A treatment for problems related to your pelvic floor, this therapy includes exercises and techniques to help ease your pain, discomfort, and disruptions to your quality of life.
What Is the Pelvic Floor?
It’s made up of muscles that support your urinary and reproductive tracts. This group of muscles also controls your bladder and bowels.
Everyone has a pelvic floor. In women, the pelvic floor keeps your bladder in place in the front and your vagina and rectum in the back. Your uterus is held in place at the top of the pelvic floor by muscles, tendons, and connective tissue. In men, the pelvic floor helps keep the bowels, bladder, urethra, and rectum in place.
The pelvic floor muscles attach to your tailbone and pubic bone. If the muscles in the pelvic floor are weak or don’t work as they should, this is called pelvic floor dysfunction.
What Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
It's when your pelvic muscles can’t relax or work together the way they should. If these muscles can’t relax, only tighten, you may have:
- Constipation
- Peeing frequently
- Trouble controlling your bowels or urine, leading to leaks
- Pain during sex in women
- Erectile dysfunction in men
Sometimes, experts aren’t sure what causes pelvic floor dysfunction. But things that may trigger it include:
- Pelvic surgery
- Aging
- Pregnancy
- Being overweight
- Overuse of the pelvic muscles
- Serious injuries to the pelvic area
What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?
It's specialized physical therapy to ease the symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction and help your muscles work the way they should. This includes several exercises that help your pelvic muscles relax and get stronger.
When you begin pelvic floor therapy, a physical therapist (PT) will learn more about your symptoms. Your PT will check your core muscles to see how strong they are, along with how much core endurance you have. Your PT will also have you try certain activities and positions to check the coordination of your pelvic floor muscles.
Your assessment helps your PT make a pelvic floor physical therapy plan that best suits your needs. Your treatment may include both internal and external therapy. But they won’t begin internal therapy until you’re ready, as this can be uncomfortable for some people.
The goal of pelvic floor physical therapy is to ease your symptoms so that you can get back to your daily routine. This includes being able to control your bladder better or take part in sports and exercises that you enjoy.
Physical therapy can also ease the discomfort and pain that women may feel during sex. Some exercises may help them become more aware of their muscles and have better orgasms.
Pelvic Floor Techniques and Exercises
Pelvic floor physical therapy can include techniques or exercises such as:
Trigger point therapy
This technique puts pressure on a spot on your body, internally or externally, called trigger points. Your doctor or PT may also inject anesthesia into the area.
Kegels
This exercise helps strengthen your pelvic floor muscles by contracting and relaxing them. It can help ease your pain during sex and control incontinence. Your PT can teach you how to do Kegels so you can get the most out of this exercise.
Electrical stimulation
This technique helps ease your pelvic pain and muscle spasms. Your PT may do this in the office or teach you how to do it at home with special equipment.
Biofeedback
This uses devices to check the contraction of your pelvic floor muscles. Your PT may use biofeedback to see how your exercises are going and to watch for improvement. They may place electrodes on the outside of your body, such as between the vagina or anus. Or they might use an internal probe to measure the tension and relaxation of your pelvic floor muscles. The results appear on a computer screen, and your PT will discuss them with you.
Takeaways
Pelvic floor therapy includes exercises and techniques that help your pelvic muscles relax and get stronger. This can help relieve pelvic floor pain, discomfort, and disruptions to your quality of life. Techniques include trigger point therapy, kegels, electrical stimulation, and biofeedback.
Pelvic Floor Therapy FAQs
What do you do during pelvic floor therapy?
You work on exercises that help strengthen or relax your pelvic floor.
Can I do pelvic floor therapy while pregnant?
Yes. It’s considered safe and beneficial during pregnancy.
Can I do pelvic floor therapy myself?
Yes, you can do it yourself at home.
Can a weak pelvic floor cause miscarriage?
Not directly, but it can increase the chance of complications that may lead to miscarriage.
How painful is pelvic floor therapy?
It’s usually not painful, but it may cause mild discomfort.
Who needs pelvic floor therapy?
You may benefit from it if you have urinary incontinence, chronic constipation or straining, pain during intercourse, and pelvic, lower back, or hip pain. Talk to your doctor about whether pelvic floor therapy is a good choice for you.
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