Why Should I go to Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

Author| Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT pelvic health and TM joint disorder physical therapist providing pelvic floor PT and founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

What’s holding you back from getting Pelvic Floor PT? All of your concerns addressed here!

We are Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, a specialty pelvic floor PT and TM joint disorder clinic located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We treat men, women and kids in-person or via telehealth. We understand that pelvic conditions, by their very nature, are private and you may be hesitant to get the care you need. Our experienced physical therapists provide you discreet, compassionate and holistic physical therapy for your bladder, bowel, intimacy or pelvic pain concerns. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

We help women, men and kids overcome their pelvic condition, naturally and holistically, without pain medications, so that they can get back to an active life and have a smile on their face again!

Pelvic floor PT can improve your life. Here’s one patient’s feedback:

“Maureen has helped me so much over the past year. I came to see Maureen after having a grade 3 tear during childbirth and she has helped me learn so much about healing, recovery and restoration from this injury and pelvic floor dysfunction. She has been so encouraging. She is extremely professional and knowledgeable about her field of expertise and as that same time kind, empathetic and caring. You’re coming to see a very seasoned and experienced professional therapist and it also feels like you’re coming to see a friend.”

-LV, female coming for postpartum recovery following perineal injury during vaginal delivery.

If you are hesitant to go to pelvic floor PT, you are not alone. Research has found that 80% of people put off getting the pelvic PT that their provider told them would help them!

80% of people, who were diagnosed with a problem and told that pelvic PT would help them, decided not to go to PT! We must do better at taking care of ourselves! This was a study that looked at 662 people who were recommended to complete pelvic floor physical therapy. Guess what? Only 128 of the people (19.4%) did attend pelvic PT. It makes me wonder why we women don’t give our own health the time and attention it needs. Especially since we know that pelvic PT can help you not leak urine, resolve abdominal, back and pelvic pain, improve your bladder function and keep you from experiencing fecal incontinence. Stop putting off what you know you need. Our patients tell us they wish they had found us sooner! If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

“Data on PFPT compliance were available for 662 patients (87.3%). A total of 128 patients (19.4%) were fully compliant. Noncompliant patients were more likely to smoke and to have mental health disease compared with compliant patients (18% vs 8.7%, P = 0.01, and 50.4% vs 37.5%, P = 0.009, respectively). A total of 285 patients (43.1%) returned to their prescribing provider. Noncompliant patients were less likely to return to their provider: 63.4% versus 29.7%, P = <0.0001. Of the patients who returned, 183 (64.2%) were offered second-line treatment.”

-Woodburn, Katherine L. MD^∗; Tran, Misha C. BS^∗; Casas-Puig, Viviana MD^†; Ninivaggio, Cara S. MD^†; Ferrando, Cecile A. MD, MPH^† Compliance With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Patients Diagnosed With High-Tone Pelvic Floor Disorders, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2021 – Volume 27 – Issue 2 – p 94-97

I want to draw your attention to the final line, 64.2% of the people, who didn’t go to pelvic physical therapy, were offered “second-line” treatment.

This means they were now being offered prescriptions or medical procedures, instead of being encouraged, again, to go to pelvic PT. Pelvic PT is natural and takes care of the pelvic problems you are experiencing. Our patients all tell us that they don’t want to be on medications. If you know that you have a problem, stop avoiding the solution! Our licensed physical therapists are here to provide you with compassionate, professional pelvic PT that is holistic (we treat your back, hips, abdomen, posture, balance, strength, fascia and more!) and helps you resolve your problem. If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Let’s all take a deep breath and get ourselves in the mindset that taking care of ourselves is necessary so we can feel good and take care of others! Our pelvic PTs offer compassionate, private and holistic care that combines manual therapy and exercises so you can get results.

What our patients have told us about why they chose Purple Mountain PT for their pelvic PT:

Patients come to us a little nervous about embarking on pelvic health care. Usually they have searched for an experienced provider and chosen us because we offer the experience and specialty care they want. Many of our patients have tried other things that didn’t resolve their problem and they are pleased to find our PTs focus on pelvic floor PT and TMJ disorders. If you would like more information about our pelvic physical therapy, to treat your back, tailbone pain, SI joint, abdominal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, bladder, bowel or intimacy related concerns, contact us here to submit your questions or call us at (616) 516-4334.

