Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

We want to hear your story. Sometimes our clients have been rushed through appointments with other providers. Rest assured that won’t be the case here.

In your first appointment, we want to make sure our equipped physical therapist is a great fit for you and your healing. Your PT will ask about what brings you into PT, your symptoms, and past medical history. We’ll also ask about your bowel and bladder habits as well as any pain or problems with sex.

We’ll then begin our assessment! Some of the things we’ll look at include:

• How you walk

• Joint range of motion (aka flexibility)

• Functional movement assessments - squatting, hinging, picking something up off the floor

• How you breathe

• External pelvic floor assessment (we’ll tell you what to expect and ask for consent before assessing sensitive areas)

• Internal pelvic floor assessment (only if necessary based on what’s going on and ONLY with your consent - many times, this happens at the second or third appointment if it’s necessary)

Our physical therapists evaluate and treat from a holistic perspective. What’s going on at your hip (or even your feet or jaw) may be related to your pelvic floor symptoms.

We’ll help you understand what’s going on in your body and outline the recovery plan. We want you to leave with an understanding of how we’re going to address both your symptoms and the root causes of what’s driving the problem.

We like to open this conversation first with the reminder that an internal exam is never required, and it is our top priority that you feel comfortable and safe throughout each appointment. If you’d like to learn more about internal examinations and why your PT may recommend one, read on.

Trained pelvic floor physical therapists perform internal examinations vaginally and/or rectally to assess the muscles that live near those places. In physical therapy, we often assess muscles for tissue tension, range of motion, strength, and endurance.

The pelvic floor muscles are just like other muscles in your body. Most people are less familiar with them because they’re a sling of muscles “in a cave.” (That cave is your pelvis!)

Without assessing the muscles directly, it can be difficult (but not impossible) for your PT to know exactly how your muscles are functioning. For example, they may be weak, tight, or have trouble coordinating with your other core and breathing muscles.

Your physical therapist will talk with you about an internal exam if they think that would be helpful (we don’t recommend this in every case), and that conversation will be a discussion. You are fully in charge of what your care entails, and you can consent to or decline an internal exam. 

During an internal exam, your PT will check in with you, and you can choose to end the exam at any point in time. We use a gloved, lubricated finger. We do not use a speculum. 

The other thing to know is that your pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation - most people with pelvic floor dysfunction will also need help around their hips, low back, or rib cage.

While an internal exam can provide your physical therapist with helpful information, there are other tests and questions we can use to gather the information we need to treat what’s going on.

Feel free to reach out to learn more about what kind of exams our PTs may or may not recommend for you, as every person is different.

Comfortable, athletic clothes are great!

You can still come to PT on your period. Your PT can still evaluate and treat you - including performing a pelvic exam - and has appropriate equipment to prevent things from getting messy or uncomfortable.

If you have an active UTI or yeast infection, we won’t do any internal evaluation or treatment. We also won’t do any internal evaluation or treatment if you’re uncomfortable or would prefer we skip that while you’re menstruating.

Yes, all the time! Everyone with a pelvis can have pelvic floor dysfunction! Our physical therapists are pelvic floor and orthopedic specialists that are passionate about working with anyone who is wanting to work on their pelvic and orthopedic health.

First off, congrats! You can see a PT as early as you’d like.

If you are having pain or symptoms around bladder, bowel, or sexual health, you do not have to “deal with it!” We recommend coming in ASAP.

If you don’t have symptoms, our general recommendation is that we see you for a first appointment during your second trimester.

We’ll assess how your body is adjusting to pregnancy, talk about your birth plan and coordinating care, discuss how to stay active during pregnancy, and answer all your questions.

Birth is a major athletic event, and your PT is an awesome recovery partner! We see folks as early as 2 weeks postpartum.

At those early appointments, we’ll help reconnect brain and body, start gentle movement, and get a plan for postpartum symptoms.

People know they’ll need PT after something like an ACL tear - birth is similar - rehab is very important so that your body recovers well.

Once you’re postpartum, you’re always postpartum. And sometimes postpartum symptoms linger for years when they’re not addressed.

It’s never too late to get help, and although “peeing a little” when you sneeze is common postpartum, it is not normal or something you need to live with forever. PT can help resolve symptoms around incontinence, pain with daily activities, pain with sex, pelvic heaviness, and more.

Definitely. Everyone has a pelvic floor. If you have pain or problems with peeing, pooping, or sex, PT can help.

Most people know about the little blue pill that can help with erectile dysfunction, but PT can help address muscle dysfunction that plays into that problem.

Men don’t often talk about it, but it’s very common for men to have trouble with dribbling after they pee or incomplete emptying. This can be due to muscles that hold too much tension (and are too strong), are weak, or are uncoordinated.

Folks also don’t know that constipation can be a mechanical problem and that mobilization to the intestines and pelvic floor can help get things moving.