5 Reasons to See a Pelvic Health Physio Now
Pelvic health physiotherapy is commonly known for its role in getting women ready for labour and delivery and preparing them for the postpartum period, but the scope of pelvic health physio goes way beyond perinatal health to include bowel and bladder dysfunction, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, and more.
Here are a few symptoms and conditions that I commonly see and treat as a pelvic health physiotherapist:
1. You go to the bathroom more than 8x/day or wake up in the middle of the night to go
It’s called urinary frequency and is one of the most common signs that you have an overactive pelvic floor. Pelvic health physiotherapy can help you retrain the signals coming from your bladder to help you get a restful sleep and avoid running to the bathroom every half hour.
Pelvic health physiotherapy is especially important in this area if you have a history of recurring UTIs.
2. You regularly experience very painful menstrual cycles
The fancy term for this is Dysmenorrhea. If you experience heavy, irregular periods or excessive cramping and pelvic pain, your pelvic floor muscles could be playing a large role.
3. You have pain in or around your pelvis, abdomen, pubic bone, and/or tailbone
Pelvic pain, pubalgia, and coccydynia are often related to pelvic floor dysfunction - when the pelvic floor muscles are tight, they pull on these structures causing tension and pain.
4. You have pain during sex or with inserting a tampon
No, this is not normal. Vaginismus, Vulvodynia, and Vestibulodynia are just a few pelvic floor conditions that can cause pain with sex (dyspareunia) or make any form of penetration painful (including pap exams!).
5. You experience bloating, constipation, and/or irregular bowel movements
If you have ever been diagnosed with “IBS”, you need to see a pelvic health physiotherapist. One of the main functions of the pelvic floor is to regulate bowel and bladder function, and high tone in the pelvic floor, especially the puborectalis muscle, can result in severe constipation and other adverse symptoms.
Seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist is not just for pre and postnatal women - both men and women at any stage or phase can benefit from seeing me. For more information, feel free to book your appointment with me today!
This blog post was written by wellbe’s pelvic health physiotherapist Hayley O’Hara.