Are you interested to know some of the reasons other patients chose Purple Mountain Physical Therapy for their pelvic PT needs?

They like that each visit is one-on-one with your same doctor of physical therapy, we never bounce you around amongst our staff or have you exercise alone while we treat another patient.
Visits are up to 55 minutes in length and provide you holistic treatment, that addresses anything contributing to your pelvic problem head to toe.
Patients tell us that they feel better after appointments and this also helped them to have confidence they found the right place for their pelvic health physical therapy.
Patients like our gym space and focus on getting you back to an active life.
Patients tell us that the whole body vibration machine and balance based exercises provided as part of their pelvic floor rehabilitation have helped them in more ways than they expected.
Patients come to us wanting to resolve bladder control problems and thrilled to be able to be dry again, after many years of having problems.
Patients are looking for comprehensive treatment for their postpartum recovery to restore their abdominal wall, posture, pelvic floor and more.
Men want help with prostate related recovery or chronic pelvic pain conditions.
Men and women come to us for specialized care to ease their interstitial cystitis pain and overactive bladder problems.
Parents call us concerned about their child’s incontinence, constipation, TM joint pain or pelvic problems, such as hip pain with adolescent female soccer players.

You want results for your pelvic problem. You feel uncertain about what pelvic floor PT is and, actually a little intimidated by it. You are also hesitant because your problem is personal and you don’t want to waste your time going to someone who doesn’t know how to help you. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

This is your validation that you deserve to feel better and to get rid of your pelvic problem. And that you have found the right place to receive your pelvic floor PT and help you! What’s holding you back? We help athletes, sedentary adults, new moms, older moms, dads and kids who have pelvic problems.

Why a triathlete and female athlete should come to pelvic PT

We know that female athletes who engage in running, jumping and cutting sports experience stress urinary incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction. A study of female triathletes found that pelvic floor dysfunction was prevalent at high rates:

Stress urinary incontinence 37.4%
Anal incontinence 28%
Urgency urinary incontinence 16%
Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms 5% (higher rates of prolapse found if you’ve had a baby)
Pelvic girdle pain 18%
Female athlete triad symptoms: 24% of female triathletes screened positive for at least one arm of the female athlete triad.

Our pelvic PTs are here to help athletes of all ages and sports to resolve your bothersome bladder, bowel and pain problems. The best way to get started, to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

If your hesitation is that you don’t know where to go and who can help you. Then. Stop. That. Excuse. Right. Here. You’ve found the right place for your pelvic floor PT.

If you are a CrossFit athlete, our pelvic PTs can improve your ability to control your urine

We know that within the CrossFit community, urinary incontinence is found in 29.95% of athletes. Women who experience urinary incontinence tend to be “older” (33.77 years of age +- 8.03 years than those athletes who don’t have incontinence. Double under and single under are the troublespots that cause incontinence most often. Our pelvic PTs are athletes and love to help you perform at a high level in your sport. If you are experiencing incontinence with sport, the best way to learn more and to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

At Purple Mountain PT we specialize in providing holistic, therapeutic and compassionate care for pelvic floor dysfunction and TM joint disorders. We treat all pelvic conditions and TM joint pain conditions.

When you choose Purple Mountain PT you are choosing to be proactive, to address your nagging problem and to get results. You don’t want to waste your time, going to someone who doesn’t know how to help you. We also understand you might feel nervous because your condition is in a private area and pelvic floor PT sounds a bit intimidating. Rest assured, our patients tell us that their appointments are helpful, comfortable and educational, that they feel heard and understood. In contrast to your fears and anxiety, we can assure you that your time with us will be uplifting, informative and encouraging! Our pelvic floor PT is comprehensive, meaning a lot of our treatment occurs far away from the pelvis, such as at your shoulder blades or your thighs. We also include lifestyle, exercise, nutrition, stress management and other holistic interventions because these help you get results! The best way to get started, to determine if you are a good fit for our pelvic or TM joint physical therapy methods, is to speak with one of our staff members. Call (616) 516-4334 to get your questions answered or contact us here.

