Authors| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT
What can pelvic floor physical therapy help with?
Here at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, we specialize in pelvic floor PT and often are asked what we actually help treat. Many people are familiar with pelvic floor PT to help stress incontinence that some women experience after giving birth, such as leaking urine while doing jumping jacks or running after your toddler. Yes, we do help that, but we also do so much more! If you are looking for a solution to bladder control, postpartum recovery, pelvic pain, endometriosis pain, interstitial cystitis, overactive bladder, pediatric constipation or enuresis, we are here to help you. Reach out to us at 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff members or submit your questions here.
Pelvic floor PT helps treat back, hip, pelvic, groin, bladder, pelvic organ prolapse, bowel, intimacy and abdominal conditions
While you may know that pelvic PT can help with bladder control, such as the involuntary loss of urine when laughing (stress urinary incontinence), people are often less aware that our physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT also treat back and hip problems, neck pain, headaches, abdominal conditions, pregnancy and postpartum pain and recovery, overactive bladder, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, male pelvic pain (penis pain, testicular pain) and intimacy related pain or problems. To inquire if we can help you, call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
At Purple Mountain PT our licensed physical therapists are doctors of physical therapy. In addition to our graduate education in the field of physical therapy rehabilitation, we also have post-graduate education specific to pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, orthopedic injuries, neck, back and hip problems.
Our physical therapists help people overcome a wide variety of pelvic conditions including:
Bladder conditions: we treat all urinary incontinence conditions, urinary urgency and frequency, overactive bladder syndrome. urinary retention, interstitial cystitis, urge incontinence, stress incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse related bladder control issues, neurogenic bladder, enuresis (pediatric incontinence), nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) and dysuria.
Pelvic Pain conditions: we treat all abdominal, pelvic, hip and low back pain conditions. These include chronic pelvic pain, myofascial pain, pelvic organ prolapse pain, painful constipation, abdominal pain, endometriosis, chronic prostatitis pain syndrome, testicular pain (Orchialgia), pudendal neuralgia, coccydynia (tailbone pain), SPD (pubic pain), sciatica, herniated disc, low back pain, degenerative disc disease, hip labral tear, hip pain, hip bursitis, gluteal tendinopathy, testicular pain, vaginismus, dyspareunia, vulvodynia, provoked vestibulodynia, abdominal surgery scar pain, pregnant or postpartum pain, SI joint pain, C-section pain and more. If you have a rare condition, chances are we have treated it before. We’ve been doing this for a long time and pledge to offer you our best.
Bowel conditions: we treat a variety of bowel conditions including chronic constipation, hemorrhoids and anal fissures from constipation, rectocele, fecal incontinence, encopresis, flatulence incontinence, visceral adhesions, bowel obstructions, congenital anorectal defects, bloating related to constipation, irritable bowel and associated pain and gut motility issues. If you have a bowel issues and wonder if our pelvic physical therapists can help you, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to get your questions answered.
Pregnancy and Postpartum conditions: we have post-graduate education and years of experience working with all pregnancy and postpartum conditions including SPD (pubic pain), SI joint dysfunction, hip pain in pregnancy or postpartum, low back pain, diastasis recti abdominis, traumatic birth injury recovery, vulvar swelling and more. We’ve written some information about exercise in pregnancy here.
Childhood bladder and bowel problems: enuresis, encopresis, constipation, congenital anorectal defects, bedwetting, bloating, regression in potty training and more.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse: we work with all varieties of prolapse and help enhance your pelvic organ support while also addressing any bladder, bowel, pain or intimacy problems associated with prolapse. You may be interested to read this blog we wrote about our prolapse treatment.
Post-Operative rehabilitation: we help individuals following hysterectomy, cesarean birth, endometriosis excision surgery, pelvic organ prolapse reconstructive surgery, prostatectomy procedures, hernia repair, lumbar discectomy, lumbar fusion surgery, hip labral repair and more. We wrote an article with some tips for c-section recovery, you can check it out here.
