Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT) is a very specialized physical therapy realm that assesses and treats individuals using a whole body, whole system, and whole organism approach in order to reach your goals. As a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, we have extensive training in evaluating and treating issues related to the pelvic floor including urinary, bowel, and sexual function.
Your pelvic floor is a group of 14 muscles arranged in 3 layers that function to support organs, control bowel and bladder, and provide sexual benefit. The muscles of your pelvic floor are just like any other muscle as they have to stretch and contract. For example, your bicep muscle stretches when you straighten your arm and contracts when you bend your elbow. The pelvic floor muscles have to do the same when breathing, lifting, walking up stairs, delivering a baby, or doing daily activities.
Have you ever heard the song, “your tailbone is connected to your hip bone…” well it’s true. Everything is connected. Your pelvic floor is connected to your foot, to your jaw, to your hips, and to your breathing as well as to your Musculoskeletal System, Respiratory System, Urinary/Digestive System, Nervous System, etc . Pelvic Floor Physical Therapists are able to assess all these connections and systems to get down to the root of the problem that may ultimately be causing the pelvic floor issue.
Women, men and children may have issues that require treatment from a PFPT. Generally, the clients who require PFPT are pregnant and postpartum women because their body goes through so many changes during pregnancy and it needs extra help to recover. For some reason, our medical system does not recognize this and most women end up just living with any issues that arise from pregnancy or delivery. You are not alone. Your body does need help healing and recovering.
There are a range of conditions related to the pelvic floor in which you should seek PFPT for. These conditions include bowel/bladder dysfunction, recurrent infections, prolapse, hernia, low back, hip or pelvic pain, and pregnancy or postpartum related issues. There is help out there for everyone, but most will have to seek out PFPT themselves.
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