Pelvic floor therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO. Pelvic floor dysfunction doesn’t just cause hurt; it can impact your sense of self and happiness. If pelvic floor dysfunction is keeping you from dominating on the basketball court, beginning parenthood, or just getting through a day with the same confidence and ease as before, pelvic floor physical therapy may be what you need to regain your lifestyle. With research-supported treatment plans, pelvic floor therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO can help you with:

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

Axes Physical Therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO specializes in developing customized treatment plans that gets pelvic floor patients back to the pastimes they love most securely and successfully. If you are interested in learning more about pelvic floor therapy or want to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists, please contact us online today or contact to the Axes location nearest you. We’re here to help you reclaim command and assurance in your pelvic health.

How the Pelvic Floor Works

The pelvic floor is a complex of muscles, ligaments, and tissues that create a supportive web-like structure at the bottom of the pelvis. It acts like a “floor” or a foundation for the organs in the pelvic region, including the bladder, uterus, urethra, and rectum. The pelvic floor protects organs and your spine from outside pressure while helping manage several important functions.

The pelvic floor provides a number of vital functions for the body:

• Helps control your bladder and bowels by providing you control over the squeezing and release of muscles
• Supports organs in the pelvis and prevents them from descending
• Resists abdominal pressure from lifting, coughing, or other activities
• Supports well-functioning sexual function
• Provides stability and posture to the core and back
• During pregnancy, stretches to accommodate a growing fetus and assists in childbirth
• Assists in blood and lymph circulation, contributing to sustain healthy tissue

Pelvic Floor Anatomy

The pelvic floor muscles stretch 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 openings or canals for the urethra (through which urine is passed), the vagina, and the anus (through which stool is passed).

Picture the pelvic floor as a woven mesh of muscles and tissues that constructs a resilient foundation, supporting the pelvic organs in place and avoiding them from sagging. It works like a reinforcing sling to uphold the position and function of pelvic organs.

The chief 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 helps 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 lower belly (iliococcygeus). The coccygeus connects the side and back bones of your pelvis and helps to maintain your pelvis stable.

The pelvic floor muscles have crucial roles. They help in regulating the release of urine and stool by contracting and relaxing at the correct times and play a part in sexual function and pleasure by providing support to the organs involved in sexual activity. When the pelvic floor is compromised or becomes too tense, it leads to pelvic floor dysfunction.

Causes, Signs, and Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

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

Signs and Symptoms

• Challenges urinating or having bowel movements
• Feeling like your bowel movements are incomplete
• Leakage of urine or feces
• Frequently feeling the urge to use the bathroom
• Sensation of needing to push out urine or feces
• Pelvic discomfort
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Erectile dysfunction and difficulty 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 affect anyone deeply, it’s important to remember that proven, evidence-backed treatment plans exist with professional physical therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO. At Axes, we offer an entire team dedicated to assisting you regain the joy of engaging in the pursuits you treasure most in life.

How Physical Therapy Can Help With Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

If you are suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction, you may feel frustrated, embarrassed, or hopeless. But a diagnosis is far from a life sentence. With practical treatment plans tailored for you by your Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapist, you can regain control over your life and experience a pain-free life.

Pelvic floor therapy involves exercises that can build strength in, stretch, or coordinate the pelvic muscles. The benefits of physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction in Chain of Rocks, MO include:

• Improved pelvic floor muscle strength — Strengthening pelvic floor muscles can aid 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 the ability to relax and contract the muscles during urination, bowel movements, and sexual activity.
• Pain management — By targeting less resilient or less flexible muscles and addressing painful spots, physical therapy can support in diminishing or eradicating the discomfort you endure due to pelvic floor dysfunction.
• Pre- and postpartum care — Pelvic floor therapy is frequently advised for expecting mothers and those who have just given birth. It can aid in readying the pelvic floor for labor, reducing the risk of after childbirth pelvic floor dysfunction, and promoting recovery from changes and trauma to the pelvic floor associated with giving birth.
• Sexual health improvement — By targeting 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 approaches you can practice autonomously, your Axes physical therapist helps you take an active role in your own care and empowers you to maintain a way of life that promotes pelvic floor wellness.