Chronic Pelvic Pain conditions: we have a soft spot for people who experience chronic pain, such as chronic prostatitis pain syndrome, endometriosis, pudendal neuralgia, persistent genital arousal disorder, chronic testicular pain (orchialgia), interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome) and more. Our comprehensive and whole body care brings relief when our patients feel hopeless. We’ve been doing this work for a long time and our patients tell us that the insights and treatments they receive alleviate their pain, improve their ability to enjoy life and give them hope again. We’ve written some tips that may help you ease your pelvic pain. If you have chronic back, hip or pelvic pain and would like to know if our pelvic floor, hip and spine physical therapists can help you, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to get your questions answered.
Intimacy related conditions: our physical therapists help women and men who experience pain related to intimacy. This includes vaginismus, dyspareunia, vulvodynia, persistent genital arousal disorder, post-intimacy pain flare ups, pelvic floor spasm, inability to have penetrative sex and other issues.
We help resolve pelvic floor dysfunction and we also treat sciatica, pinched nerves, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, post-operative low back and neck surgeries, femoral acetabular impingement syndrome, hip labral tears, hip osteoarthritis and more. Did you know that most of these conditions also have pelvic floor dysfunction happening?
Our patients tell us that our treatment is more comprehensive than they have received elsewhere. This may be due to the fact that at Purple Mountain PT we provide whole body care because we know that your entire body works as a system and problems far away from your problem can contribute to your issues. We also hear that our private, 55 minute appointments with your doctor of physical therapy give you more time and one-on-one care from your PT than you receive elsewhere. If you have questions about cost and availability of our therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff who can help you determine if we may be able to help you.
If you have hip and back problems, you also have pelvic floor dysfunction. We help find lasting relief from hip and back pain by including pelvic floor treatment in your care. This is often neglected and one reason why your pain may become chronic.
Research has found that people with chronic low back pain typically also have pelvic floor dysfunction. It makes sense when you consider that the “core muscles” we know to be so important for helping back pain, include the back muscles, abdominals, breathing muscles and the pelvic floor. Because our therapists treat your pelvic floor while you rehabilitate your low back, we are often able to help people finally resolve chronic back pain, even when other therapies haven’t helped. If you have questions about our care and your condition, reach out to us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here.
Pelvic floor physical therapy helps you to function, move and enjoy life without pelvic pain, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, prolapse and intimacy challenges.
Pelvic floor physical therapy focuses on optimizing your bowel, bladder, organ support, core muscles and sexual health. This often includes working with your entire body to optimize your posture, alignment, fascia, joint mobility, muscular coordination, breathing or scar tissue. It is common that a person who comes to us has pelvic floor dysfunction, so we provide treatment to these pelvic floor muscles to promote adequate mobility, function, and strength. If you have questions about cost and availability of our therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff who can help you determine if we may be able to help you.
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy helps you exercise without urinary incontinence
One of our areas of speciality is helping women with postpartum recovery. We all know that it is very common for women to be unable to run, jump, do jumping jacks, use a trampoline, cough, perform double unders or sneeze without losing urine. If you are looking for a solution to this stress incontinence problem so that you can exercise without leakage, we are here to help you. Our treatments are natural and comprehensive. Solving stress incontinence takes a whole lot more than doing Kegels. We will work on your posture, breathing, core activation, glutes, lifting techniques, balance and pelvic floor function. The pelvic floor exercises we complete target pelvic floor muscle activation, timing, speed of firing, lengthening, relaxing and activating. If you have questions about our services to help your bladder control problems call us at 616-516-4334 or submit a question to us here. We over treatment in-person in Grand Rapids and via telehealth, for those who qualify.
What are the Pelvic Floor Muscles?
Your pelvic floor muscles and fascia line the basin of the bones of your pelvis and similar to the shape of a hammock, they form the bottom of your pelvic bowl. The pelvic floor actually includes arteries, veins, nerves, ligaments, fascia, and muscles. Therefore, pelvic floor physical therapy works to optimize all of these structures, to enhance your circulation, ease tension on nerves, resolve restrictions in all the tissues, restore mobility and improve strength. Pelvic floor physical therapy can help with optimizing nerve mobility, blood flow, and balance within the fascial system in addition to helping your pelvic floor muscles. If you have questions about cost and availability of our therapists, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff who can help you determine if we may be able to help you.
Who does Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help?
