Why Choose a Women’s Health Physical Therapist?
Did you know that no matter what treatment option you choose for your pelvic floor dysfunction, it is always recommended that you follow up that treatment with an exercise program to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
If you choose surgery, it is important to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles following the procedure to support the work that was done and, hopefully, increase the length of time the sling or mesh may be effective.
If you choose a pessary device, you want to continue to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and monitor your posture to decrease your dependence on the device. You may also have the goal of eliminating the need for a pessary device in the future, so a consistent pelvic floor program is highly recommended.
If your treatment choice is to take medication to control you incontinence symptoms, again, exercise is also recommended. Studies have shown that taking medication in conjunction with a regular pelvic floor exercise program to treat incontinence symptoms is much more effective than taking medication alone.
Exercise is consistently recommended, no matter what treatment option you choose to control your incontinence or prolapse symptoms. The best place to receive exercise advice for muscle groups that are no longer working as they used to, is from a Physical Therapist. Physical Therapists are trained through post graduate work to treat muscle and joint dysfunction. More specifically, a women’s health Physical Therapist has thoroughly studied the pelvic floor and the supporting muscles of the pelvic and abdominal basket.
Women’s health Physical Therapists are the professionals that teach pelvic floor rehabilitation on a daily basis, taking the latest research available and applying it to each patient according to their symptoms and goals. In a visit to a women’s health Physical Therapist, you would receive thorough patient education on the anatomy of your pelvis and the muscles that support it, hands-on posture education to give your body the best opportunity for optimal function, and thorough coaching through an exercise program. You will be getting one-on-one, hands-on guidance, from a professional trained specifically in pelvic floor rehabilitation.
So why a women’s health Physical Therapist? Because you give yourself the best chance to completely resolve your symptoms with a combination of treatment options or an exercise-based program alone. You can find a women’s health Physical Therapist in your area by searching physical therapist organizations on the APOPS Practitioner Locator page.
Tasha Mulligan MPT, ATC, CSCS