SO WHAT IN THE WORLD IS PELVIC HEALTH PHYSIOTHERAPHY?
This is a question that many patients have when they learn about Jenn’s field of study because most people know little about it. Pelvic health physiotherapy is a growing branch within the scope of physiotherapy practice that offers treatment options for people with pelvic pain and/or dysfunction.
In fact, a 2010 collaborative research study determined that physiotherapy is the most effective first-line defense for the treatment of stress, urge and mixed incontinence.
“I PEE A LITTLE WHEN I EXCERCISE… THAT'S NORMAL, RIGHT?"
Believe it or not, 50 percent of women and one in nine men will experience urinary incontinence at some point in life. Many people believe it’s normal and expected after pregnancy or with age.
While it’s true that incontinence is common in women post-pregnancy and in older men and women, it shouldn’t be considered normal! Pelvic pain and incontinence are common issues in men and women for various reasons and there are treatment options available to people living with these issues.
Think about a distance runner with knee pain for a minute: Just because knee pain is common in runners, doesn’t mean a runner would think it’s normal to have knee pain while running, right? They would likely seek some form of treatment in hopes of fixing the issue to get them back to pain-free running.
Physiotherapists would assess the runner’s gait pattern, muscle strength, and flexibility to determine a root cause of their pain and dysfunction. They would then prescribe a combination of exercise and pain treatment modality to get them back to running without pain. Pelvic health physiotherapy takes the same approach. Finding the root cause of the issue allows the physiotherapist to treat the problem, decrease pain and eliminate dysfunction.