What is Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy focuses on optimizing muscle, soft tissue, joint, and nerve function (and how the brain communicates with those body parts) through any combination of:

Strengthening exercises
Stretching exercises
Lifestyle changes
Posture and positioning adjustments
Hands-on treatment

Pelvic floor physiotherapy specializes in assessing, diagnosing, and treating problems related to the pelvic floor muscles and the pelvic floor organs (the bladder, bowel, and uterus). The pelvic floor muscles are a dynamic group of muscles inside and at the base of your pelvic/groin area. They surround your genitals, pelvic organs, and pelvic joints. Picture these muscles like a bowl or hammock that holds up your pelvic organs.

To serve you well, your pelvic floor muscles need good strength, but also coordination and flexibility. They play a role in almost everything we do, from breathing and moving to controlling the bladder, bowel, and sexual activities. We are biased, but we think they are really important!

What is pelvic floor dysfunction?

Pelvic floor challenges or pelvic floor dysfunction usually means that your pelvic floor muscles are either too tight, or they are too weak. A healthy pelvic floor allows you to contract your muscles when you need to (for example, holding urination) and relax when you need to urinate, have bowel movements, and engage in sexual activity.

When your pelvic floor muscles are too tight, it can lead to pelvic pain, or cause feelings of urgency and frequency related to the bowels or bladder. When the muscle tone is too low, you can experience pelvic organ prolapse. It’s also possible to have a combination of both – muscles that are too tense and too relaxed. Just like other muscles in your body, your pelvic floor muscles need a balance of strength, mobility, and flexibility so that they can function at their best. When there is an imbalance, that’s when folks start to experience symptoms and conditions of pelvic floor dysfunction.

This is where we come in! Pelvic floor physiotherapy helps to restore imbalances in the pelvic floor region using a variety of mind-body techniques so that the body can function effortlessly, as it was designed to.

Pelvic Floor Treatment may include a combination of:

Education about proper pelvic floor function
Pain management visualizations and techniques
Stress management approaches
Relaxation and breathing strategies adjustments
Stretching and strengthening
Manual therapy – internal and external
Acupuncture
Biofeedback
Tracking habits like water and fiber intake or bladder and bowel habits
Assessing core strength and correcting diastasis recti abdominus (DRA)
Functional incorporation of pelvic floor (i.e. practicing sport-specific movements)

As Pelvic floor physiotherapists, we also work in collaboration with other providers including physicians, specialists, naturopaths, chiropractors, and massage therapists.

Let us help you get to the root of your pelvic floor issues!