Physical Therapy for the Pelvic Floor

A therapeutic treatment for women and men, pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) strengthens the muscles of your pelvic floor. This type of physical therapy also acts as a preventative measure against pelvic floor dysfunction and other pelvic floor disorders. If you perform PFPT exercises regularly, you prevent many pelvic muscular issues, including:

• Incontinence
• An overactive bladder
• Loss of control of your bowels
• Pelvic organ prolapse, such as a bladder prolapse
• Chronic pelvic pain

The pelvic floor is a bowl-shaped arrangement of muscles, ligaments and nerves. These connective tissues form a safety net that underpins your bladder, rectum and uterus (in women). When the muscles of your pelvic floor are excessively close or stressed, they cause a condition called myofascial pain. Pelvic floor disorders strike women and men, but women aged 60 and older are the most susceptible.

Causes of Pelvic Floor Conditions

Weakened pelvic floor muscles aren’t a normal part of aging, and you don’t have to live with the consequences. The symptoms can be reversed with pelvic floor physical therapy. Seek treatment early to prevent more serious conditions. Your best bet as a woman is to get checked regularly by your gynecologist.

While doctors don’t yet understand what causes all types of pelvic floor disorders, they most often stem from activities and lifestyle choices, such as:

• Childbirth, which not only weakens the pelvic floor, but increases your risk of pelvic floor dysfunction in the future
• Prior surgery in the pelvic area
• Radiation treatment that damages nerves, muscles and connective tissues in the area
• Obesity, which strains the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments
• Repetitive heavy lifting
• Chronic constipation that leads to straining
• Genetics, if your family is prone to pelvic floor issues

Diagnosing the Symptoms

Because myofascial pelvic pain is similar to that of other conditions, some general practitioners may misdiagnose the source. Your specialist rules out other reasons for your pain, such as fibroids or bladder issues. After discussing your symptoms, you may be directed to keep a bladder diary for a certain amount of time to track how often you go.

You also may need to undergo one or more diagnostic tests, as determined by your specialist. The tests include a:

• Pelvic exam
• Urine test for signs of infection
• Cystoscopy to measure your bladder capacity
• Potassium sensitivity test to check your bladder function
• Biopsy to check for cancer

What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

Pelvic floor physical therapy includes exercises that stretch, relax and strengthen the muscles of your lower pelvis — that is, your pelvic floor muscles. Since it’s not always easy to isolate these muscles, you have to work with a therapist to get the exercises right, and you must practice them at home. Similar to Kegel exercises, PFPT strengthens your pelvic floor, relieving myofascial pelvic pain and eliminating other issues, such as urinary and fecal incontinence.

Biofeedback measures your progress. Before you begin your exercises, your physical therapist puts biofeedback sensors on your vaginal or rectal wall to check the quality of the muscle tone and muscle contractions. The results are stored and then compared to new readings taken at regular intervals while you do the exercises.

A Surprising Therapy

Pelvic floor physical therapy works, with a success rate as high as any other physical therapy regimen. Keep up with the exercises and the physical therapy visits. After practicing for four to six weeks, going to physical therapy sessions once or twice a week, you’ll feel improvement. You may need as long as three months to experience a significant change. Your personal results depend on the seriousness of your case.