How can we say with confidence that we are the right choice for your pelvic floor PT? Because our patients tell us that all the time.

We have set up our entire clinic and methods to provide you truly patient-centered care. From the first phone call we hope you feel well cared for and the confidence that our licensed physical therapists will be able to help your pelvic or TM joint condition. Here is one patient’s review:

“I would recommend Maureen and her practice to everyone needing pelvic care! She goes above and beyond what I thought my PT sessions would entail. I’ve never felt so taken care of and thought of then I have with Maureen. She’s the best!”

-MG. Female, postpartum mom.

Finding the right pelvic physical therapist for you isn’t easy. We’ve made it easier for you. You can call us anytime during business hours to ask your questions of one of our knowledgeable staff members. Reach us at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

If you give us a try, you will know within the first phone call if you think I may be able to help you. At your first visit you will receive an education and in-depth evaluation that is comprehensive. We begin treatment at the first visit and provide you with instructions on what to work on at home. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

What our patients tell us with regard to how their experience with us differs from other things they tried:

I was hesitant to come to pelvic floor PT. I didn’t know what to expect, now I wish I had come sooner because I could have felt better long ago!

I’ve gone to a chiropractor and pelvic PT for months and still have problems, I decided to try you because I like that you specialize in this.

I went to someone else, but they didn’t explain it like you.

You are my third PT and the first one to help me feel better.

My other provider never treated all the things you are treating.

At my other provider I felt like my appointments were too short to really treat everything I needed.

My other provider didn’t seem to know what my problem was and gave me a sheet of exercises to do that I knew wouldn’t help me.

I went somewhere else and they didn’t examine things nearly as in depth as you and didn’t ask me the questions you asked. I can tell you know what you are doing here.

You get the idea. I understand why you may be skeptical that pelvic floor PT could help you, especially if you’ve already gotten care that didn’t work. But, many of our patients have been in your shoes and have found that by choosing Purple Mountain PT and getting holistic and expert care, they finally feel hopeful and can see they will get better. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

You will receive your pelvic floor PT care from a licensed physical therapist who specializes in pelvic PT.

All of our physical therapists at Purple Mountain Physical Therapy specialize in pelvic health PT, TM joint disorders and neck and back pain. If your child needs bladder or bowel physical therapy, you will be working with a doctor of physical therapy who has experience and post-doctoral training for pediatric bladder and bowel needs. Our pelvic PTs are specifically educated in male pelvic health rehabilitation, which is not the same as female pelvic PT. We have gone the extra mile with post-graduate training specifically for pregnancy and postpartum pelvic physical therapy. Our PTs also have extensive experience in the field of treating chronic pelvic pain, general orthopedics, complex neck and back pain and TM joint disorder physical therapy. If you are interested in learning more about our pelvic physical therapy, call us today to speak with one of our helpful staff members at (616) 516-4334 or contact us here.

You don’t settle for anything in your life, why settle for pelvic problems, a less active life and less than high quality pelvic floor PT treatment?

Do you know there is treatment for:

