Pelvic floor therapy in Leadwood, MO. Pelvic floor causes more than just physical discomfort; it can impact your self-perception and independence. If pelvic floor dysfunction is preventing you from returning to a beloved activity, starting a family, or just getting through a day with the same assurance and comfort you used to, pelvic floor physical therapy may be what you need to feel like your best you again. With evidence-backed treatment plans, pelvic floor therapy in Leadwood, MO can help you experience:

• Improved bladder and bowel control
• Reduced discomfort and inflammation
• Enhanced sexual function and pleasure
• Increased confidence and well-being

Axes Physical Therapy in Leadwood, MO specializes in developing customized treatment plans that gets pelvic floor patients back to the pursuits they love most safely and successfully. If you are interested in gaining more information about pelvic floor therapy or want to book an appointment with one of our physical therapusts, please contact us online today or reach out to the Axes location nearest you. We’re here to help you regain control and assurance in your pelvic health.

Understanding the Pelvic Floor

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

The pelvic floor has numerous functions and roles:

• Helps manage your bladder and bowels by providing you authority over the squeezing and release of muscles
• Supports organs in the pelvis and prevents them from prolapsing
• Resists abdominal pressure from lifting, coughing, or other activities
• Supports well-functioning sexual function
• Provides support and alignment 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 sustain vibrant tissue

Pelvic Floor Anatomy

The pelvic floor muscles span 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).

Imagine the pelvic floor as a woven network of muscles and tissues that creates a resilient base, supporting the pelvic organs in place and avoiding them from descending down. It works like a supportive 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 helps 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 sustains the organs inside your abdomen (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 contribute in sexual function and satisfaction by providing support to the organs involved in sexual activity. When the pelvic floor is diminished 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 unwinding and coordinating 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
• Feeling like you need to strain urine or feces
• Pelvic pain
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Erectile dysfunction and difficulty ejaculating
• 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 Leadwood, MO. At Axes, we offer an entire team devoted to assisting you regain the pleasure of engaging in the activities 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 disappointed, embarrassed, or hopeless. But a diagnosis is far from a permanent condition. With practical treatment plans customized for you by your Leadwood, MO physical therapist, you can reclaim control over your life and enjoy a comfortable existence.

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 Leadwood, MO include:

• Improved pelvic floor muscle strength — Strengthening pelvic floor muscles can help 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 promotes essential functioning, such as relaxing and contracting muscles during urination, bowel movements, and sexual activity.
• Pain management — By targeting less resilient or stiffer muscles and addressing sensitive areas, physical therapy can support in diminishing or eliminating the discomfort you feel 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, decreasing the risk of after childbirth pelvic floor dysfunction, and facilitating recovery from changes and trauma to the pelvic floor associated with pregnancy and labor.
• Sexual health improvement — By focusing on specific muscles and dealing with any underlying issues, therapy can boost sexual excitement, orgasm, and general sexual fulfillment.
• Education and self-management — Pelvic floor therapy is about more than just checking exorcises off of a list. By providing education and guiding you in approaches you can utilize on your own, your Axes physical therapist helps you actively participate in your own care and empowers you to maintain a lifestyle that fosters pelvic floor wellness.

At Axes Physical Therapy, we have a team of skilled pelvic floor therapists in Leadwood, MO who can help you in enhancing your pelvic well-being and function. Although certain cases of pelvic floor dysfunction might require surgical correction, the majority of patients in Leadwood, MO will experience lasting and meaningful progress through minimally invasive physical therapy approaches.

What Leadwood, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Involves

Your initial pelvic floor therapy session in Leadwood, MO will comprise an examination of your existing pelvic floor health. The remaining sessions will center around implementing your customized treatment program.

Assessment and Evaluation

The journey of pelvic floor therapy begins with an initial evaluation. In this appointment, your Leadwood, MO physical therapist will spend time to familiarize themselves with 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 evaluate your present condition. With your consent, a pre-pelvic floor therapy assessment in Leadwood, MO may additionally include an internal examination to more assess the muscle strength level. Alternatively, biofeedback sensors can be employed as an alternative to an internal examination.

The assessment and evaluation carried out by your physical therapist will assist in recognizing the potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and enable the creation of an optimal treatment plan to assist you in getting back to the activities you cherish.

Pelvic Floor Therapy Treatments and Exercises

Upon reviewing the findings from your assessment and evaluation, your pelvic floor therapist in Leadwood, MO will develop a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs. This plan will include defined goals, exercises, and expected outcomes to guide your therapy.

Exercises for Pelvic Floor Therapy

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

• Kegel exercises to relax and contract the pelvic floor muscles
• Diaphragmatic breathing to sync your breath with your pelvic floor movement
• Stretching exercises to loosen tight muscles
• Resistance exercises to develop weak muscles
• Functional training to include new muscle movements into everyday tasks

The exercises your Leadwood, MO physical therapist prescribes for your pelvic floor dysfunction will change based on your specific 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 commence with you reclining on your back and progress 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 myofascial release (releasing tight knots in your muscles), nerve release (freeing up compressed nerves), joint mobilization (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 understand how to regulate and coordinate your pelvic floor muscles by giving you instant feedback on how they tighten and relax. This feedback helps you better understand understand how to engage and release the muscles appropriately, optimizing your muscle alignment and mastery.

Behavioral and Lifestyle Modifications

Physical therapy isn’t just a catalog of exercises to mark off – it also provides you with access to skilled, research-supported insights that enhance your day-to-day life. Your physical therapist may suggest you with:

• Alterations to your diet
• Liquid management
• Proper body alignment and lifting techniques
• Strategies for addressing constipation
• Further recommendations for a more wholesome day-to-day life and lifestyle

Complementing the exercises and techniques employed in pelvic floor therapy with these adjustments promotes better pelvic floor function and general well-being.

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy, we wholeheartedly believe in offering customized and empathetic treatment to our patients. Owned and operated by a devoted physical therapist in Leadwood, MO, our practice places our clients at the center and strives to attain beneficial patient results. We realize that pelvic floor dysfunction can pose as a sensitive and difficult condition. That’s why we approach every patient with the greatest respect, compassion, and personalized attention.

We also hold the belief in providing evidence-based and comprehensive care to our patients. We employ up-to-date research and cutting-edge technology to guide 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 considering pelvic floor therapy in Leadwood, MO at Axes Physical Therapy, we are here to help. We have several convenient physical therapy locations in the Leadwood, MO area, all committed to realizing your optimal pelvic health.

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

Don’t let pelvic floor dysfunction to impede you from being the best version of yourself. At Axes, our devoted physical and occupational therapists in Leadwood, MO have a unified mission: getting you back 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 goals. Request an appointment online or contact the nearest location to you to start your rehabilitation with Axes Physical Therapy in Leadwood, MO today.