We help women, men and kids who experience all ranges of pelvic conditions. Our doctors of physical therapy have post-graduate training specific to the pelvic health needs of all populations. This is one thing that sets us apart; we have taken the time and established our clinical interest & experience in learning male pelvic health, female pelvic health and child & adolescent pelvic health. Each population has unique needs and we are prepared to help treat any pelvic conditions for all of these individuals. While we are specialists in rehabilitating pelvic floor dysfunction, this specialty also includes a lot more than simple bladder control issues. Some people aren’t sure if they have pelvic floor dysfunction; we’ve written some information about that topic here. If you are wondering if our pelvic physical therapists can help you, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to get your questions answered.
Women Experience More Pelvic Floor Issues than Men. Pelvic Floor Therapy Can Help!
Women may benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy at many stages throughout their lifespan including to help with painful periods, promoting fertility, endometriosis, pregnancy care, postpartum recovery, and during the menopause transition to support bone health and vaginal tissue mobility. If you are wondering if our pelvic floor physical therapy can help you, contact us here or call 616-516-4334 to speak with our knowledgeable staff to get your questions answered. Our physical therapists treat men, women and children. Our specialization has required post-graduate training specific to each of these fields; we have not adapted “women’s health physical therapy” to men and children.
Pelvic Floor PT can help with Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Whereas men simply have the rectal opening, women have both the rectum and the vaginal canal. As a result, we are more likely to experience pelvic organ prolapse and pelvic floor dysfunction that results in urinary incontinence or pelvic pain, during our lifespan. Our licensed physical therapists have post-doctoral training and experience helping women improve their pelvic organ prolapse. We offer a comprehensive pelvic PT program that holistically improves prolapse issues, including incontinence, painful sex, pelvic pressure and constipation. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for prolapse, call (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Pelvic Floor PT can Help with Urinary Incontinence, Including Adolescent Female Athletes
It is well documented that adolescent female athletes who participate in cutting and jumping sports, such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics, experience stress urinary incontinence. A 2021 systematic review of 209 research studies regarding urinary incontinence in female athletes less than 19 years old found
Adolescent female athletes’ urinary incontinence rates average 48.58%!
The rates of incontinence, across all studies, was between 18% to 80%
The sports with the highest incidence of adolescent urinary incontinence were jumping rope and trampoline sports.
Impact sports also had high prevalence of urinary incontinence.
For any female who has ever experienced urinary incontinence, you understand this problem is private and can be embarrassing.
80% of the athletes in these studies were too embarrassed about their urinary incontinence to tell their coaches. We are here to help you.
We provide discreet and private treatment that is comfortable, trauma informed and customized to your needs. Our athletes can complete sports simulated exercises to retrain their pelvic floor and bladder control, under the guidance of our licensed physical therapist. Keeping silent about urinary incontinence is no way to live! Our goal is to empower women and girls to be their best self and to receive proper and effective pelvic PT to resolve this. The 209 studies also found that the athlete’s quality of life was affected and sports performance could be diminished if an athlete has incontinence.
In our work with adolescent athletes here at Purple Mountain PT, our athletes have told us that they have stopped being as aggressive with going after a ball or have given up certain jumps in their sport.
The 209 studies found that urinary incontinence leads to sport drop-out, also. This breaks our heart, because we want our next generation of females to be strong, fit and capable of living life without restrictions! We know that exercise and sports improve mood and self-esteem. Pelvic PT can help resolve urinary incontinence that occurs in sport. It also can help resolve incontinence that is present when postpartum, perimenopausal or any other time during our lives. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for urinary incontinence and athletes, call (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Issues with incontinence do not improve without proper treatment.
Women who are having what they might consider “minor” issues; like small leaks with a cough or sneeze need proper pelvic floor physical therapy now. Do not wait for issues to get worse later. You only get one pelvis in your life. It can heal with the proper care. Our clinical experience and published research have demonstrated that urinary incontinence does not disappear without treatment. We provide customized and holistic care that optimizes your bladder function and control. If you are in need of high-quality pelvic PT for incontinence, call us at (616) 516-4334 to learn more or contact us here.
