What is Pelvic Floor Therapy?
Why is it important to have a strong pelvic floor?
A weak pelvic floor may lead to issues like urinary incontinence, leakage, pain, and pelvic pressure – and that doesn’t sound like something anyone would be happy living with.
So, are there ways we can strengthen these muscles to prevent or stop these symptoms from happening?
Just like regular physical therapy, pelvic floor therapy can help reduce symptoms and allow the patient to live a normal life.
Why Pelvic Floor Therapy is Important
The pelvic floor is made up of ligaments, connective tissue, and muscles that support the bladder, bowel, and for women, the uterus. Having a strong pelvic floor helps to maintain health and keep your body functioning properly.
If the pelvic floor is too loose, it can lead to symptoms such as organ prolapse, bladder leakage, bulging in the vaginal area, and constipation. A loose, and weak pelvic floor can also cause leakage when you cough, laugh, or sneeze. If the pelvic floor is too tight, or is too often in a contracted state, the pelvic floor may cause low back and hip pain, painful sex, trouble with bowel movements, and even trouble walking.
By maintaining proper strength in your pelvic floor, you keep blood flow moving in the pelvic tissue and nerve supply, and therefore maintaining good vaginal health.
Signs of a Weak Pelvic Floor
- Leakage:
Do you “pee” a little when you cough, sneeze, or even laugh hard enough? It may seem innocent enough, but this can actually be a sign that your pelvic floor is weak. The pelvic floor should be strong enough to hold in “leakage”, so this may reveal you have some work to do.
- Painful Sex:
Feelings of tightness and pain during intercourse can actually be a sign that your pelvic floor is not operating at its optimal performance.
- Pressure:
The feeling of fullness and pressure in your low back could be your body telling you something is not working correctly in your pelvic floor. Pay attention when you walk if you experience new pain around this area.
What does pelvic floor pain feel like?
Pelvic floor pain can shield or camouflage itself as other types of pain. Most common are low back pain, hip pain, and even low belly pain.
It may feel like tight muscles, or tension, or in severe cases, as if a muscle has been pulled.
Pelvic floor pain may show itself as:
- Painful intercourse
- Painful, difficult, or frequent urination
- Constipation
- Bloating
And as mentioned above, low back, hip, or low belly pain.
Of course there are other reasons you may experience some of these symptoms – but it’s important to be on the lookout for patterns! Symptoms may stick around, come and go, and worsen over time.
Not sure if you have a strong pelvic floor? Come in for your first visit and we’ll help you!