10 Ways Women’s Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Help Through Every Stage of Life
Pelvic floor health plays an important role in women’s overall health, but pelvic floor concerns are often treated as something women simply have to live with. Women’s pelvic floor therapy can help address a wide range of concerns involving the bladder, bowel, pelvic muscles, sexual health, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and so much more.
At Southern Health Clinic, the adult branch of Southern Pediatric Therapy, our women’s pelvic floor therapy program is designed to help women better understand their bodies, address the underlying factors contributing to their symptoms, and feel more confident in their everyday lives.
What Is Women’s Pelvic Floor Therapy?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that supports the bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs and plays an important role in bladder and bowel control, core stability, sexual function, and more.
When the pelvic floor muscles are too weak, too tight, poorly coordinated, or not functioning properly, women may experience symptoms that affect daily activities and quality of life.
Pelvic floor therapy can help women learn how to properly strengthen, relax, coordinate, and use these muscles based on their individual needs.
How Can Women’s Pelvic Floor Therapy Help?
Pelvic floor therapy isn't just for one specific condition. It can help with a variety of concerns, including:
1. Urinary Leakage
Leaking urine when coughing, sneezing, laughing, exercising, or lifting is common, but that doesn't mean it has to be your normal.
Pelvic floor therapy can help address muscle weakness, coordination problems, pressure management, and other factors that may contribute to urinary leakage.
2. Urinary Urgency and Frequency
Do you constantly feel like you need to use the bathroom? Do you have difficulty making it to the restroom without rushing?
Pelvic floor therapy may help women better understand and manage urinary urgency and frequency by addressing pelvic floor muscle function and other contributing factors.
3. Pregnancy Preparation
Pregnancy places significant demands on the pelvic floor and the rest of the body. Working with a pelvic floor therapist during pregnancy can help women understand how their pelvic floor functions and prepare for the physical demands of pregnancy and birth.
Therapy may address:
Pelvic floor strengthening and relaxation
Breathing and pressure management
Changes in posture and body mechanics
Pelvic and hip discomfort
Preparation for labor and delivery
Strategies for returning to activity after birth
4. Postpartum Recovery
Having a baby can bring significant changes to the pelvic floor, whether you delivered vaginally or by C-section.
Postpartum pelvic floor therapy can help address concerns such as urinary leakage, pelvic pressure, pelvic pain, abdominal weakness, painful intercourse, and difficulty returning to exercise or other activities.
You don't have to wait until something feels seriously wrong to seek postpartum pelvic floor care. A pelvic floor evaluation can help you understand how your body is recovering and what support may be appropriate.
5. Pelvic Pain
Pelvic pain can have many different causes and may involve muscles that are weak, tight, irritated, or not coordinating properly.
Pelvic floor therapy can help identify areas of muscle tension or dysfunction and develop an individualized plan to improve comfort and function.
6. Pain with Intimacy
Pain during intercourse can be related to pelvic floor muscle tension, weakness, scar tissue, or other factors.
A pelvic floor therapist can evaluate the muscles and surrounding areas and provide individualized treatment and education to help address contributing factors.
7. Constipation and Bowel Dysfunction
The pelvic floor plays an important role in bowel movements. Problems with muscle coordination can sometimes make it difficult to fully relax and empty the bowel.
Pelvic floor therapy may help women who experience constipation, difficulty emptying, straining, or other bowel-related concerns by addressing pelvic floor coordination and related factors.
8. Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the tissues and muscles supporting the pelvic organs become weakened, allowing an organ to shift downward.
Pelvic floor therapy may help women learn strategies for managing pressure, improving pelvic floor support, strengthening appropriate muscles, and safely participating in daily activities and exercise.
9. Returning to Exercise
Whether you're returning to exercise after having a baby or simply noticing changes in your body during workouts, pelvic floor therapy can help you understand how your pelvic floor works with your core and the rest of your body.
A therapist can help you work toward your individual goals and safely progress your activity.
10. Better Understanding of Your Pelvic Health
Sometimes, the biggest benefit is simply understanding what's happening in your body.
You may have symptoms you've been dealing with for months or years without knowing whether they're normal, what is causing them, or what you can do about them.
A pelvic floor evaluation can provide education about your individual muscle function and help you understand what may be contributing to your symptoms.
You Don't Have to "Just Live With It"
Urinary leakage, pelvic pain, pain with intimacy, constipation, pelvic pressure, and other pelvic health concerns can be common, but common doesn't necessarily mean you have to accept them as a normal part of life.
Women’s pelvic floor therapy focuses on your individual symptoms, goals, and needs. Treatment may include therapeutic exercises, manual therapy, education, breathing and pressure-management strategies, movement training, and other individualized techniques.
Women’s Pelvic Floor Therapy in Hernando, MS
Southern Health Clinic, the adult services branch of Southern Pediatric Therapy, offers women’s pelvic floor therapy in Hernando, Mississippi.
Our goal is to give women a place to ask questions, understand their pelvic health, and receive individualized care through different stages of life from pregnancy and postpartum recovery to addressing concerns that may develop later on.
You don't have to wait for pelvic floor symptoms to interfere with your daily life before seeking help.
If you're experiencing pelvic floor concerns or simply want to better understand your pelvic health, contact Southern Pediatric Therapy to learn more about women’s pelvic floor therapy in Hernando, MS.
662-469-2906
Schedule an evaluation here.