A pelvic floor physiotherapist has specialized training in treating dysfunction within the pelvic floor, both internally and externally. This includes symptoms associated with:

Bladder dysfunction, such as urinary incontinence, urgency or frequency

Bowel dysfunction, such as incontinence, urgency or constipation

Diastasis Recti (abdominal separation)

Pelvic organ prolapse

Persistent Pelvic Pain

Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Girdle Pain (including hip and low back)

Dyspareunia (pain with sexual intercourse)

Dysmenorrhea (pain before or during menstrual periods)

Interstitial Cystitis (painful bladder syndrome)

Vulvodynia (pain within the superficial tissues of the vulva)

Vaginismus (inability to have vaginal penetration)

And more!

A pelvic floor assessment is about 60-minutes in length. This includes a subjective history, an external mobility assessment and an internal pelvic floor assessment. There is not much prep work required by you, other than filling out the required documents ahead of time and wearing comfortable clothing.

Being on your period doesn’t affect our pelvic floor assessment and treatment whatsoever. In fact, sometimes it’s preferred that we assess your pelvic floor during menstruation to get an idea of how your muscles are responding. That being said, it’s completely up to your comfort level!

An internal examination is considered to be the gold standard for pelvic floor assessment and treatment, since it is the only way we can truly determine whether your pelvic floor muscles are hypertonic (tight) or hypotonic (weak). However, if an internal is not for you, no worries - pelvic floor therapists have all the tools needed to provide treatment and guidance externally to treat the issues at hand.