One of the biggest misconceptions about pelvic health is that it’s solely a topic for women.

On the contrary, health professionals want you to know that men and women of all ages can benefit from pelvic health physical therapy, as it is a conservative approach to treat a wide range of medical issues.

“We treat across the lifespan,” said Sara Peterson, a physical therapist at UCHealth SportsMed Clinic in Steamboat Springs. “It’s not just for women who are postpartum, although that is a common time frame for treatment. We also see many other patients, from pediatrics to geriatrics.”

For instance, younger children may be seen for bed wetting, while older patients may be seen for urinary incontinence.

“A lot of parents don’t realize that physical therapy can help with these problems,” said Peterson.

What is your pelvic floor?

Bed wetting, urinary incontinence and other maladies involving pelvic medical problems revolve around the functioning of the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor consists of muscles and tissues that support organs in the pelvic region, such as the bladder, bowels and for women, the uterus. This area is also important for core strength and sexual health and pleasure, Peterson said.

“If you are having issues with anything related to these areas, you might want to get your pelvic floor checked,” she said. “In some cases, we need a physician or OB-GYN to rule out an infection or other potential problem, and then pelvic physical therapy would be a logical next step.”

On a typical day, Peterson might treat a youngster for chronic constipation, a pregnant woman experiencing urinary leakage, a man who has undergone treatment for prostate cancer and is having some pain, and a mom who is postpartum and feeling pain during intercourse in addition to lower back issues.

“It’s important that people and providers know about pelvic physical therapy,” said Peterson. “In many instances, we have great outcomes with the patients we treat.”

Getting ready for pelvic physical therapy

When a patient arrives for a pelvic physical therapy session, Peterson said therapists will consider the patient’s pelvic floor muscles, posture, strength and range of motion, along with other issues that might be contributing to pain and dysfunction such as scar tissue, alignment of feet and legs, and breathing patterns. They also will check for any pain and tenderness.

Patients will be asked questions about their lifestyle, diet and bladder and bowel function, too.

During a pelvic physical therapy session

So what might occur during pelvic physical therapy? A patient could experience:

• Manual, or hands-on, therapy, to improve bony alignment, tissue mobility and muscular performance.
• Muscular retraining. “It’s about controlling your pelvic floor through a full range of motion while coordinating with other deep-core muscles,” said Peterson.
• Biofeedback, where sensors are placed in certain pelvic areas and patients receive visual feedback on a computer monitor of the electrical activity in their pelvic floor muscles. This helps the patient understand what happens as they perform exercises. Peterson said it’s a painless process that can be very helpful to show patients how well they are doing the exercises.
• Assistance with behavioral and lifestyle issues so patients understand how their daily routine affects their treatment.
• Dry needling, from a specially trained physical therapist who uses a thin needle to reduce muscle tension, relieve pain and restore function.
• Education, to better help a patient understand how physical therapy can bolster their pelvic floor treatment plan.

“Just because a patient has been in pain or had pelvic issues going on for a long time, doesn’t mean physical therapy can’t address it,” Peterson said. “In many cases we can treat it and make good progress.”