareunia
• Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction
  • Overactive/High Tone Pelvic Floor
  • Pelvic Floor Dyssynergia
  • Weak/Underactive Pelvic Floor
• Pelvic Rehabilitation For Vaginoplasty
• Postpartum Dysfunction, Low Back/Pelvic Pain
• Postpartum Recovery And Core Strengthening
• Pregnancy Related Low Back Pain Or Sciatica
• Prolapse Management
• Pudendal Neuralgia
• Sacroiliac Joint Pain
• Scar Tissue And Pelvic Adhesions Management
• Urinary Incontinence
  • Stress Incontinence
  • Urge Incontinance
  • Mixed Incontinance
  • Overflow Incontinence
• Vulvodynia & Vestibulitis
• Transgender Physical Therapy
  1. Gender Affirmation Surgery Rehabilitation (Pre & Post Surgery)
  2. Transgender Pelvic Pain