**Stress incontinence: you don’t have to lose pee everytime you laugh!
**Urge incontinence: you don’t have to rush to the toilet and fear losing pee
**Urinary frequency: you don’t have a small bladder! You need treatment!
**Pelvic Organ Prolapse: this is a biggie! Ladies, if you have any prolapse you can optimize the pelvic region to provide better support to the area.
**SI Joint pain: This hurts! We know your pain and we can help it!
**Gluteal tendinopathy: Does your glute hurt? We can check you out and help you figure out why. If it is tendinopathy we have a treatment program for that! If it’s something else, we know what to do to help you!
**Pubic pain: This. Is. Frustrating. To. Have. & I can help you!
**Pudendal Neuralgia: The monster of pelvic pain. It can get better!
**Sciatica: It hurts. PT helps.
**Endometriosis: The long, painful, lonely road. PT helps endo pain!
**Interstitial Cystitis: Beastly bladder condition & I specialize in treating it!
**Recurrent urinary tract infections: You probably have pelvic floor dysfunction and we can get that better to reduce your risk of another infection
**Vulvodynia: Yep, we know you are suffering silently. We specialize in helping this. It’s awful & can get better!
**Painful sex: Sex shouldn’t hurt! There’s treatment for this!
**Painful cesarean scars or other scars: We can address this and get rid of that pain! Wouldn’t it be great if your clothing didn’t hurt your scar?
**Pelvic muscle spasms: Ouch. Yep, they feel just like you imagine. & I can help them go away.
**Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: All those muscles “down there” not quite working right? I can help that.
**Constipation & straining: Believe it or not, the pelvic muscles and involved in this problem and I can help you! Take care of it so you don’t give yourself a prolapse.
**Pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain: My specialty!!
**Postpartum recovery: Again, this is my jam! I love to help you get back to feeling strong and confident as you recover.
**Birth trauma injury: I have seen them all & I can help you!
**Chronic prostatitis pain: PT is the way out of this problem!
**Testicular, penile or vulvar pain: PT works! I can help you!
**Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder: This. Is. Awful. I know it and I can help you!

Purple Mountain Physical Therapy, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a specialty pelvic floor PT clinic. We help women, men and kids with pelvic floor dysfunction and TMJ disorders receive compassionate and effective physical therapy so you can live an active life! We consider it an honor to work with you and have set up our clinic to put your needs at the center of everything we do. We have been exclusively focused on pelvic health for over 20 years and offer a level of expertise and holistic care that you won’t find elsewhere! If you are wondering if we may be able to help you, call 616-516-4334 to speak with one of our staff members, who can answer your questions. We can discuss your symptoms and condition and determine if pelvic floor PT may help you!

Peace,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT specializing in pelvic health and TMJ physical therapy for over 2 decades.

If you need more information about our physical therapy, you may be interested in these:

TMJ Disorder Treatment in Grand Rapids

Physical Therapy after Prostatectomy

How Much Bedwetting is Normal?

Why is My Child’s Poop So Big?

Balance exercises for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

What is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?

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References:

Poli de Araújo, Maita MD, PhD^∗; Brito, Luiz Gustavo Oliveira MD, PhD^†; Rossi, Fabiana BSc^∗; Garbiere, Maria Luiza BSc^∗; Vilela, Maria Eduarda BSc^∗; Bittencourt, Vitor Ferraz BSc^∗; for the Cross Continence Brazil Collaboration Group Prevalence of Female Urinary Incontinence in Crossfit Practitioners and Associated Factors: An Internet Population-Based Survey, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2020 – Volume 26 – Issue 2 – p 97-100 doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000823

Woodburn, Katherine L. MD^∗; Tran, Misha C. BS^∗; Casas-Puig, Viviana MD^†; Ninivaggio, Cara S. MD^†; Ferrando, Cecile A. MD, MPH^† Compliance With Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy in Patients Diagnosed With High-Tone Pelvic Floor Disorders, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: February 2021 – Volume 27 – Issue 2 – p 94-97

Yi, Johnny MD^*; Tenfelde, Sandi PhD^†; Tell, Dina PhD^†; Brincat, Cynthia MD^†; Fitzgerald, Colleen MD^† Triathlete Risk of Pelvic Floor Disorders, Pelvic Girdle Pain, and Female Athlete Triad, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: 9/10 2016 – Volume 22 – Issue 5 – p 373-376 doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000000296

Zoorob, Dani MD^*; Higgins, Margaret MD^†; Swan, Kimberly MD^‡; Cummings, Jennifer DPT^§; Dominguez, Sarah DPT^§; Carey, Erin MD, MSCR^∥ Barriers to Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Regarding Treatment of High-Tone Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery: 11/12 2017 – Volume 23 – Issue 6 – p 444-448

How Do You Feel About Your Postpartum Recovery? Would Pelvic PT help you?

