Pelvic floor therapy in Barretts, MO. Pelvic floor dysfunction doesn’t just cause hurt; it can affect your self-esteem and happiness. If pelvic floor dysfunction is preventing you from dominating on the field, beginning parenthood, or just navigating a day with the same confidence and comfort as before, pelvic floor physical therapy may be what you need to regain your lifestyle. With research-supported treatment plans, pelvic floor therapy in Barretts, MO can help you experience:

• Improved bladder and bowel control
• Reduced discomfort and swelling
• Enhanced sexual performance and pleasure
• Increased self-assurance and quality of life

Axes Physical Therapy in Barretts, MO specializes in creating customized treatment plans that gets pelvic floor patients back to the pursuits they enjoy most safely and successfully. If you are curious in finding out more about pelvic floor therapy or wish to book an appointment with one of our physical therapusts, please contact us online today or get in touch to the Axes location nearest you. We’re here to help you reclaim control and assurance in your pelvic health.

Understanding the Pelvic Floor

The pelvic floor is the soft tissues and joints that create a supportive hammock-like structure at the bottom of the pelvis. It acts like a “floor” or a base for the organs in your pelvis, including the bladder, uterus, urethra, and rectum. The pelvic floor protects organs and your spine from outside pressure while helping control several everyday functions.

The pelvic floor has several functions and roles:

• Helps regulate your bladder and bowels by giving you command over the contraction and relaxing of muscles
• Supports organs in the pelvis and stops them from descending
• Resists belly pressure from lifting, coughing, or other activities
• Supports well-functioning sexual function
• Provides stability and alignment to the core and back
• During pregnancy, stretches to accommodate a growing fetus and supports vaginal delivery in childbirth
• Assists in blood and lymphatic circulation, helping to preserve healthy tissue

Pelvic Floor Anatomy

The pelvic floor muscles extend from the tailbone at the back to the pubic bone at the front, while also connecting to the hip bones on each side. These muscles have passageways or passages for the urethra (through which urine is passed), the vagina, and the anus (through which stool is passed).

Imagine the pelvic floor as a woven mesh of muscles and tissues that forms a resilient foundation, holding the pelvic organs in place and avoiding them from descending down. It works like a reinforcing sling to maintain the position and function of pelvic organs.

The primary muscles of the pelvic floor are called the levator ani and the coccygeus. The levator ani has three parts: one that wraps around the rectum and assists you to hold in your feces (puborectalis), one that connects the front and back bones of your pelvis and supports the urethra and rectum (pubococcygeus), and one that connects the side and back bones of your pelvis and supports the organs inside your abdomen (iliococcygeus). The coccygeus connects the side and back bones of your pelvis and works to keep your pelvis stable.

The pelvic floor muscles have essential roles. They help in controlling the release of urine and stool by contracting and relaxing at the right times and contribute in sexual function and pleasure by providing support to the organs involved in sexual activity. When the pelvic floor is weakened or becomes too tense, it results in pelvic floor dysfunction.

Causes, Signs, and Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic floor dysfunction occurs when you have difficulty relaxing and aligning your pelvic floor muscles for optimal function.

Signs and Symptoms

• Trouble urinating or having bowel movements
• Feeling like your bowel movements are incomplete
• Leakage of urine or feces
• Frequently feeling the need to use the bathroom
• Sensation of needing to force out urine or feces
• Pelvic discomfort
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Erectile dysfunction and trouble reaching orgasm
• Organ prolapse

Potential Causes

• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Pelvic surgery or trauma
• Obesity
• Aging
• Menopause
• Chronic constipation or straining
• Chronic coughing or sneezing
• Heavy lifting or high-impact exercise
• Psychological factors like stress or emotional trauma
• Nerve damage
• Surgery

Pelvic floor dysfunction doesn’t just affect people of a single certain age, gender or physical ability. While it can have a negative impact on your physical, mental, and emotional health, it’s important to remember that proven, evidence-backed treatment plans exist with professional physical therapy in Barretts, MO. At Axes, we offer an entire team devoted to assisting you recover the joy of engaging in the pursuits you hold dear most in life.

How Physical Therapy Can Help With Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

If you are suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, you may feel disappointed, ashamed, or hopeless. But a diagnosis is not the same thing as a permanent condition. With practical treatment plans tailored for you by your Barretts, MO physical therapist, you can regain control over your life and enjoy a comfortable life.

Pelvic floor therapy involves exercises that can strengthen, improve flexibility of, or coordinate the pelvic muscles. The advantages of physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction in Barretts, MO include:

• Improved pelvic floor muscle strength — Strengthening pelvic floor muscles can assist in improving bladder and bowel control, reduce symptoms of urinary and fecal incontinence, and offer better support for the pelvic organs.
• Improved pelvic floor muscle coordination — Enhancing coordination supports vitals functioning, such as relaxing and contracting muscles during urination, bowel movements, and sexual activity.
• Pain management — By targeting weaker or stiffer muscles and addressing painful spots, physical therapy can support in lessening or eliminating the discomfort you endure caused by pelvic floor dysfunction.
• Pre- and postpartum care — Pelvic floor therapy is frequently advised during pregnancy and following childbirth. It can assist in preparing the pelvic floor for childbirth, reducing the risk of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction, and facilitating recuperation from changes and trauma to the pelvic floor connected to childbirth.
• Sexual health improvement — By focusing on specific muscles and addressing any subsurface issues, therapy can boost sexual excitement, climax, and overall sexual fulfillment.
• Education and self-management — Pelvic floor therapy is about more than just checking exorcises off of a list. By providing information and teaching you tips you can try autonomously, your Axes physical therapist helps you take an active role in your own care and enables you to maintain a way of life that promotes pelvic floor wellness.

