What Is Holistic Physical Therapy
Treating Pelvic Floor Dysfunction With a Holistic Approach
What is pelvic floor dysfunction and how does holistic physical therapy help?
Have you been struggling with persistent pain in your pelvic area? Are you experiencing changes from pregnancy or postpartum? When the pelvic floor isn’t functioning properly, abnormal sensations can arise like urinary incontinence and painful intercourse. Fortunately, our holistic physical therapists at Kintsugi Physical Therapy & Wellness in Normandy park are here to help you overcome pain and discomfort so you can achieve the quality of life you deserve!
If you or anyone you know has been suffering from pelvic pain, call us at Kintsugi Physical Therapy & Wellness in Normandy park today.
What is holistic physical therapy?
When you think of the field of physical therapy, a mind, body, and spirit focus might not come to mind. However, there are multiple disciplines of physical therapy, and holistic health is one of them! Holistic physiotherapy considers the patient’s emotional health, lifestyle habits, and general well-being in addition to their physical condition. Holistic physical therapy is accepted now by just about all medical practitioners, as the approach has been shown to be successful.
There’s growing evidence that treating the person as a whole is essential to healing.
Common symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction
Patients with pelvic floor disorders may experience:
- Constipation, straining, or abnormal pain during bowel movements.
- Pain or pressure in the rectum
- Painful spasms in the pelvis.
- A feeling of heaviness or fullness like something falling out of the vagina or rectum
- A heavy “bulge” in the lower abdomen or pelvis
- Difficulty emptying the bladder completely
- Urinary incontinence
Both men and women can experience issues with the pelvic floor. Pelvic floor dysfunction can be worsened by stress, anxiety, and certain lifestyle factors. That’s why with a holistic approach, we ensure all areas of healing are covered.
What is the pelvic floor?
The muscles that support the pelvic floor all perform crucial tasks like controlling the bladder and facilitating sexual activity. Along with supporting these fundamental body functions, your pelvic floor muscles also help to stabilize your midsection.
The ability to contract the pelvic floor correctly can be affected by several factors, including:
- Weakened bladder muscles resulting from pregnancy and childbirth
- Obesity or significant weight fluctuations
- Physical damage to your pelvic floor muscles from childbirth or surgery
- Damage to the nerves from health problems like diabetes and multiple sclerosis
- Enlarged prostate
- Types of cancer
Urinary incontinence, painful intercourse, and irregular menstruation are all common pelvic floor disorders that affect women. For certain people, impairments might even cause chronic pelvic discomfort and pelvic organ prolapse.
Men will often experience urinary dysfunction after prostate cancer treatments. Usually, these symptoms include irritation or discomfort in the pelvic region, as well as partial leaking or a total lack of bladder control. For certain people, pelvic floor dysfunction may cause erectile dysfunction.
While these issues may be frustrating and hard to understand, our Kintsugi Physical Therapy & Wellness in Normandy park physical therapists know exactly how to identify your problems and, more importantly, how to resolve them!
What to expect during treatment
With a unique holistic approach, our pelvic floor specialists provide you with a thorough treatment plan that integrates physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Your therapist will create a tailored program that will help you reduce pain and regain function during treatment.
Our pelvic floor treatments include:
- Soft tissue mobilization
- Therapeutic, targeted massage to reduce pain, cramping, and discomfort
- Pelvic floor muscle retraining to restore normal strength and endurance
- Neuro-retraining (i.e., incorporating pelvic floor muscle activation during simulated daily activities)
- Electrical stimulation, which restores normal neuromuscular activation of the pelvic floor muscles and nerves
- Bladder training (i.e., training your urinary system to function normally)
In addition, our team will educate you on easy exercises that you can do at home and incorporate into your daily routine. This way, you can maintain and advance your recovery in between sessions.
Find relief at Kintsugi Physical Therapy & Wellness in Normandy Park today.
At Kintsugi Physical Therapy & Wellness in Normandy Park, our physical therapists can help you defeat symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction with an evidence-based holistic approach. Whether your pain stems from surgery, pregnancy, or another underlying cause our therapists can help you heal safely and comfortably.
Call today to request an appointment with one of our pelvic floor specialists!