Being Pregnant and Postpartum can be an Overwhelming Experience and Definitely Changes Our Body! Pelvic Floor PT is a Key Component of Your Postpartum Recovery.

Each of us will experience our unique emotional reactions to the changes in our body! You don’t have to know all the answers. Expert help from a pelvic floor PT will take your postpartum recovery to the next level!

How do these changes in your postpartum body make you feel? What do you think about your body now? If you are struggling with disappointment in your pregnant or postpartum body, we can help you get back to feeling more like yourself when you join us to complete a postpartum PT recovery program. Pregnancy and the postpartum period carry a risk of low back pain, pelvic girdle pain (such as SI joint pain, pubic bone pain, coccyx pain), painful sex, pelvic floor dysfunction, diastasis recti abdominus and urinary incontinence. This is quite a long list, actually, of unfortunate things that you be experiencing as a result of being pregnant. The good news is that working with us will give you a comprehensive evaluation and treatment program to ensure you get your body back into top form. Pregnancy changes our posture, breathing, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, bladder, bowels and sex life. We can help you recover all of these things! Contact us to start seeing results sooner than later!

What should your postpartum recovery program look like and include? Pelvic floor PT help you get your body back and return to an active life!

Check you for a diastasis recti abdominus and develop a program of recovery from this.
Evaluate and treat every muscle of your pelvic floor to determine how each one is working and to get each one to come back to function.
Teach you how to recover optimal breathing function, which was disrupted when you were pregnant and the baby moved your diaphragm. Recovering breathing is crucial to recovering your pelvic floor function.
Take you through a progressive exercise program to restore your pelvic floor strength, coordination, function and speed.
Address your posture, especially increased midback hunch, tight shoulders, forward head and tilted pelvis. Pregnancy changes your fascia and postural alignment and we look at this and help you correct it.
Optimize your pelvic organ support, a very important part of addressing pelvic organ prolapse.
Strengthen your back and abdominals so you can confidently lift your baby and everything else you need to lift.
Get you back to higher level activities including jumping, skipping and running.

Research confirms that exercise and hands-on care for pregnant women can help their low back pain

“Exercise (any exercise on land or in water), may reduce pregnancy‐related low‐back pain and any exercise improves functional disability and reduces sick leave more than usual prenatal care. Evidence from single studies suggests that acupuncture or craniosacral therapy improves pregnancy‐related pelvic pain, and osteomanipulative therapy or a multi‐modal intervention (manual therapy, exercise and education) may also be of benefit.”

Liddle SD, Pennick V. Interventions for preventing and treating low‐back and pelvic pain during pregnancy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD001139. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001139.pub4. Accessed 11 July 2022.

Pregnancies and a live baby were hard to come by in my experience.

I was one of the healthiest people I knew. I was fit and active. I was a physical therapist and knew how to help women through their pregnancy. I had a regular cycle and zero clue that becoming a mother would take years of tears, pregnancy losses, hopelessness and digging in. I had to discover holistic ways to facilitate fertility, I had to work on stress/mind/body/spirit. I had to call on my faith to get us through this. I did just about everything under the sun to facilitate becoming a mother. If you have experienced infertility you know what I’m talking about. Yep, I did everything. Everything.

My postpartum experience wasn’t so peachy, either. I had to do extensive pelvic floor PT, abdominal wall recovery and rebuilding my strength and conditioning.