At Axes Physical Therapy, we have a team of experienced pelvic floor therapists in Barretts, MO who can help you in boosting your pelvic well-being and performance. Although certain instances of pelvic floor dysfunction might necessitate operative treatment, the majority of patients in Barretts, MO will experience lasting and meaningful progress through non-invasive physical therapy approaches.

What Barretts, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Involves

Your first pelvic floor therapy session in Barretts, MO will comprise an evaluation of your current pelvic floor health. The subsequent sessions will emphasize implementing your customized treatment program.

Assessment and Evaluation

The journey of pelvic floor therapy begins with an initial evaluation. In this appointment, your Barretts, MO physical therapist will dedicate time to understand you and your issues. They will inquire about your medical history, lifestyle, and goals. Additionally, they will perform a physical examination and musculoskeletal assessment of your trunk and pelvis to evaluate your current condition. With your approval, a pre-pelvic floor therapy assessment in Barretts, MO may also involve an internal examination to more assess the muscle strength level. Alternatively, biofeedback sensors can be utilized as an substitute to an internal examination.

The assessment and evaluation conducted by your physical therapist will aid in determining the potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and facilitate the formulation of an effective treatment plan to help you in getting back to the activities you love.

Pelvic Floor Therapy Treatments and Exercises

Upon reviewing the findings from your assessment and evaluation, your pelvic floor therapist in Barretts, MO will create a personalized treatment plan customized to your needs. This plan will incorporate defined goals, exercises, and anticipated outcomes to guide your therapy.

Exercises for Pelvic Floor Therapy

Improving strength and coordination is essential for any pelvic floor therapy plan. Exercises that may be included in your physical therapy treatment plan in Barretts, MO include:

• Kegel exercises to release and tighten the pelvic floor muscles
• Diaphragmatic breathing to harmonize your breath with your pelvic floor movement
• Flexibility exercises to loosen tight muscles
• Strengthening exercises to strengthen weak muscles
• Functional training to incorporate new muscle patterns into routine tasks

The exercises your Barretts, MO physical therapist prescribes for your pelvic floor dysfunction will differ based on your unique situation, but will all be aimed at retraining your body and muscles for optimal health. Depending on your existing health and level of pelvic floor dysfunction, exercises may commence with you lying flat on your back and evolve to sitting and upright positions.

Manual Therapy

Manual therapy, such as instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, involves your physical therapist using their hands to put pressure on and massage specific areas of your pelvis. It may include trigger point therapy (releasing tight knots in your muscles), nerve decompression (freeing up compressed nerves), joint mobilizing techniques (improving the mobility of your joints), deep tissue massage (relaxing tense muscles), or skin rolling (lifting and rolling the skin to reduce adhesions).

Biofeedback Training

Biofeedback training utilizes a device to gauge and display the activity of your pelvic floor muscles on a screen. It help you understand how to control and coordinate your pelvic floor muscles by giving you live feedback on how they contract and release. This feedback helps you better understand understand how to contract and release the muscles appropriately, optimizing your muscle coordination and command.

Behavioral and Lifestyle Modifications

Physical therapy isn’t just a collection of exercises to mark off – it also gives you entrée to skilled, research-supported insights that boost your everyday life. Your physical therapist may suggest you with:

• Changes to your nutrition
• Fluid management
• Proper posture and safe lifting methods
• Strategies for managing constipation
• Further recommendations for a more wholesome everyday life and lifestyle

Augmenting the exercises and techniques used in pelvic floor therapy with these adaptations fosters enhanced pelvic floor function and general well-being.

Other pelvic floor therapy techniques may include therapeutic ultrasound, electrical stimulation, vaginal dilators, weighted cones, medications, and other alternatives.

Axes Physical Therapy’s Approach to Pelvic Floor Therapy in Barretts, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy, we strongly believe in providing customized and caring treatment to our patients. Owned and operated by a dedicated physical therapist in Barretts, MO, our practice places our clients at the center and endeavors to obtain beneficial patient results. We understand that pelvic floor dysfunction can pose as a sensitive and demanding issue. That’s why we approach every patient with the highest respect, compassion, and customized attention.

We also embrace the belief in offering evidence-based and holistic care to our patients. We make use of up-to-date research and state-of-the-art technology to shape our treatment plans and methodologies. In addition, we present a range of other physical therapy services that can supplement your pelvic floor therapy, including:

• Orthopedic rehab
• Sports physical therapy
• Neurological physical therapy
• Geriatric physical therapy
• Pre- or post-surgery rehab

If you are interested in trying pelvic floor therapy in Barretts, MO, trust in Axes. We have several convenient physical therapy locations in the Barretts, MO area, all devoted to attaining your optimal pelvic health.

Call Axes Physical Therapy for Your Barretts, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Today

Don’t let pelvic floor dysfunction to hinder you from being the best version of yourself. At Axes, our dedicated physical and occupational therapists in Barretts, MO have a singular mission: returning you to the activities you treasure the most. Whether pelvic floor dysfunction is preventing your playing in your favorite sport or making it demanding to navigate your day, we will customize our physical therapy treatment plan specifically to you and your ambitions. Schedule an appointment through our website or contact the most convenient location to you to start your rehabilitation with Axes Physical Therapy in Barretts, MO today.