Men have pelvic floors too! Pelvic floor physical therapy helps men with pelvic pain, chronic prostatitis, urinary problems, intimacy related pain or constipation
The men who find us often have experienced a lengthy and frustrating road to getting the help they deserve. We have worked with many men who have the misconception that pelvic floor exercises are “women’s exercises” or only something “women need after a baby.” Male pelvic floor dysfunction often goes unrecognized and untreated with significant consequences. Men may benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy to address symptoms related to chronic prostatitis, constipation, painful testicles, groin pain, painful bowel movements, hemorrhoids or anal fissures, proctalgia fugax, coccyx and/or sacral pain, abdominal and pelvic pain, and erectile dysfunction. Men preparing for prostate surgery or recovering afterward should seek a properly trained pelvic floor therapist to support their continence and sexual health. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for male pelvic pain and pelvic floor dysfunction, call (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Pelvic PT helps with Prostatectomy Recovery, including return of urinary continence and erectile function
Radical prostatectomy surgery causes a male to experience urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Traditionally, rehabilitation has either not be prescribed (after surgery you are told to go home and take it easy and hope for the best to happen over time) or was minimally completed following surgery. It is now known that waiting to begin rehabilitation until after surgery provides fewer benefits than if you begin it before surgery. At Purple Mountain PT, our licensed physical therapists have post-doctoral training and experience specific to the needs related to prostate procedures. We customize our care based on your findings and goals and prefer to meet with you before surgery so we can help you learn how to contract and control your pelvic floor muscles before you’ve had surgery. By educating you on what to expect and what to do in the immediate days post-surgery, you will feel more at ease and less anxious about your recovery. We then continue your care during your postoperative prostatectomy period and provide comprehensive interventions that include exercise-based programs using very specific exercises and techniques that have been found to enhance recovery of urinary continence and erectile function. We also will use resistance training for hip, back and abdominal strengthening because these regions also contribute to urinary continence. Research has found that the weeks you are waiting for surgery are a wonderful time for you to begin your comprehensive pre-habilitation exercise-based pelvic PT treatment and will improve your preparedness for your surgery. If you would like to learn more about our treatment for prostatectomy rehabilitation, call (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Pelvic Floor Therapy can help with severe abdominal and pelvic pain, caused by things such as endometriosis or interstitial cystitis. We also help treat unexplained chronic abdominal and pelvic pain.
At Purple Mountain PT, we have spent our life’s work devoted to helping overcome chronic abdominal and pelvic pain. Often our patients have experienced a lengthy and frustrating amount of doctor’s appointments and testing that has not uncovered their exact cause of pain. We consider this work an honor and we pledge to give you our best effort to help ease your pain. It is our greatest joy to help you recover from severe pelvic pain. We love to receive updates from patients, hearing about your full lives without pain! If you would like to read more about our PT for chronic pelvic pain, we wrote about it here. Or you can reach out to us here or call (616) 516-4334 to inquire about cost and availability and to get your questions answered.
Pelvic PT helps nerves, fascia and blood flow in addition to muscles, scar tissue and your spine and hips.
Regardless of age or gender your pelvis houses vital structures including your rectum, anus, bladder, and sexual organs. All of the structures in the pelvis have fascia, nerves and blood vessels that can become part of your pain. Muscles, nerves and organs require adequate blood flow and mobility to function properly. For a variety of reasons including: injury, cancer treatment, surgery, pregnancy and delivery, hormonal changes, endometriosis, stress, trauma, chronic constipation, postural changes and more the tissues in your pelvis can lose mobility, strength, and blood flow. Our goal for your therapy is to begin treatment on the first day so that we can begin to address any of these things that are contributing to your pain. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to ask us questions about our chronic pelvic pain PT treatment or reach out to us here.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help with your pelvic, hip, abdominal, SI joint, pubic, and/or coccyx pain.
Because of the density of arteries, veins, nerves, ligaments, fascia, and muscles in the pelvis impaired tissue mobility can cause significant pain in the coccyx, sacrum, lower abdomen, groin, inner thigh, and low back. It is common to hear in pelvic floor physical therapy that a patient reports “no one has ever been able to touch my pain before.” Often, patients with chronic pelvic, hip, abdominal, sacral or coccyx pain have seen multiple providers without getting relief. Tailbone pain (coccydynia) is a very common problem that we treat here at Purple Mountain PT. Because the pelvic floor muscles attach to the tailbone, our skills at treating tailbone pain truly help alleviate your pain and improve your ability to sit, stand, get up from sitting and feel comfortable. Skilled pelvic floor physical therapists are able to identify nerve, connective tissue, muscle, and fascial restrictions that are pain generators. These areas are often missed during standard physical exams and may be difficult or impossible to detect on imaging. Call us at (616) 516-4334 to ask us questions about our chronic pelvic pain PT treatment or reach out to us here.