In my first 30 days postpartum I had emergency surgeries and spent ten hellish days in the hospital. My family was amazing and scared to death for me. It is not an exaggeration to say it looked like I wasn’t going to make it. The will got drawn up in the hospital bed and the priest came. It was a serious and dangerous and God-awful experience. I had two kids under two years old who were not allowed at the hospital. My family and friends were amazing and provided around the clock care for our kids, with my husband shuttling between the hospital and the two locations where our kids were staying. My family wanted to touch base with me or my husband each hour to see how I was doing, because it seemed to change rapidly and would go downhill fast. We were desperate to get me stable, but the roller coaster had begun and it was decidedly out of control. And, remember, I was one of the healthiest people I knew! I was an athlete, super healthy eater, had come to pregnancy after completing years of holistic healing. And. Still. It. All. Went. Wrong. Until it went right! Yay! Eventually I stabilized and got to go home, exhausted and uncertain if I would be able to take care of our two kids. And my body was a wreck. My pelvic floor was a disaster (so many surgeries and my labor and delivery had done a number on me), my abdominal wall had a huge diastasis recti abdominus, all of my body muscles had atrophied. I remember looking at my calves when I was in the hospital and shedding a tear at how atrophied they became. It happened so quickly, over a matter of two weeks. My OBGyne said “well, you’ve lost all of your pregnancy weight and then some.” And I remember replying “It is all atrophy. I will weight lift and get it back.” And I did. It took a long time & a lot of discipline to recover my abdominal wall and pelvic floor and to get strong again. But I did it, with the help of pelvic PT and my clinical background in how to take a woman through a safe and progressive postpartum recovery program.

Now you know a bit about how I got to be the person I am today. I have been through an epic pregnancy and postpartum recovery and found a path forward that is authentically grateful, happy, strong and whole! And we offer this wisdom and understanding to my patients. We know our patient’s pregnancy and postpartum experiences feel like a huge challenge to them. May feel overwhelming. May feel hopeless, like you are stuck with urinary incontinence or a “mommy pooch.” I am proof positive that this is not the case. Get in touch with our knowledgeable and caring staff to see what your plan of care could look like, contact us here.

Working with individuals who are experiencing pregnancy or are postpartum is a calling for us! We love it!

We offer these women an insight, grace, clinical expertise, understanding and joyfulness for their pregnancy. I had to complete intensive postpartum PT recovery. Because of the nature of my labor and delivery and postpartum complications I had serious work to do to recover my pelvic floor, abdominal wall, strength, conditioning and function. I did the hard work. And, I know the commitment it takes to reach your goals. It doesn’t happen overnight and it takes real insight and expertise to provide postpartum pelvic health physical therapy to a woman. It is an honor to work with women who are pregnant and postpartum. Read more about the benefits of pelvic floor PT.

We have advanced training in providing pregnant and postpartum women pelvic floor PT and designing a postpartum recovery fitness program.

And my training dates back to the 1990s! So, I’ve been studying and treating pregnancy and postpartum recovery for more than 2 decades! Many pregnant women come to us experiencing miserable pelvic pain. It might be their SI joint hurts, or their pubic bones are grinding everytime they move their leg, or they cannot roll in bed without back pain. Or it might be that they are experiencing urinary incontinence or pelvic floor muscle spasms or a diastasis recti. We can help all of these conditions! How lucky are we? It is truly an honor to help women during their pregnancy and postpartum periods.

We offer compassionate, patient-focused holistic treatment for people who are suffering from pelvic conditions! Are you interested in addressing your postpartum recovery? Call Today for Information on our Program.

Continue reading →

Postpartum Pelvic Floor PT in Grand Rapids

What does Postpartum Pelvic Floor PT Treat?

If you are postpartum and wondering what postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids would do for you, read on! We thought it might help you to hear of one woman’s recovery story with us. If, after reading this, you feel postpartum pelvic floor PT could help you, contact us!

Here’s a story of one woman we helped. Her problems: pelvic and perineal pain, pelvic floor dysfunction with bladder and bowel control problems, postpartum recovery following severe pelvic trauma with labor and delivery and pelvic reconstructive surgery.

