If you are looking for Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Grand Rapids or are curious as to what pelvic floor PT involves, read on!

Pelvic floor physical therapy is your solution and path forward to reclaiming your best self when you have issues related to bladder, bowel, intimacy, prolapse, genital pain, pelvic pain, hip and lower back pain.  Our licensed physical therapists specialize in treating men, women and kids who have pelvic floor dysfunction that results in a wide range of problems. We are fully trained orthopedic physical therapists, meaning that we are able to treat your entire body to properly and effectively address all contributing factors to your pelvic floor dysfunction and pelvic condition.

If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, which we provide in-person or via remote consultation for those who qualify, contact us here.

Imagine your quality of life if you didn’t have pelvic floor problems!  Our physical therapists are here to get you active and painfree again.

What would you be able to enjoy? Wouldn’t it be great to sign up for the Bridge Run in downtown Grand Rapids? How about sitting and driving to the UP without pelvic pain? Or, picture yourself running with your kids and not worrying about your bladder or pelvic organ prolapse. Consider what your relationship might feel like if sex were not painful. Pelvic floor physical therapy can help restore you to your best self.  By combining effective corrective exercises, postural improvements, stretches, strengthening and manual therapies you will notice that you feel better again.  If you are interested in inquiring about cost and availability of our services, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, offering specialty pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, Michigan and specifically providing one-on-one appointments with your PT that includes comprehensive techniques to recover from all ranges of pelvic conditions and pelvic floor dysfunction.

While you may never have heard of pelvic floor physical therapy, our founder, Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT has specialized in pelvic health PT for more than two decades.   She practiced in Chicago working closely with major research medical centers, such as Northwestern Medicine and Loyola Medicine, with their urogynecology & reconstructive medicine departments, OB/Gynes, colorectal surgeons, chronic pain specialists, urologists and other providers.   Now living and working in Grand Rapids, Dr. Maureen founded Purple Mountain Physical Therapy with a goal of providing our community results-oriented, personalized and specialized pelvic health physical therapy.  All of the staff at Purple Mountain PT are fully specialized in pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorders.   Our physical therapists are also mentored by Dr. Maureen and share her devotion to delivering compassionate, comprehensive care.

To ask us questions about pelvic floor physical therapy or to simply learn more from one of our knowledgable staff members, contact us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.

The Purple Mountain Physical Therapy Difference? What makes your pelvic floor physical therapy experience different here?

• We specialize in pelvic health, spine and TMJ disorders. Therefore, you are working with a professional who focuses exclusively on these conditions
• We provide you appointments that are upto 55 mintues in length, which allows you the time to receive comprehensive treatment.
• You will always have the undivided attention of your physical therapist.  You never share your appointment time with another patient.
• We never leave your side during exercises.  This is crucial because we cue you and teach you how to effectively breath, stack your posture, move, engage your core and activate your pelvic floor.  You can’t get that working with a PT who is halfway across the clinic, treating another patient instead of you.
• We provide whole body care.  This is because we understand the complexities of pelvic health, anatomy and the many things that may be contributing to your pelvic floor dysfunction.  For example, do you have plantar fasciitis?  This can complicate pelvic floor issues.  Do you have neck problems?  This can worsen pelvic floor problems. Do you have tightness in your midback?  This can effect bladder pain and testicular pain.  Our PTs will treat anything that may be needed to get you feeling better.
• We offer trauma informed care.  This means, we offer a therapeutic experience rooted in safety and trustworthiness.  We lead with compassion and meet you where you are at, allowing transparency with decisions.  We recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma and understand that the pelvic floor often mysteriously holds this trauma.  We are interested in undertanding your life circumstances or past experiences, if you feel comfortable sharing.  We work with you to create a safe, trusting and therapeutic relationship within the boundaries you determine that allow a path for recovery.  If you have anxiety, depression or have experienced mental, sexual, bodily or other trauma you can count on our entire clinic to meet you with compassion and respect and to provide you a safe, therapeutic place to receive your care.  You are always in control and it is very important to us to avoid re-traumatization.
• We also like to ensure that our therapy will meet your needs, so you can expect to have a conversation about your condition and your needs with one of our knowledgable staff members before getting started in pelvic floor PT.

• To start this conversation and get your questions about pelvic floor physical therapy answered, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.  

If you want to imagine how pelvic floor physical therapy might help you, read what one patient told us following her pelvic floor physical therapy:

“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help and treatment! I feel great still and I thank God everyday for meeting you! It really changed my life and I don’t have pain! I can’t thank you enough! May God bless you and your family!”    Female, endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain

When you choose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, here are some things to expect:

You will be treated by a Doctor of Physical Therapy who has post-doctoral training in pelvic health, pelvic floor rehabilitation and pelvic floor dysfunction. This includes conditions such as female pelvic health throughout the lifespan, male pelvic health, chronic pelvic pain, sexual health, painful sex, interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, chronic prostatitis, Pudendal neuralgia, clitorodynia, persistent genital arousal disorder, coccydynia, peri-menopause and menopause related health, post-prostatectomy rehabilitation, urinary incontinence, post-partum recovery and pregnancy care.

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy at Purple Mountain PT is Comprehensive and Cares for Your Whole Body.  We evaluate and treat a lot more than the pelvic floor muscles.

• The first appointment includes both comfortable conversation & examination. 

We allow you the time to tell us your symptoms, history and goals.  The examination is customized to your needs and preferences.   Your first visit may focus on your lower back, pelvic alignment, pelvic floor strength, abdominal wall, scar tissue, hips or any other area necessary.

