A woman in need of pelvic health physiotherapy

Pelvic Health Physiotherapy

Do You Have Any of These Issues?

  • Do you leak urine when you cough, sneeze, laugh or exercise?
  • Do you leak urine with bladder urgency or on your way to the bathroom?
  • Do you go to the bathroom frequently during the day or at night?
  • Do you have heaviness in your vagina or rectum?
  • Do you have difficulty starting your flow of urine?
  • Do you need to strain to have a bowel movement?
  • Have you had prostate cancer and are now experiencing bladder leakage?
  • Are you pregnant and struggling with pelvic girdle pain?
  • Do you have pain with sexual activities?
  • Do you suffer from pelvic pain?
A woman holds a "help" sign in front of her pelvis. She needs pelvic health physiotherapy.

Did You Know?

  • 1 in 4 females in Canada will have bladder incontinence
  • 1 in 9 males in Canada will have bladder incontinence
  • 1 million females in Canada suffer from endometriosis which is the main cause of pelvic pain
  • 10 to 15% of the male population also experience pelvic pain

There are many treatment options to help you manage and treat these symptoms.

What are some of the conditions a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist can help you with?

  • Chronic Non-Bacterial Prostatitis
  • Constipation
  • Diastasis Recti
  • Dyspareunia (pain with sexual activities)
  • Dysmenorrhea (painful menstrual cramps)
  • Endometriosis
  • Enuresis (bedwetting)
  • Incontinence (bladder and bowel)
  • Interstitial cystitis and Bladder Pain Syndrome
  • Peri and Post-natal Pelvic Physiotherapy
  • Prolapse (uterus, bladder, bowel)
  • Post-prostatectomy incontinence
  • Pudendal neuralgia
  • Tailbone pain (coccydynia)
  • Vaginismus
  • Vestibulodynia
  • Vulvodynia

What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?

A pelvic health physiotherapist is a therapist that has undergone specific training to treat pelvic floor conditions. A pelvic health physiotherapist is trained to properly assess your pelvic floor muscles both externally and internally via a pelvic exam. The pelvic floor muscles are responsible for bladder, bowel, and sexual health. A Pelvic Health Physiotherapist takes a whole-body and whole-person approach to help you resolve your pelvic health concerns. How can you verify that your pelvic physiotherapist is trained in pelvic health? Have a look at www.pelvichealthsolutions.ca and go to “find a physio”.

SYMETRICS Has Two Pelvic Health Physiotherapists:

Ali Prevost: https://pelvichealthsolutions.ca/find-a-health-care-professional/ontario-physiotherapists/

Nicole Conlin

What are Pelvic Floor Muscles?

This group of muscles attaches to the front (pubic bone), back (tailbone) and sides of the pelvis. These muscles wrap around the urethra, vagina, and anal opening to help with bladder and bowel control. They help support the pelvic organs. They are responsible for proper sexual function. The pelvic floor muscles are also part of your core.

The pelvic floor muscles can be weak, or they can be under tension. If they are weak, this can lead to incontinence, urge incontinence, and prolapse. If the pelvic floor muscles are tense, they can contribute to pelvic pain, dyspareunia, interstitial cystitis, vaginismus, endometriosis, pudendal neuralgia, and chronic non-bacterial prostatitis.

The pelvic floor muscles are inside the pelvis. When a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist does an internal exam of the pelvic floor muscles, it is to assess what is happening to the pelvic floor muscles. Are they weak? Are they under tension and causing pain? It’s based on this exam that the physiotherapist can help determine your treatment options.

That’s why “Kegels” are not for everyone! Some people do Kegels and have too much tension in their pelvic floor muscles and find doing Kegels uncomfortable and not helpful. A Pelvic Health Physiotherapist will know what types of exercises to give you based on what is happening to your pelvic floor muscles.