Pelvic floor physiotherapy is recommended for women, men, and kids. However, mainly women during pregnancy and after birth know about it. There are many other situations in which its important to be assessed by a specialist in the pelvic floor.
Both men and women can struggle with pathologies that affect the pelvic floor muscles and also both men and women can suffer the symptoms that an unbalanced pelvic floor causes. Even if we know about the specialty of “women’s health” what if I haven’t had kids.. or what if I’m a man? When should I go to the physio specialized in pelvic floor?
Generally, your doctor is going to recommend you this therapy as a part of your treatment but you can also decide to visit a pelvic floor physiotherapist by your own.
These are the most common situations in which you should visit a physio specialized in pelvic floor:
Pelvic floor physiotherapy for pelvic pain:
Pelvic pain appears in the pelvic area, causing problems such as heaviness, cramps, or burning sensation. It is necessary to make a diagnosis and specific treatment for each individual. There are different origins for pelvic pain that will determine the treatment. Both men and women can suffer from pelvic pain. If you have pain during miction, defecation, or sexual intercourse you may also need pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Incontinence can be fixed with pelvic floor physio
Urinary incontinence or leakage of urine during daily activities is often caused by weakness of the pelvic floor. Usually, the leaks appear while laughing, coughing, sneezing, or lifting something heavy. This can be caused by surgeries, impact sports, or childbirth. What may initially be small amounts of urine leakage, if left untreated, can lead to chronic incontinence.
Physiotherapy during pregnancy to prepare the birth:
The baby’s growth causes postural changes in the female body. To adapt your body, you need the help of a professional who will advise you on how to do physical exercises adapted to your new needs. Besides this, a professional can help you treat problems such as pain, urinary incontinence, pelvic varicose veins… By taking care of your pelvic floor during pregnancy you will be able to facilitate delivery, avoid back pain and have a better recovery during postpartum.
Postpartum physiotherapy for the pelvic floor:
After birth the body may need a bit of help to recover. Physiotherapy is the best way of speeding up the healing process. Complications such as diastasis recti need specialized help. Diastasis occurs during pregnancy due to the increasement of the abdominal volume. DIastasis must be evaluated by physiotherapists specialized in pelvic floor before starting physical activity. Also, giving birth causes significant changes directly to the pelvic floor, wich can lead to pain, prolapse, or the above-mentioned problems such as urinary incontinence.
Pelvic floor physio for intimate life.
Weakness and stiffness in the pelvic floor also cause sexual problems. For example, in men, this weakness can cause impotence, while in women it will make sex painful. A pelvic floor specialist can also help you solve problems related to hypertonic pelvic muscles, such as vaginismus.
Pelvic Rehab after prostatectomy:
After an operation to treat an oncological condition in the prostate, it is necessary to do pelvic floor physiotherapy sessions. Radiation of the prostate or its surgical resection, damages all adjacent structures, including the pelvic floor muscles and the nerves and vessels that irrigate it, so that urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction can occur. However, these problems can be solved by working the pelvic floor muscles. It will be fantastic to start with the rehabilitation program before the intervention, but it’s never too late to start. Read more about this here.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me here with your concern and I can indicate if you need to start with rehabilitation or if there is another way to solve your problem.
Looking forward to get to help you!
Physiotherapist specialized in pelvic floor rehabilitation.