• When we evaluate your back, hips, abdomen and thighs we look at strength, flexibility, muscle and fascia tissue quality, joint mobility, postural alignment, movement patterns and more.

Because everyone’s needs vary, the specifics of what you can expect might range from basic movements like standing, balancing and squat to more complex movements such as hopping or jumping.

• You will receive an assessment of your abdominal wall to determine strength, tension, restrictions, integrity of your linea alba, rib cage movement, diaphragmatic breathing, bloating, visceral mobility and more.

Most patients are evaluated for a diastasis rectus abdominus, which is a separation of the abdominal wall. This evaluation involves you lying on the table and your physical therapist gently touching your abdomen. You also will be asked to move your body in certain, gentle ways as we assess you for a diastasis rectus abdominus (DRA).

• Because scar tissue can contribute to pain and other problems, we check your abdomen for scar tissue restrictions.

We will examine and treat all scars related to C-sections, robotic surgeries, hysterectomy, laparoscopic surgeries, testicular torsion surgery and hernias.

To get started, you don’t need a referral or prescription; you just have to call us at 616-516-4334 and you’ll talk with one of our knowledgable team members who can answer your questions or explain what to expect.  You can also contact us here and we will be in touch with you.

With your permission, we may evaluate and treat your pelvic floor muscles to see if you have pelvic floor dysfunction:

• Pelvic floor physical therapy may also include a gentle examination of the muscles internally, either through a vaginal exam or rectal exam.

We do not use instruments or tools, so our examinations are typically not painful. We are specialized pelvic health licensed physical therapists and we provide a detailed and gentle examination.

• We examine every pelvic floor muscle, hip muscles, pelvic bones and joints (such as pubic bones, SI joint and tailbone), locations where nerves enter/exit the pelvis to look for pinched nerves and associated fascia throughout the pelvis.

We provide feedback and education so you know exactly what we are finding and treating.

• Follow up appointments are often a combination of hands-on manual therapy techniques, neural calming, biofeedback, strength and conditioning, fascia flow exercise, core coordination & pelvic floor rehabilitation exercises and patient education.

• We teach you exercises and behavioral strategies

You will know what you can do on your own to help yourselve.  Patients tell us they feel so relieved to have a focused, customized plan to implement that will help their pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder problem, bowel issue, intimacy pain or other pain (such as testicular pain, pubic pain, endometriosis pain, abdominal pain or bladder pain related to interstitial cystitis).

• Pelvic PT visits often include patient education and instruction in neural calming, pelvic floor coordination exercises, core exercises, bladder retraining strategies and other corrective exercises. 

Patients tell us that learning what they should be doing and what they need to avoid is invaluable.  Neural calming is a valuable part of our pelvic pain treatments as well as bladder, bowel and TMJ disorder physical therapy.

If you may benefit from working with one of our pelvic health physical therapists, but you have some questions, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here and we will be in touch with you.

• For most people appointments are once a week, although this can vary. All appointments are private, 55 minutes long and with the same therapist.

We never treat another patient during your appointment and we do not utilize lesser trained staff or aides to give you pelvic floor therapy treatment.  We want you to experience results and, therefore, we make a commitment to you and pledge to meet your needs. This is part of our patient-centered, compassionate treatment mission.

• We offer remote consultations and telehealth appointments, also, for those who qualify. 

Some patients come to their pelvic floor physical therapy to our clinic in Grand Rapids for some visits and have telehealth visits for other visits, it depends on your needs.

• If you are interested in talking with one of our knowledgable team members about our pelvic floor physical therapy program in Grand Rapids or a remote consultation, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.  We love to answer your questions!

Most important of all, pelvic floor physical therapy gets you back to doing the things you want to do!

We’ve had patients be able to return to just about any activity you can imagine: water skiing, traveling abroad, sitting for road trips, sexual intimacy, CrossFit workouts, jumping jacks, racquetball, basketball, fishing, running around with their kids, baking, dancing, yoga, job interviews, sitting during tax season, starting new jobs, babysitting, college and more! Tell us your goal and we will help you reach them!

• Urinary incontinence? Yes, we help this!
• Postpartum pelvic floor dysfunction and split abdominals? Yes, we help this!
• Urge incontinence when trying to get to the bathroom? Yes, we help this!
• Inability to have sex because of pain? Yes, we help this!
• Chronic prostatitis pain? Yes!
• Pelvic floor dysfunction? Yes!
• Pelvic Organ Prolapse? Yes!

At Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, this work is a calling and an honor to get to know you. We are in this field to improve lives, one person at a time. We enjoy meeting you, learning about your busy life and helping you get back to all the things you dream of!

Do you think you may benefit from pelvic floor Physical Therapy? Call us to inquire about cost and availability and to get your questions answered: 616-516-4334

We hope this answers some of your questions about what to expect should you need pelvic floor physical therapy in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via a remote consultation with one of our specialized physical therapists. To answer any other questions such as cost or availability, contact us here! We promise to give you our best and to welcome you graciously.

Peace,
Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

You may be interested in these other articles we’ve written:

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

Pelvic PT for Testicular Pain (Orchialgia) in Grand Rapids

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Bladder Problems. What’s Going On?

What Can I Do Naturally to Help My TMJ? 8 Tips That Help!

What Does TMJ Physical Therapy Help?

Endometriosis Physical Therapy Treatment in Grand Rapids