Pelvic floor therapy in Hazelwood, MO. Pelvic floor dysfunction doesn’t just cause pain; it can affect your self-perception and independence. If pelvic floor dysfunction is keeping you from getting back to a beloved activity, beginning parenthood, or just navigating a day with the same assurance and ease as before, pelvic floor physical therapy could be what you need to feel like your best you again. With research-supported treatment plans, pelvic floor therapy in Hazelwood, MO can help you achieve:

• Improved bladder and bowel control
• Reduced pain and swelling
• Enhanced sexual function and pleasure
• Increased confidence and quality of life

Axes Physical Therapy in Hazelwood, MO specializes in creating customized treatment plans that gets pelvic floor patients back to the pursuits they enjoy most securely and effectively. If you are interested in learning more about pelvic floor therapy or want to book an appointment with one of our specialists, please contact us online today or reach out to the Axes location nearest you. We’re here to help you reclaim command and confidence in your pelvic health.

How the Pelvic Floor Works

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments, and tissues that constitute 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 area, including the bladder, uterus, urethra, and rectum. The pelvic floor safeguards organs and your spine from outside pressure while helping control several important functions.

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

• Helps manage your bladder and bowels by providing you authority over the squeezing and relaxing of muscles
• Supports organs in the pelvis and avoids them from descending
• Resists abdominal pressure from lifting, coughing, or other activities
• Supports healthy sexual function
• Provides support and posture to the core and back
• During pregnancy, expands to accommodate a growing fetus and assists 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).

Picture the pelvic floor as a woven mesh of muscles and tissues that creates a sturdy foundation, supporting the pelvic organs in place and avoiding them from sagging. It works like a supportive 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 assists you to hold in your stool (puborectalis), one that connects the front and back bones of your pelvis and maintains 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 maintain your pelvis stable.

The pelvic floor muscles have important roles. They aid in controlling the release of urine and stool by contracting and relaxing at the appropriate times and contribute in sexual function and pleasure by supporting the organs involved in sexual activity. When the pelvic floor is weakened or becomes too tense, it leads to pelvic floor dysfunction.

Causes, Signs, and Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition where you have difficulty relaxing and aligning your pelvic floor muscles for ideal function.

Signs and Symptoms

• Challenges urinating or having bowel movements
• Feeling like your bowel movements are not fully finished
• Leakage of urine or feces
• Often feeling the urge to use the bathroom
• Feeling like you need to strain urine or feces
• Pelvic aches
• Pain during sex
• 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, there is hope with professional physical therapy in Hazelwood, MO. At Axes, we offer an entire team committed to helping you regain the joy of participating in the things 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 permanent condition. With practical treatment plans tailored for you by your Hazelwood, MO physical therapist, you can reclaim control over your life and enjoy a pain-free existence.

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

• Improved pelvic floor muscle strength — Strengthening pelvic floor muscles can aid in improving bladder and bowel control, diminish symptoms of urinary and fecal incontinence, and provide better support for the pelvic organs.
• Improved pelvic floor muscle coordination — Enhancing coordination supports essential functioning, such as relaxing and contracting muscles during urination, bowel movements, and sexual activity.
• Pain management — By targeting weaker or less flexible muscles and addressing sensitive areas, physical therapy can aid in diminishing or eliminating the pain you endure resulting from 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 assist in readying the pelvic floor for labor, minimizing the chance of after childbirth pelvic floor dysfunction, and facilitating healing from changes and trauma to the pelvic floor connected to giving birth.
• Sexual health improvement — By focusing on particular muscles and addressing any underlying issues, therapy can enhance sexual arousal, climax, and overall sexual fulfillment.
• Education and self-management — Your customized pelvic floor therapy plan will not solely include guided exercises. By providing information and guiding you in techniques you can practice on your own, your Axes physical therapist helps you actively participate in your own care and enables you to sustain a routine that supports pelvic floor wellness.

