Pelvic Health Physiotherapy
Who can benefit?
Men and Women of all ages have seen great success with pelvic floor physiotherapy. Do you leak when you exercise or sneeze? Has intercourse been painful since having a baby? Has prostate surgery left you unable to fully control your bladder? Since having a hard fall years ago, has your tailbone caused you pain when you sit? These are prime examples of people that have and will benefit from pelvic floor physiotherapy. But the list doesn’t stop there; see below for a more inclusive list of conditions that are treatable.
What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?
Pelvic health physiotherapists have specialized training in treating the pelvic floor. This is a group of muscles, joints, and nerves that contribute to bowel and bladder function, sexual function and stability of the pelvis, hips and back. Assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor is done externally as well as internally (vaginally and/or rectally), as many of these muscles cannot be felt from the outside. It is tightness and/or weakness in these muscles that can cause pain and incontinence. Like many other areas of the body, through physiotherapy treatment, the pelvic floor can return to normal function.
Can I just do Kegel Exercises instead?
Kegels are not for everyone and in some cases can cause more harm than good. Your pelvic pain or incontinence could be because your pelvic floor is already too tight and doing Kegels will worsen your symptoms. If pelvic floor weakness is the problem, Kegels may be an important part of your treatment. The only way to know when and how to properly perform a Kegel is to have a pelvic floor physiotherapist do an internal assessment.
Pelvic Health for Men
Like women, men can experience pelvic pain and incontinence too. Incontinence is a common symptom post-prostatectomy. A pelvic floor physiotherapist can help with these examples and more.
Pelvic Health at GRSM
Your appointments are held in a private room. Assessment and treatment involves both external and internal techniques, based on your symptoms and comfort level. You will work one-on-one with a physiotherapist to meet your individual goals, whether that means being able to exercise without leaking, not having to stop the car every hour to use the bathroom, being able to have pain free intercourse, or being able to sit without tailbone pain. Pelvic health physiotherapy may be the answer for a problem you thought had no solution!
What does treatment involve?
- Manual (hands on) therapy internally to the pelvic muscles and joints, as well as externally to the back, hips, and abdomen
- Stretching and strengthening exercises
- Relaxation and breathing
- Education about bowel and bladder function
Pre- and Post-Partum Care
During pregnancy, those who see a pelvic floor physiotherapist have been reported to have less pelvic and low back pain and a lower risk of incontinence during their pregnancy and post-partum. Common complaints post-partum include incontinence, painful intercourse, and C-section and episiotomy scar pain; all of which can be addressed with pelvic physiotherapy. In Europe, pelvic floor physiotherapy is more widespread and well known. In France, every woman is allotted a number of visits with a pelvic floor physiotherapist as part of her post-partum care.
Misconceptions
- “Common” = “Normal”– NOT true! Leakage of any kind, at ANY age is common but NOT normal. Physiotherapy can help address this.
- Kegels are good for everyone- NOT Most people are hypertonic and therefore need to work on relaxation of tissues before strengthening occurs.
- Pelvic Physiotherapy only treats incontinence- NOT We can address a number of pelvic issues.
- People don’t want to talk about this area- NOT The prevalence and impact on quality of life is so high, it is crucial that we as health care professionals make discussions around these issues comfortable and normalized.
COMMON CONDITIONS WE TREAT
- Incontinence
- Urinary Urgency/Frequency
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Pelvic Pain/Pressure
- Painful Intercourse/Tampon Insertion
- Hip Labral Tears
- Low Back/SI Joint Pain
- Tailbone Pain
- Post-Prostatectomy Incontinence
- Constipation
- Vulvodynia, Vestibulodynia, Vaginismus
- Chronic Non- Bacterial Prostatitis
- Dyspareunia, Dysmenorrhea
- Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM)
- Interstitial Cystitis (IC) /Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS)
- Diastasis Recti, Pre- and Post-partum
- Endometriosis
- Pudendal Neuralgia
Who can benefit?
Men and Women of all ages have seen great success with pelvic floor physiotherapy. Do you leak when you exercise or sneeze? Has intercourse been painful since having a baby? Has prostate surgery left you unable to fully control your bladder? Since having a hard fall years ago, has your tailbone caused you pain when you sit? These are prime examples of people that have and will benefit from pelvic floor physiotherapy. But the list doesn’t stop there; see below for a more inclusive list of conditions that are treatable.
What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?
Pelvic health physiotherapists have specialized training in treating the pelvic floor. This is a group of muscles, joints, and nerves that contribute to bowel and bladder function, sexual function and stability of the pelvis, hips and back. Assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor is done externally as well as internally (vaginally and/or rectally), as many of these muscles cannot be felt from the outside. It is tightness and/or weakness in these muscles that can cause pain and incontinence. Like many other areas of the body, through physiotherapy treatment, the pelvic floor can return to normal function.