We treat holistically and comprehensively so that the many contributions to your chronic pelvic pain are addressed
We find that our patients often experience chronic pelvic pain that includes a constellation of contributions to their pain. These things can include a bunch of things, such as myofascial pain syndrome, scar tissue adhesions, endometriosis lesions, ovarian cysts, pelvic organ prolapse, sciatica, degenerative disc disease, hip labral tears, high tone pelvic floor, vaginismus, provoked vestibulodynia, femoral acetabular impingement syndrome, pudendal neuralgia, posterior femoral cutaneous neuropathy, sports hernia or more. Our licensed PTs have experience helping all of these conditions and providing meaningful relief from your pain. It is common that our patients have tried other therapies and tell us that our treatment has made all the difference in their life. If you would like to learn more about our methods, contact us here or call (616) 516-4334.
Pelvic floor physical therapy uses a combination of manual therapy and exercise to optimize your healing and improve your quality of life.
Our doctors of physical therapy have experience helping the most challenging of cases. We love this work and are devoted to providing you with holistic and comprehensive care that truly meets your needs. You deserve a life that is pain-free, with regular and predictable bathroom trips, efficient and regular stooling (daily and less than 5 minutes), minimal abdominal bloating, and intimacy that is enjoyable and not painful. If you are having issues in any of these areas, then pelvic floor physical therapy will likely be beneficial for you! If you would like to learn more about our methods, contact us here or call (616) 516-4334.
Pelvic Floor PT helps Low Back Pain!
We know that people who have chronic low back pain also usually have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. This is why we recommend that if your low back pain won’t improve, you would benefit from care that includes treatment to your pelvis and pelvic floor muscles; these muscles are part of your core and work in concert with your back muscles.
Your pelvic floor is a critical part of your deep core which stabilizes your trunk. This is vital for balance, posture, and stability at the hip, knee, foot, and ankle. It is quite common that while working with someone who has pelvic floor dysfunction, we identify chronic problems away from the pelvis that have not responded to typical care including: knee pain, Achilles tendinitis, groin pain, sacroiliac joint pain, low back pain, neck and shoulder tension, jaw pain, and headaches. When past treatment has failed or not offered the desired amount of relief, then these areas often respond very well to the orthopedic and pelvic physical therapy we provide here at Purple Mountain PT. If you are curious what to expect in a pelvic PT evaluation, you can read about it here. If you have low back pain that won’t quit, to learn more about our methods, contact us here or call (616) 516-4334.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help with issues beyond the pelvis.
Your body is not a collection of parts, it is a full system. This is why we provide whole body care for all of our patients. We are fully trained orthopedic physical therapists; this means that we have experience with helping people rehabilitate from foot, ankle, knee, hip, back, neck, shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries. We know how to customize our treatment to best get you results.
When a person has stiffness or restrictions in the fascia, muscles or joints or their ankle, knees, hips, thoracic spine, neck or shoulders, this will influence how the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles function. If the muscles in your pelvis are not functioning properly it alters walking, lifting, sitting, exercise, and other daily activities in ways that increase demands on other areas of your body and may produce pain over time. If you have a condition and wonder if our pelvic floor PT can help you, contact us here or call (616) 516-4334.
We are here to help you pelvic, back, hip, neck and TM joint conditions
Purple Mountain PT is a specialty PT clinic located in Grand Rapids, MI. Our licensed physical therapists are devoted to providing high quality and compassionate care to women, men and kids who experience pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic floor dysfunction, pain, bladder, bowel, neck pain, back pain and TM joint disorders. Our staff are all trained and experienced in general orthopedics, also. If you would like to inquire about cost and availability of our therapists to help you, call us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.
Peace,
Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specialist in pelvic, low back, neck and TM joint recovery.
Other resources that we have written:
*Information about Purple Mountain PT and our pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids.
*More about our pediatric bladder and bowel physical therapy.
*Physical Therapy for Male Incontinence in Grand Rapids
*Information about our physical therapy for neck pain and headaches.
*Do I have pelvic floor dysfunction?
Tailbone pain and How Pelvic Floor PT Can Help You! Plus Some Self-Care Tips!
