True pelvic floor therapy is conducted by a licensed physical or occupational therapist as it is a form of rehabilitative therapy. Speaking from a physical therapist perspective, physical therapists get a Doctor of Physical Therapy and their education includes learning about biomechanics (how our joints move), performing cadaver dissections to gain a full understanding of the musculoskeletal system, learning about how muscles truly strengthen (from a cellular level), gaining an understanding of the nervous system and what it actually takes for someone to learn how to do a new task, and become experts in various assessment and treatment techniques. Upon graduation, physical therapists can then pursue specialities, one of which is pelvic health. Those physical therapists that decide to focus their career on pelvic health then take a plethora of pelvic health specific post-doctoral courses to continue to gain knowledge in treatment of pelvic floor conditions. There are hundreds of pelvic floor courses through various education agencies and there is no way one person could take all of the courses in their career.

There are so many benefits to coming in to pelvic floor therapy prior to delivering your baby. If you are symptomatic, we can address your current symptoms and concerns. Research shows that if you struggle with incontinence (leakage) and/or back pain during pregnancy, it likely won’t go away postpartum. Addressing your concerns before your baby comes into the world is the best thing you can do to set yourself up for success postpartum. In addition, birth/labor prep physical therapy sessions, while you are pregnant, can help teach you how to connect with your pelvic floor and set you up for a smoother delivery.

Diastasis recti (commonly known as abdominal separation) is a thinning of the tissue in the front of the core, between the two sides of the rectus abdominus (or 6-pack muscles). This thinning of tissue then causes the two sides of the rectus abdominus muscles to be separated. This separation can occur above, at, or below the belly button. Diastasis Recti can occur in anyone (it can occur in children and males) however it is synonymous with pregnancy and postpartum.

Prolapse, also known as pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is one of the top concerns that we treat as pelvic floor physical therapists. In its simplest form, prolapse is when there is a downward shift of the pelvic organs (your bladder, uterus/cervix, small intestine and/or large intestine). Prolapse occurs when there is a stretch to the support structures (mostly the ligaments) in the pelvic floor. The shift is organ position is graded from a slight shift (grade 1) to a significant shift (grade 4).

Why do we have a problem with computerized biofeedback? There are many forms of biofeedback. Here are six reasons we aren’t a fan of biofeedback based treatment.

What is biofeedback? In its simple form, biofeedback tells us whether your muscles are contracting or relaxing.

What are three reasons that you may be constipated? Besides eating fruits and vegetables and ensuring that you are drinking enough water, there are three reasons that may be contributing to your constipation.

What is the best exercise for the pelvic floor muscles? This can differ from person to person, as each person’s needs are unique. However, in general the movement of our pelvic floor is vastly dependent on the movement on our diaphragm. Therefore diaphragmatic breathing is one of the top exercises that you can do for pelvic floor health.

What do I wear to pelvic floor physical therapy? In order to understand what to wear, you want to be sure you understand what will happen at pelvic floor physical therapy. Loose fitting clothing is best recommended to allow your therapist to assess how your body is moving.

What to expect at your first pelvic floor PT visit? Your pelvic floor PT not only will discuss your current symptoms but will also perform external assessments to the pelvis and pelvic girdle, as well as an internal assessment either intra-vaginally or intra-rectally to determine how the pelvic floor muscles are functioning

What is pelvic floor physical therapy and who does it help? Pelvic floor physical therapy is physical therapy to the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles (muscles that sit at the bottom of your bony pelvis).