Like all new moms, this woman was impressive! She worked full time, was in love with her baby, struggled with sleep deprivation and wanted to get back to being athletic. When we met, she was 6 months postpartum with problems of bladder/bowel control and pelvic instability, pelvic pain, pelvic floor weakness and diastasis recti abdominus (split abdominals). She experienced inner thigh and pubic pain with walking, exercising, moving in and out of positions when picking up her baby and when driving and moving her foot from gas to the brake. This pain was her dominant concern, but she also wasn’t happy to have embarrassing and unexpected loss of gas, problems with bladder control, a weak abdomen and a diastasis recti abdominus (split abdominals) as well as knee pains. Before I met her, when her baby was 4 months old, she had pelvic surgery to correct a serious injury from her labor and delivery. She had been referred to me by her urogynecologist surgeon, but had tried two other pelvic floor PTs prior to her surgery and before finding me. Neither of the prior pelvic health PTs could help her pain and she had been told that she needed to get in shape, but she found herself unable to exercise because of pain.

Her Goals:

Get pregnant again and be healthier before the pregnancy, down the line.
Get the adductor (inner thigh & pubic bone) pain to go away. “It prevents me from doing every other exercise.”
Regain the strength of the pelvic floor and muscle control.

We got to work right away with a comprehensive postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation. This included a detailed assessment of her:

Load transfer ability: This was impaired, she could not shift weight from one leg to another and keep her pelvis and low back in stable.
Strength: Poor all around, she was deconditioned, had weakness in her glutes, pelvic floor and abdominals and low back.
Abdominal wall integrity: Disrupted by a diastasis recti abdominus that caused ineffective and abnormal load transfer through her legs, pelvis and core)
Pelvic floor integrity & coordination: Integrity of the multiple layers of the pelvic floor was intact, but coordination was impaired and deficient, poor timing and firing of the muscles noted). This includes looking at pelvic floor strength and pelvic floor dysfunction.
Postoperative healing: She was doing well, but the vaginal tissues were fragile and needed to be treated delicately and carefully.

Her Plan of Care Included Hands-On Treatments and Graded, Specific and Careful Exercises to Promote Stability, Strength and Coordination

We worked together at each visit, with a very careful and coordinated plan to progressively help facilitate her recovery. This person’s treatment included a combination of therapeutic corrective exercises and hands-on manual therapy to her abdomen, low back hips and thighs and internally to her pelvic floor. Together we worked to optimize her muscles and her fascia, to improve her pelvic stability, to advance her strength and conditioning and to restore her pelvic floor, breath and core muscle coordination, timing and strength. If you might benefit from postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids, we can offer the same specialized and personalized care for you! Contact us here to ask us a question or call 616.516.4334 to speak with our knowledgeable and caring staff to get started!

At Her 5th postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy appointment, she was feeling better! Less pain! Less Worry! Hope and optimism were born!

She arrived with a smile and noticeably less stressed. She reported this was because she was feeling better and seeing that we were making progress. Her postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy program was different than the other two physical therapists had recommended and it was detailed, systematic and progressive. She was feeling improvements and this gave her confidence that she was getting the help she needed.

By this fifth appointment she reported improvement in her pain:

“every now and again I get twinges of pain in my inner thighs or my abs, but it goes away. It doesn’t happen often. My walking is pretty good. Standing on one leg still hurts a little; I have to sit down to put on shoes and pants. It is unstable and some pain in the proximal adductor.”

Difficulty with standing on one leg is something that women with pelvic instability can experience.

We perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine what are the driving factors with balance, pelvic stability, muscular control and motor coordination. Then, once we know what is causing this pain and problem, we devise a program to systematically address all of the contributions to it. In her case, we provided a postpartum pelvic physical therapy program customized to her post-operative precautions and designed to optimize both her post-operative and her postpartum healing. The results of pelvic floor physical therapy are born from the wisdom and experience of a good pelvic health physical therapist to design an effective and comprehensive treatment program. Contact us today to learn more.

Not all pelvic health physical therapy is the same!

For this woman we were challenged to develop a pelvic health recovery program that gave a “Goldilocks” effect. You remember the childhood 3 Little Pigs tale, with Goldilocks finding the “just right” bed and porridge? We needed to evaluate and treat her with the “just right” methods of physical therapy. Enough to stimulate pelvic recovery, coordination and strength while also reducing pain and instability. Too fast, too aggressive or the wrong exercises and treatments and she was at risk for a huge flare up and possibly adverse healing. Too little or the wrong exercises and treatments and she was at risk for physical therapy not helping her, having no response and thinking “this doesn’t work and I’m never going to get better.” If you might benefit from postpartum pelvic PT in Grand Rapids, we are here to help you. Contact us today to learn more about our model of care.