At Axes Physical Therapy, we have a team of knowledgeable pelvic floor therapists in Hazelwood, MO who can support you in enhancing your pelvic well-being and performance. Although certain instances of pelvic floor dysfunction may require surgical intervention, most patients in Hazelwood, MO will likely find lasting and substantial improvement through minimally invasive physical therapy methods.

What Hazelwood, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Involves

Your first pelvic floor therapy session in Hazelwood, MO will involve an examination of your current pelvic floor health. The remaining sessions will center around implementing your personalized treatment program.

Assessment and Evaluation

The journey of pelvic floor therapy begins with an initial assessment. During this phase, your Hazelwood, MO physical therapist will spend time to understand you and your issues. They will ask about your medical history, lifestyle, and goals. Additionally, they will perform 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 Hazelwood, MO may additionally involve an internal examination to more evaluate the muscle strength level. Alternatively, biofeedback sensors can be employed instead of an internal examination.

The assessment and evaluation carried out by your physical therapist will aid in identifying the potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and support the formulation of an suitable treatment plan to help you in resuming the activities you cherish.

Pelvic Floor Therapy Treatments and Exercises

Upon reviewing the findings from your assessment and evaluation, your pelvic floor therapist in Hazelwood, MO will create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs. This plan will include precise goals, exercises, and projected results to guide your therapy.

Exercises for Pelvic Floor Therapy

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

• Kegel exercises to loosen and tighten the pelvic floor muscles
• Diaphragmatic breathing to coordinate your breath with your pelvic floor motion
• Stretching exercises to loosen tight muscles
• Strengthening exercises to develop weak muscles
• Functional training to incorporate new muscle movements into routine tasks

The exercises your Hazelwood, MO physical therapist prescribes for your pelvic floor dysfunction will be different based on your unique needs, but will all be aimed at reconditioning your body and muscles for optimal health. Depending on your present health and level of pelvic floor dysfunction, exercises may begin with you lying down on your back and progress to sitting and standing positions.

Manual Therapy

Manual therapy, such as instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, is a hands-on technique that involves your physical therapist applying pressure or manipulating specific areas of your pelvis. It may include trigger point therapy (releasing tight knots in your muscles), nerve release (freeing up compressed nerves), joint manipulation (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 makes use of a device to measure and display the activity of your pelvic floor muscles on a screen. It help you learn how to regulate and coordinate your pelvic floor muscles by giving you real-time feedback on how they contract and release. This feedback helps you better understand understand how to activate and relax the muscles properly, optimizing your muscle alignment and command.

Behavioral and Lifestyle Modifications

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

• Adjustments to your eating habits
• Liquid control
• Correct body alignment and safe lifting methods
• Strategies for dealing with constipation
• Any other tips for a healthier day-to-day life and lifestyle

Complementing the exercises and techniques used in pelvic floor therapy with these adaptations encourages enhanced pelvic floor function and overall well-being.

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy, we wholeheartedly believe in delivering customized and caring treatment to our patients. Owned and operated by a devoted physical therapist in Hazelwood, MO, our practice is focused on the client and getting beneficial patient results. We realize that pelvic floor dysfunction can present as a delicate and demanding condition. That’s why we approach every patient with the highest respect, empathy, and personalized attention.

We also embrace the belief in delivering evidence-based and comprehensive care to our patients. We make use of up-to-date research and advanced technology to shape our treatment plans and methodologies. In addition, we offer 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 Hazelwood, MO, trust in Axes. We have several convenient physical therapy locations in the Hazelwood, MO area, all committed to realizing your best pelvic health.

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

Don’t let pelvic floor dysfunction to prevent you from being the best version of yourself. At Axes, our committed physical and occupational therapists in Hazelwood, MO have a unified mission: getting you back to the things you treasure the most. Whether pelvic floor dysfunction is preventing your participation in your favorite sport or making it challenging to get through your day, we will customize our physical therapy treatment plan precisely to you and your aspirations. Request an appointment through our website or contact the most convenient location to you to commence your recovery with Axes Physical Therapy in Hazelwood, MO today.