Looking for pelvic floor physio in Nanaimo or Parksville? At Advanced Health & Sports Clinic, our highly trained team offers a lengthy list of healthcare services and we are here to support you on your total body wellness journey.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy is a specialized form of physiotherapy that’s suited to anyone experiencing troubling or painful pelvic floor dysfunction. Our team of experts is proud to offer this specialized form of physiotherapy, either on its own or in conjunction with one of our many other forms of therapy, such as Athletic Therapy or Acupuncture.
You’ll receive the highest level of 1:1 care starting with a thorough consultation through your treatment plan. Your treatment plan will be designed based on a detailed assessment of your individual needs and our highly advanced, cutting edge methods of care.
What is the Pelvic Floor?
The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that attach to the front, back and sides of the pelvic bone and sacrum. The pelvic floor is part of your core and is so important for how well our bodies function on a day-to-day basis:
- Maintains bladder and bowel function
- Maintains sexual function
- Provides support for abdominal organs
- Provides stability for core and pelvis
- Allows optimal blood flow and lymphatic drainage
If you’re experiencing pelvic floor pain or weakness, incomplete bladder emptying, incontinence, hip pain, or other symptoms caused by pelvic floor issues, know that you’re not alone and we’ll have you feeling like your confident self again following your personalized treatment plan.
A common perception is that pelvic floor physio is mainly for women.
…This just isn’t true.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy can help improve the quality of life for any gender.
Pelvic Floor: Women
Women experiencing pelvic floor issues may struggle with the following symptoms:
- Incontinence
- A feeling or heaviness
- Urinating more often
- Pain with intercourse
Pregnancy – About a quarter of all women are affected by pelvic floor disorders and the main risk factor is pregnancy! A growing baby puts stress on the body and especially on the pelvic floor, which is carrying the load of the pregnancy and supporting extra pounds of pressure that wasn’t there before.
The amount of change that pregnancy brings in such a short time is significant, so it’s completely normal to experience pain around the lower back, the pelvis, hips and even the tailbone. Of course, one of the most common symptoms is frequency of urination and a feeling of pressure or heaviness. In fact, most pregnant women can absolutely benefit from consultation and treatment with a certified physiotherapist.
Postpartum – Delivering a baby puts an immense amount of strain on the pelvic floor and it’s perfectly natural to experience pelvic floor weakness or dysfunction in the postpartum period. Women who haven’t experienced any pelvic issues during pregnancy can still be surprised by some of the following symptoms. These can also be brought on by the huge hormonal shifts during and after pregnancy.
Menopause – A drop in estrogen is what triggers menopause. We now know that estrogen is key for maintaining good pelvic floor function. That means that this decrease can bring on those common symptoms of heaviness, pelvic pain, incontinence, and more. A pelvic floor physiotherapist can provide treatments to improve these symptoms.
Pelvic Floor: Men
Men experiencing pelvic floor weakness typically report the following symptoms. These can be caused by a drop in hormones, post-surgery changes, such as after a prostatectomy or another abdominal or pelvic surgery.
- Chronic pain in the pelvic region
- Chronic swelling and inflammation of the prostate gland
- Feeling of an incomplete bladder emptying
- Feeling of an incomplete bowel emptying
- Slow/weak urine stream
- Incontinence
- Erectile dysfunction
Our pelvic floor physiotherapist will work with you to develop a treatment to combat these symptoms, including manual techniques and recommended exercises.
Pelvic Floor: Men & Women
Post Surgery – After a surgery in the abdominal or pelvic region – such as a c-section or prostatectomy – it’s very common to experience pelvic floor weakness or dysfunction. This is usually caused by the use of a catheter or even the surgical procedure itself. Clients who undergo surgery can benefit from post surgery physiotherapy treatment to reduce post-surgical pain and promote the healthy healing of scars (scar mobilization.)
What to Expect During Your Initial Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Session
Initial Visit: 60 mins, one-on-one
Subsequent Visits: 30 mins, one-on-one
During your initial 60-minute consultation, our physiotherapist will take a detailed health history. After that, she’ll do an external exam to assess posture, strength and flexibility as well as condition around the lower back, hips and pelvis. She may also perform an internal exam to assess the pelvic floor muscles.
If you’re experiencing acute pain or are not comfortable with an internal exam, she will be able to work around your preferences.
Based on the assessment, she will create an individual treatment plan to facilitate your recovery. This treatment can include education, take-home exercises and manual pelvic floor therapy.
During your 30-minute follow up sessions, the pelvic floor physiotherapist will focus on treating your symptoms using a variety of exercises, lifestyle advising, manual therapy, relaxation techniques and more.
There may also be other assessments completed to see how you are progressing with your treatment and whether changes to the treatment plan are required. The goal is to see slow and steady improvement with personalized care.
If you’re looking for pelvic floor physiotherapy in Nanaimo, talk to us – we can help!