We’ve Seen This Before & We Can Help You!

Because the physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT specialize in pelvic health, pregnancy and postpartum recovery and pelvic floor dysfunction, we offer our patients an experienced eye assessing and treating your condition. We had seen this condition many times over the years.

By working with so many other postpartum women and having advanced training in pregnancy and post-partum pelvic floor physical therapy, our PTs know how to help our patients, even when they have tried other therapies or have complex problems.

This patient benefitted from the specialization our PTs have undertaken. All of our PTs have their doctor of physical therapy degree & also post-doctoral training specific to pregnancy and postpartum recovery, including in rehabilitation for complicated postpartum conditions, such as chronic pain and traumatic birth injuries. The pregnancy and postpartum physical therapists at Purple Mountain PT are also avid readers of clinical research and participants in professional education and societies.

We provide our postpartum patients comprehensive and wholistic care, which is what will help them feel better.

By treating the entire person, including the midback, low back, hips, abdominal wall, pelvic floor, balance, posture, strength, flexibility and more, our patients are able to feel better. In this woman’s case she had a diastasis recti abdominus, which is split abdominal muscles. In the last ten years there has been a lot of research, debate and clarifications on how to best treat this condition. Having kept up with all of this, our PTs are able to provide you current and effective methods to resolve diastasis recti abdominus. We love to work with women throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journey and find this work to be joyful and rewarding, because we see you get back to being confident in your body! If you are interested in learning more about our postpartum physical therapy here in Grand Rapids, Michigan or via telehealth for those who qualify, you can speak with one of our team members by reaching out here or calling 616-516-4334.

At 6 Months After Starting Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy She Was Roller Blading!

To help someone recovering after pregnancy and surgery requires a systematic and progress approach, customized to the person’s needs.

At 6 months after starting physical therapy, this patient returned with happiness reporting

“I’m feeling ok! I feel fine doing my core exercises (this is an improvement!). I went roller blading and felt good. I feel some soreness in my inguinal region, not like it was before, it is mildly sore, same as my abs. My knees and back have felt better. I’m doing all of the exercises you gave me and some extra squats throughout the day and my knees are fine.”

You can see this is a huge advancement in her activity tolerance. Rollerblading? That was absolutely out of the question when I first saw her, she would have had pelvic pain, possibly knee and low back pain also, possibly loss of gas or urine.

And, here she was able to roller blade without anything more than some soreness that was normal post-workout soreness! Her success with roller blading was a huge win and a reflection that all of our pelvic floor physical therapy had correctly addressed her myriad problem. If you would love to get back to doing something you enjoy, contact us to speak with our knowledgeable staff, get your questions answered and make an appointment today!

If you are interested in finding out more about postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy call us at 616-516-4334 or contact us here and we will be in touch!

This story gives you a glimpse into one woman’s experience of postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy. This woman had an unfortunate and complicated case and was able to get back to an active life and achieve her goals. Many women we help are fortunate to have fewer problems. But, most postpartum women do experience some challenges to their recovery. Even when they are feeling fine they don’t know exactly which exercises they should be doing. Or, they may experience some urinary leakage from time to time and don’t know how to get that to go away. If you wonder if postpartum pelvic floor PT in Grand Rapids could help you and have some questions, we are happy to chat to see if our care is a good fit for you. If you are interested to learn more about working with our pregnancy and postpartum specialist physical therapists, call 616-516-4334 to chat with one of our knowledgable team members who can answer your questions.

Blessings,

Dr. Maureen O’Keefe, DPT

Founder of Purple Mountain Physical Therapy

You may also be interested in these articles we’ve written related to pelvic health conditions

Exercise in Pregnancy: A Physical Therapists Perspective

What Can Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Help With?

Why Does My C-Section Scar Hurt Years Later?