What is the pelvic floor?

The pelvic floor is comprised of 3 layers of muscles that attach front to back in our pelvis like a hammock! They’re involved in: bladder function, bowel function, sexual function and support.

What is pelvic floor physical therapy?

It certainly looks different for each patient based on their symptoms. However, the general focus is rehabilitating the 3 layers of the pelvic floor, and coordinating them with abdominals, breathing, hips and low back. This can look like internal manual release (accessed vaginally, rectally or even just external to those tissues) of trigger points. We need to teach muscles how to let go, and how to contract, as well as build strength/endurance!

But my pelvic floor is tight, so isn’t it strong?

A tight pelvic floor does not mean it’s strong. In fact it means quite the opposite of that! If you imagine your pelvic floor like a closed fist, it can’t get any tighter. When we need our pelvic floor to contract to assist us in support, it can’t do that because its too tight. We first need to get those muscles to relax and then teach them to properly contract!

Is a kegel a pelvic floor contraction?

Yep! They are one and the same!

I’m pregnant, is there anything special I should do to prepare my pelvic floor?

This is always one of my favorite questions! Yes! This is a very nuanced question because it truly depends on the patient, but generally we focus on addressing orthopedic impairments so that you can labor effectively, teaching you how to relax your pelvic floor, and educate about perineal stretching/massage. I absolutely love my pregnant and postpartum population!

How do I know if pelvic floor physical therapy is right for me?

Another great question. Are you having urinary incontinence, urgency, pain with intercourse, constipation, abdominal pain just to name a few? What about unresolved hip and low back pain? Pelvic floor dysfunction can show up in a lot of different ways. The best way to know if pelvic floor physical therapy is right for you is to do a free, 15 minute virtual consult with me to chat more.

Lets talk more, email me at emily@wildherpt.com