St. John's Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Experts

Physiotherapy for the pelvic floor assists in treating problems or conditions affecting the bladder, bowel, and sexual function. The pelvic floor muscles extend from the tailbone to the pubic bone.

These muscles support the hips, lower back, and pelvic organs, which include the uterus, bladder, and rectum.

Pelvic health is important in physical, mental, and sexual well-being. Our expert therapist Andrea Jones will assist you in achieving better bowel or bladder retraining.

The pelvic floor muscles are just like the muscles in the rest of the body. They can experience dysfunction and become injured, tight, or weak.

This dysfunction can be the result of many issues as but not limited to the:

• Pregnancy
• Delivery
• Menopause
• Hormonal Changes
• Surgery
• Trauma
• Repeated Infections involving the pelvis
• Gastrointestinal issues and
• Exercise stress

A problem can arise due to issues involving any of these concerns and can result in urinary incontinence, urgency, constipation, pelvic organ prolapses, sexual dysfunction, and pelvic pain disorders.

Urinary Incontinence

Urine is made by the kidneys and stored in the bladder. The bladder has muscles that tighten when you need to urinate. 

When the bladder muscles tighten, urine is forced out of your bladder through a tube called the urethra. At the same time, sphincter muscles around the urethra relax to let the urine out of your body.

Urinary incontinence is the loss of bladder control or leaking urine.  Incontinence can happen when the bladder muscles suddenly tighten, and the sphincter muscles are not strong enough to pinch the urethra shut. 

This causes a sudden, strong urge to urinate that you may be unable to control. Pressure caused by laughing, sneezing, or exercising can cause you to leak urine. Urinary incontinence may also happen if there is a problem with the nerves that control the bladder muscles and urethra. 

Urinary incontinence can mean you leak a small amount of urine or release a lot of urine all at once.

Urinary incontinence affects twice as many women as men. This is because reproductive health events unique to women, like pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, affect the bladder, urethra, and other muscles that support these organs.  

Urinary incontinence can happen to women at any age, but it is more common in older women, most likely due to hormonal changes during menopause. 

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is routinely considered a first-line treatment for urinary incontinence, thanks to its high success rates and minimal risk.

Pregnancy & The Pelvic Floor

Your pelvic floor comprises layers of muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue surrounding your vagina and rectum.  It stretches from your pubic bone to your tailbone and supports the organs in your pelvis, including your bladder, uterus, and bowel.  

During pregnancy, as your unborn baby grows, he or she pushes down on your bladder, urethra, and pelvic floor muscles. Over time, this pressure may weaken the pelvic floor muscles and lead to leaks or problems passing urine.  

Also, problems during labor and childbirth, especially vaginal birth, can weaken pelvic floor muscles and damage the nerves that control the bladder. Keeping your pelvic floor healthy before, during, and after pregnancy is important. 

Starting your pregnancy with strong pelvic floor muscles helps decrease the damage these muscles experience when carrying a growing child. A healthy pelvic floor also makes labor and delivery less risky, as you’ll be better equipped for labor, which means less stress for your baby. 

And whether you give birth vaginally or through a C-section, the pelvic floor muscles undergo a lot of stretching and strain. Having a healthy pelvic floor means faster recovery after childbirth.  

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is the recommended first treatment for various pelvic health disorders related to pregnancy, including urinary incontinence and pelvic floor weakness.

Kegel Exercises

Your pelvic floor muscles support your uterus, bladder, small intestine, and rectum.  

Like any other set of muscles in your body, your pelvic floor can lack adequate strength and endurance due to many reasons: pregnancy, menopause, birth trauma, or just simply the passage of time.  

Kegel exercises are one type of pelvic floor exercise that has been in use for many years.  For decades, doctors have praised this exercise as an excellent tool to help with a number of pelvic health issues. 

While these exercises were once most often recommended to pregnant individuals, Kegels can be an important part of pelvic therapy for people of all ages and genders. Often, they are part of treatment programs to address many concerns, including urinary and fecal incontinence.  

While these exercises have been a central part of pelvic floor physiotherapy for a long time, it is important to remember that Kegels may not be appropriate for everyone. 

Doing Kegels, or performing them incorrectly, can worsen many pelvic health conditions. 

Therefore, you must be evaluated by a specialist before proceeding with this exercise. Can kegel exercises help you? Call us at 576-7770 or email clinicadmin@actionphysio.ca today to book your appointment with our pelvic floor physiotherapist!  

Pelvic Floor Conditions and Treatment

Due to the intimate nature of pelvic floor conditions, they often go unrecognized and under-treated. However, a Registered Physiotherapist with specialized training in Women’s and Pelvic Health can help to successfully treat these conditions.

Various physiotherapy techniques, including biofeedback, neuromuscular stimulation, internal palpation, and manual treatment techniques of the pelvic floor musculature, strengthening, and re-education of the pelvic floor muscles, are proven effective in treating problems involving the pelvic floor.

Physiotherapy can be an effective treatment option to help improve women's quality of life experiencing problems involving the pelvis.

If you are interested in seeking treatment for any conditions involving the pelvis or have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss, our experienced and specialized educated staff would be happy to assist you with your healthcare needs.

Do you think our pelvic floor physiotherapist can help you?

 Get in Touch Via Email Or Call Us At 709-701-9876 To Book An Appointment