Available at Vancouver and Victoria locations

What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?

 

The pelvic floor consists of muscles, ligaments, nerves and connective tissue at the base of the pelvis. They play an integral role in our bladder, bowel and sexual function. Dysfunction in the pelvic floor can arise due to childbirth, growing older, changes in hormonal levels, constipation and being overweight. This can result in weakness or abnormal functioning, leading to a variety of complaints including pain and incontinence.

A physiotherapist with clinical specialization in pelvic floor dysfunction can determine the cause of incontinence and pain and assess what treatment would be best for you.

The research shows that:

1 in 3 women and 1 in 9 men will experience incontinence in their lifetime

1 in 4 women report painful intercourse in their lifetime

1 in 3 women will experience pelvic organ prolapse

Only 1 in 12 individuals will seek help for their pelvic health concerns

Did you know?

Urinary incontinence (any involuntary loss of urine) affects 20-30% of young adult women, 30-40% of middle aged women, and 30-50% of elderly women?

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is a specialized area that can assist people of all ages and gender. Pelvic floor physiotherapy can help increase the speed of recovery before and after childbirth, pelvic organ prolapse and prostate surgeries. It can also expedite recovery from pelvic pain, sport-related leakage or other instances of urinary/fecal incontinence.

Therapists in this field use a combination of internal assessment, hands-on treatment techniques, muscle activation biofeedback and customized exercise prescription to address pain, leakage, muscle strength and extensibility of the pelvic floor musculature.

Our Vancouver physiotherapist Sarah Leong has completed her specialized postgraduate training through Pelvic Health Solutions Level I: The Physical Therapy Approach to Male and Female Urinary Incontinence.

 

Our Victoria physiotherapist Briana May has also completed her Pelvic Health training.