Pelvic floor therapy in St. Charles, MO. Pelvic floor causes more than just physical discomfort; it can impact your sense of self and independence. If pelvic floor dysfunction is keeping you from returning to a favorite activity, starting a family, or just getting through a day with the same confidence 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 St. Charles, MO can help you experience:

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

Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO specializes in developing personalized treatment plans that gets pelvic floor patients back to the activities they enjoy most safely and effectively. If you are curious in finding out more about pelvic floor therapy or wish to arrange an appointment with one of our experts, please contact us online today or contact to the Axes location nearest you. We’re here to help you restore control and assurance in your pelvic health.

Understanding the Pelvic Floor

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

The pelvic floor has several functions and roles:

• Helps regulate your bladder and bowels by providing you control over the squeezing and relaxing of muscles
• Supports organs in the pelvis and prevents them from prolapsing
• Resists abdominal pressure from lifting, coughing, or other activities
• Supports healthy sexual function
• Provides support 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, helping to sustain vibrant 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 forms a strong foundation, supporting the pelvic organs in place and avoiding them from descending down. It works like a supportive sling to preserve 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 works to maintain your pelvis stable.

The pelvic floor muscles have important roles. They aid in regulating the release of urine and stool by contracting and relaxing at the right 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 experience 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 push out waste
• Pelvic aches
• 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 can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or physical ability. While it can affect anyone deeply, there is hope with professional physical therapy in St. Charles, MO. At Axes, we offer an entire team devoted to helping you recover the pleasure of engaging 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 despairing. But a diagnosis is not the same thing as a permanent condition. With practical treatment plans customized for you by your St. Charles, 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 benefits of physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction in St. Charles, 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 facilitates essential functioning, such as relaxing and contracting muscles during urination, bowel movements, and sexual activity.
• Pain management — By targeting less resilient or less flexible muscles and addressing trigger points, physical therapy can support in reducing or eliminating the pain you feel 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 childbirth, minimizing the likelihood of postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction, and helping recuperation from changes and trauma to the pelvic floor associated with giving birth.
• Sexual health improvement — By concentrating on particular muscles and addressing any subsurface issues, therapy can enhance sexual arousal, orgasm, and overall sexual satisfaction.
• Education and self-management — Pelvic floor therapy is about more than just checking exorcises off of a list. By offering information and teaching you approaches you can utilize autonomously, your Axes physical therapist helps you actively participate in your own care and enables you to sustain a way of life that supports pelvic floor health.

At Axes Physical Therapy, we have a team of experienced pelvic floor therapists in St. Charles, MO who can support you in boosting your pelvic well-being and performance. While certain instances of pelvic floor dysfunction might necessitate operative treatment, most individuals in St. Charles, MO will likely experience sustained and substantial improvement through minimally invasive physical therapy techniques.

What St. Charles, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Involves

Your first pelvic floor therapy session in St. Charles, MO will include an examination of your existing pelvic floor health. The following sessions will emphasize implementing your personalized treatment program.

Assessment and Evaluation

The journey of pelvic floor therapy begins with an initial assessment. In this appointment, your St. Charles, MO physical therapist will dedicate time to get to know you and your issues. 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 present condition. With your approval, a pre-pelvic floor therapy assessment in St. Charles, MO may also involve an internal examination to further determine the strength level. Alternatively, biofeedback sensors can be used as an alternative to an internal examination.

The assessment and evaluation carried out by your physical therapist will help in identifying the potential causes of your pelvic floor dysfunction and support the creation of an suitable 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 St. Charles, MO will develop a personalized treatment plan customized to your needs. This plan will incorporate specific goals, exercises, and expected outcomes to guide your therapy.

Exercises for Pelvic Floor Therapy

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

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

The exercises your St. Charles, MO physical therapist prescribes for your pelvic floor dysfunction will be different based on your specific needs, but will all be aimed at rehabilitating your body and muscles for optimal health. Depending on your existing health and level of pelvic floor dysfunction, exercises may commence with you reclining on your back and gradually advance 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 myofascial release (releasing tight knots in your muscles), nerve mobilization (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 align your pelvic floor muscles by giving you real-time feedback on how they tighten and relax. This feedback helps you better understand understand how to engage and relax the muscles correctly, 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 advise you with:

• Changes to your diet
• Fluid regulation
• Appropriate body alignment and safe lifting methods
• Tactics for addressing constipation
• Additional tips for a better everyday life and way of living

Augmenting the exercises and techniques utilized in pelvic floor therapy with these modifications encourages enhanced pelvic floor function and overall well-being.

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

Axes Physical Therapy’s Approach to Pelvic Floor Therapy in St. Charles, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy, we strongly believe in providing individualized and empathetic treatment to our patients. Owned and operated by a dedicated physical therapist in St. Charles, MO, our practice places our clients at the center and aims to achieve beneficial patient results. We understand that pelvic floor dysfunction can pose as a challenging and difficult issue. That’s why we approach every patient with the greatest respect, empathy, and customized attention.

We also subscribe to the belief in providing evidence-based and holistic care to our patients. We make use of up-to-date research and state-of-the-art technology to inform our treatment plans and methodologies. In addition, we provide a range of other physical therapy services that can complement 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 St. Charles, MO at Axes Physical Therapy, we are here to help. We have several convenient physical therapy locations in the St. Charles, MO area, all devoted to realizing your best pelvic health.

Call Axes Physical Therapy for Your St. Charles, MO Pelvic Floor Therapy Today

Don’t let pelvic floor dysfunction to impede you from being the best version of yourself. At Axes, our dedicated physio and occupational therapists in St. Charles, MO have a unified mission: getting you back to the things you value the most. Whether pelvic floor dysfunction is preventing your participation in your favorite sport or making it difficult to navigate your day, we will tailor our physical therapy treatment plan specifically to you and your ambitions. Schedule an appointment through our website or reach out to the most convenient location to you to commence your path with Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO today.