At Axes Physical Therapy, we have a team of knowledgeable pelvic floor therapists in Chain of Rocks, MO who can help you in boosting your pelvic health and function. Although some instances of pelvic floor dysfunction may necessitate operative treatment, the majority of individuals in Chain of Rocks, MO will find lasting and significant progress through minimally invasive physical therapy techniques.

What Chain of Rocks, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Involves

Your first pelvic floor therapy session in Chain of Rocks, MO will involve an evaluation of your existing pelvic floor health. The remaining sessions will focus on implementing your customized treatment program.

Assessment and Evaluation

The journey of pelvic floor therapy begins with an initial evaluation. In this appointment, your Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapist will dedicate time to understand you and your symptoms. They will inquire about your medical history, lifestyle, and goals. Additionally, they will conduct a physical examination and musculoskeletal assessment of your trunk and pelvis to determine your current condition. With your approval, a pre-pelvic floor therapy assessment in Chain of Rocks, MO may additionally include an internal examination to better assess the strength level. Alternatively, biofeedback sensors can be used instead of an internal examination.

The assessment and evaluation carried out by your physical therapist will help in recognizing the potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and enable the development of an optimal treatment plan to assist you in returning 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 Chain of Rocks, MO will create a personalized treatment plan customized to your needs. This plan will include specific goals, techniques, and anticipated results to guide your therapy.

Exercises for Pelvic Floor Therapy

Improving muscle strength and balance is crucial for any pelvic floor therapy plan. Exercises that may be included in your physical therapy treatment plan in Chain of Rocks, MO include:

• Kegel exercises to loosen and engage the pelvic floor muscles
• Diaphragmatic breathing to sync your breath with your pelvic floor motion
• Stretching exercises to loosen tight muscles
• Resistance exercises to build up weak muscles
• Functional training to incorporate new muscle actions into daily activities

The exercises your Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapist prescribes for your pelvic floor dysfunction will change based on your unique needs, but will all be aimed at retraining your body and muscles for optimal health. Depending on your present health and level of pelvic floor dysfunction, exercises may begin with you lying flat on your back and evolve to seated and standing 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 release (freeing up compressed nerves), joint mobilizing techniques (improving the mobility of your joints), deep tissue massage (relaxing tense muscles), or skin mobilization (lifting and rolling the skin to reduce adhesions).

Biofeedback Training

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

Behavioral and Lifestyle Modifications

Physical therapy isn’t just a catalog of exercises to complete – it also gives you entry to expert, evidence-based insights that improve your day-to-day life. Your physical therapist may recommend you with:

• Adjustments to your eating habits
• Fluid regulation
• Proper posture and safe lifting methods
• Tactics for dealing with constipation
• Any other recommendations for a more wholesome daily life and lifestyle

Augmenting the exercises and techniques utilized in pelvic floor therapy with these adaptations fosters better pelvic floor function and overall well-being.

Other methods in pelvic floor therapy may include therapeutic ultrasound, electrical stimulation, vaginal dilators, weighted cones, medications, and additional alternatives.

Axes Physical Therapy’s Approach to Pelvic Floor Therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy, we wholeheartedly believe in offering individualized and empathetic treatment to our patients. Owned and operated by a devoted physical therapist in Chain of Rocks, MO, our practice is focused on the client and getting favorable patient results. We realize that pelvic floor dysfunction can pose as a delicate and demanding condition. That’s why we approach every patient with the utmost respect, empathy, and tailored attention.

We also embrace the belief in offering evidence-based and comprehensive care to our patients. We utilize up-to-date research and state-of-the-art technology to guide our treatment plans and methodologies. In addition, we provide a range of other physical therapy services that can enhance your pelvic floor therapy, including:

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

If you are exploring pelvic floor therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO, trust in Axes. We have several convenient physical therapy locations in the Chain of Rocks, MO area, all devoted to realizing your optimal pelvic health.

Call Axes Physical Therapy for Your Chain of Rocks, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Today

Don’t let pelvic floor dysfunction to impede you from being your favorite version of yourself. At Axes, our committed physio and occupational therapists in Chain of Rocks, MO have a unified mission: returning you to the things you treasure the most. Whether pelvic floor dysfunction is keeping your participation in your favorite sport or making it difficult to manage your day, we will tailor our physical therapy treatment plan precisely to you and your ambitions. Schedule an appointment through our website or reach out to the nearest location to you to start your path with Axes Physical Therapy in Chain of Rocks, MO today.