This is one of the most common question that I hear when I tell people what I do. I am physical therapist that specializes in pelvic floor physical therapy. Pelvic floor therapy is targeted at the pelvic floor muscles, ligaments and connective tissues, all of which work together to support the pelvic organs. The pelvic floor play an important role in peeing, pooping, supporting your organs, having sex and birthing a baby. Sometimes those muscles need physical therapy. We are not only evaluating the pelvic floor we are evaluating your whole body and the pelvic floor muscles are important part of the body. Here’s what to expect in your first session.
It is not as scary as you think………The first session is a lot of information gathering. It is a normal physical therapy evaluation your pelvic floor symptoms do not always stem from your pelvic floor.
The therapist will perform an assessment, which typically includes the following:
Looking at your posture
Evaluating your breathing mechanics
Assessing your strength and balance⠀
Assessing for diastasis recti/abdominal separation and cesarean scar⠀
Doing an internal pelvic floor muscle assessment to check strength, tone and tension this is sometimes not done on the first day based on patient’s comfort.⠀
An internal assessment of the pelvic floor muscles will ONLY BE performed with your consent. If you would prefer to wait until a future session or not at all, we are totally fine with that. If you have pain we may wait to do an assessment.
WE are here to help
Most of all, you should feel comfortable. You should feel respected and listened to in your session and not dismissed. The first step can be scary to take but so worth it so that you can get back to doing what you love symptom free.
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