What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?

Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissues that stabilize your rectum, bladder, urethra, and intestines. After a review of your symptoms, we may find that a pelvic floor disorder is contributing to your urine leakage, incontinence, lumps in your vaginal area, loss of sensation, and other symptoms. Fortunately, pelvic floor therapy helps women strengthen their muscles and alleviate bothersome symptoms. Many women who come to Advanced Women’s Healthcare in Bloomington, IL, want to know more about what is involved with pelvic floor physical therapy.

Pelvic Floor Exercises

If you have been researching pelvic floor therapy, you may have found information about Kegels. These are some of the most common exercises for pelvic floor disorders. The movements and contractions strengthen weak muscles. But what if your pelvic floor disorder is related to muscles that are too tight, or if you have a combination of tight and weak muscles? Kegels may worsen your symptoms. At Advanced Women’s Healthcare, we recommend the pelvic floor exercises that are best suited to your individual situation.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback may sound intimidating to you, but it is simply a technique that evaluates how well you are doing exercises for your pelvic floor disorder. A small device is placed on your buttocks to take measurements. The device uses sound and visual images to provide feedback about your performance.

Trigger Point Therapy

Trigger points are used in a variety of physical and massage therapy applications. These are areas of muscle fibers that tend to tighten when you have an injury. For pelvic floor treatment, we use trigger point therapy to release tight muscles in your pelvic region.

Electrical Stimulation

Applying a gentle electrical current to the pelvic muscles helps with urinary issues related to pelvic floor disorders. A small probe is inserted into your vagina, and a low-intensity electrical current is administered for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. The probe is approximately the same size as a tampon, and most women are able to relax during the treatment.

Dilators and Pelvic Wands

Dilators and pelvic wands are medical devices that expand the vaginal muscles to reduce discomfort. The technique is very helpful for relaxing tight muscles and improving the flexibility of the pelvic floor muscles. Dilators and pelvic wands are also used for trigger point therapy.

Pelvic floor therapy for women in Bloomington, IL, helps with symptoms associated with tight or weak pelvic muscles. To learn more about the treatment, we invite you to schedule an appointment with one of the doctors at Advanced Women’s Healthcare. You can reach our office in Bloomington, IL, at (309) 808-3068.