I hear this sentence at least once during my work day. As much as I think women are paying more attention to their issues in pelvic floor region. There is still a huge number of people who think leaking, pain with intercourse, heaviness in vagina is such something they have to put up for rest of their life.
These problems do not apply to post partum moms only. Pelvic floor dysfunction can sneak up at any age. I treat patients as young 12 years to 80-90 years old.
Young women should know that painful menstruation cycle could be caused by tight pelvic floor muscles and seeing a PF therapist can provide helpful tips how to manage and alleviate these symptoms.
Women should know that intercourse should never be painful and PF Physiotherapy can provide education, exercises, stretches and strategies to eliminate this problem.
Every pregnant woman should see a PF therapist if she is experiencing:
- lower back pain affecting her sitting, standing or walking tolerance
- pelvis pain and uncomfortable pressure
- Sometimes we are not able to fully eliminate these aches and pains but we are able to provide many useful solutions to minimize the pain and improve your function.
Every post partum woman should see a PF therapist to ensure the following things heal properly:
- strength: exercises to properly strengthen the pelvic floor muscles but also to learn how to relax these muscles to prevent incontinence and prolapse issues in the future
- scars: either vaginal/ perineum tears or C-section scar to make sure scar tissue wonʼt cause any pain in future
- abdomen: to ensure your abdominal muscles are not suffering from separation ( diastesis recti) possibly causing chronic lower back pain. Physiotherapist can provide you with gradual strengthening program that is safe
Physically active women should see a Pelvic Floor Therapist if they ever experience:
- leaking during exercise
- strong urge to void as soon they start to run or walk (even though you peed minutes before exercising)
- feeling of pressure or
- bulge during or after exercise
Maybe if women start to seek help for their lady parts problem we can avoid these horrific statistics:
- 53% of women age 65 and older reported symptoms of urinary incontinence on regular basis ( www.statcan.gc.ca)
- 4 out of 10 women still report painful sex 18 months after childbirth ( www.webmd.com)
- 44% of women have some degree of prolapse according to Tye Womenʼs Health Initiative in the US
Please donʼt hesitate to contact your Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist.
Have a wonderful day,