Can I just do Kegel Exercises instead?
Kegels are not for everyone and in some cases can cause more harm than good. Your pelvic pain or incontinence could be because your pelvic floor is already too tight and doing Kegels will worsen your symptoms. If pelvic floor weakness is the problem, Kegels may be an important part of your treatment. The only way to know when and how to properly perform a Kegel is to have a pelvic floor physiotherapist do an internal assessment.
Pelvic Health for Men
Like women, men can experience pelvic pain and incontinence too. Incontinence is a common symptom post-prostatectomy. A pelvic floor physiotherapist can help with these examples and more.
Pelvic Health at GRSM
Your appointments are held in a private room. Assessment and treatment involves both external and internal techniques, based on your symptoms and comfort level. You will work one-on-one with a physiotherapist to meet your individual goals, whether that means being able to exercise without leaking, not having to stop the car every hour to use the bathroom, being able to have pain free intercourse, or being able to sit without tailbone pain. Pelvic health physiotherapy may be the answer for a problem you thought had no solution!
What does treatment involve?
- Manual (hands on) therapy internally to the pelvic muscles and joints, as well as externally to the back, hips, and abdomen
- Stretching and strengthening exercises
- Relaxation and breathing
- Education about bowel and bladder function
Pre- and Post-Partum Care
During pregnancy, those who see a pelvic floor physiotherapist have been reported to have less pelvic and low back pain and a lower risk of incontinence during their pregnancy and post-partum. Common complaints post-partum include incontinence, painful intercourse, and C-section and episiotomy scar pain; all of which can be addressed with pelvic physiotherapy. In Europe, pelvic floor physiotherapy is more widespread and well known. In France, every woman is allotted a number of visits with a pelvic floor physiotherapist as part of her post-partum care.
Misconceptions
- “Common” = “Normal”– NOT true! Leakage of any kind, at ANY age is common but NOT normal. Physiotherapy can help address this.
- Kegels are good for everyone- NOT Most people are hypertonic and therefore need to work on relaxation of tissues before strengthening occurs.
- Pelvic Physiotherapy only treats incontinence- NOT We can address a number of pelvic issues.
- People don’t want to talk about this area- NOT The prevalence and impact on quality of life is so high, it is crucial that we as health care professionals make discussions around these issues comfortable and normalized.
COMMON CONDITIONS WE TREAT
- Incontinence
- Urinary Urgency/Frequency
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Pelvic Pain/Pressure
- Painful Intercourse/Tampon Insertion
- Hip Labral Tears
- Low Back/SI Joint Pain
- Tailbone Pain
- Post-Prostatectomy Incontinence
- Constipation
- Vulvodynia, Vestibulodynia, Vaginismus
- Chronic Non- Bacterial Prostatitis
- Dyspareunia, Dysmenorrhea
- Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM)
- Interstitial Cystitis (IC) /Bladder Pain Syndrome (BPS)
- Diastasis Recti, Pre- and Post-partum
- Endometriosis
- Pudendal Neuralgia
Our Pelvic Health Physiotherapists
For more information, please contact by email at pelvichealth@grsm.ca or by phone at our Cambridge or Kitchener-South clinics.
Services
SPORTS MEDICINE
Our physicians specialize in sports medicine and are certified with the Canadian Academy of Sport & Exercise Medicine (CASEM). They provide expert medical care for high performance athletes, recreational athletes and active individuals.
PHYSIOTHERAPY
Our physiotherapists focus on sport- and activity-specific rehabilitation. Our goal is to return you to your activity as soon and as safely as possible.
CHIROPRACTIC
Our chiropractors utilize functional assessments to diagnose and determine the appropriate treatment plan and therapeutic methods. These techniques include Active Release Technique (ART), Athletic Movement Assessment (AMA), Diversified chiropractic Manipulation technique.
MASSAGE THERAPY
Our Registered Massage Therapists use preventative and restorative therapies to help you maintain, rehabilitate and improve physical function or relieve your pain.
ATHLETIC THERAPY
Our Certified Athletic Therapists use a full range of treatments to rehabilitate, prevent injury and help you return safely to your sports and other activities.
FOOT ORTHOTICS
Our pedorthists are trained in assessing, casting, design and fitting of foot appliances (orthotics) and in fitting of footwear to reduce painful and debilitating conditions of the lower limbs and feet.
BRACING
Our bracing professionals help fit you with a stocked or custom brace so that you may be able to return to sports or recreational activities sooner and safer.
DIETITIAN & NUTRITION
Our Dietitian and Sports Nutritionist helps to promote good nutrition habits that can help you maintain your energy levels, weight and muscle mass and can lower your risk of certain diseases.