Picture the human body’s muscles. If you’re like most people, you’re probably envisioning hamstrings, biceps, abdominals, or other well-known muscles in the arms, legs, or torso. You probably aren’t visualizing your pelvic floor muscles. But, although these muscles are hidden and often forgotten, they play a crucial role in your daily life. After all, your pelvis is home to several organs, including your bladder and rectum, and your pelvic floor muscles provide critical support to these organs. If you’re unable to relax and coordinate these muscles, you won’t be able to go to the bathroom comfortably. This is known as pelvic floor dysfunction.
What Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
Pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition characterized by the inability to relax, contract, control, and/or coordinate your pelvic floor muscles to have a bowel movement or urinate. Normally, people are able to tighten and relax these muscles as needed, just as they might tighten their grip to unscrew a lid or relax their body to enjoy a massage. For people with pelvic floor dysfunction, the body may instinctively tighten these muscles, and that tension can lead to a variety of symptoms, including all the following:
- Straining to pass bowel movements
- Incomplete bowel movements
- Frequent visits to the bathroom (overactive bladder)
- Involuntarily starting and stopping while peeing
- Having to change positions during a bowel movement
- Constipation
- Leaking (fecal incontinence or urinary incontinence), which may occur when you cough, sneeze, or laugh
- Painful urination
- Low back pain
- Pain in the pelvic region
- Impaired coordination of the abdominal pressure system, which includes breathing, posture, and core muscles
- Separation of abdominal muscles
- Pain during intercourse or gynecological exams
- Vaginal heaviness/bulging
- Sexual dysfunction
Pelvic floor dysfunction can affect both men and women, but it’s more common in women. In fact, approximately one in four women experience symptoms of PFD. Primary causes include poor posture, pregnancy, obesity, chronic constipation, menopause, and ligament laxity. Other factors include overuse of the pelvic muscles (straining), pelvic surgery (such as a hysterectomy or prostatectomy), traumatic injuries, pregnancy and childbirth, aging, stress and anxiety, and connective tissue disorders.
If you’ve been experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms, we can help you find relief. Although these symptoms are common, they’re not normal. You don’t have to “just deal with it” anymore. Let’s explore some treatment options.
Our Approach: Integrative Treatment Options
Individualized physical therapy is often an effective treatment option for pelvic floor dysfunction. A properly trained and pelvic floor-certified physical therapist can help you identify which pelvic floor muscles are tensing up and teach you exercises and techniques to stretch these muscles and improve your control of them. This may include external and/or internal release of tight muscles as well as specialized home exercise program development. Your therapist may also encourage relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, and other exercises, which can help you learn how to relieve tension in your pelvic floor muscles.
Sometimes biofeedback is used alongside physical therapy. Employing sensors or video technology, your physical therapist can monitor your pelvic floor muscles as you clench and relax them. This can provide valuable feedback that may guide your therapist and help you improve your pelvic floor muscle coordination.
Additionally, medical interventions such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may be used to tighten ligaments and trigger points to aid in muscle relaxation. Ligament laxity in the pelvis and spine can contribute to excessive muscle tightening in the pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction.
Finally, your medical provider may prescribe medications to ensure your bowel movements are soft and regular.
As pelvic floor dysfunction typically does not go away on its own — and will, in some cases, worsen if left untreated — it’s important to find a provider who can provide a diagnosis and treatment. It may take a little time before you notice improvement, but it’s important to stick with your care plan and remain hopeful. Most people are able to relieve their symptoms in time.
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Are you experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms? If you live in the Springfield, Missouri, area, reach out to C.O.R.A.MED HRT & Regeneration Center. Our dedicated care team is committed to providing personalized, accessible, and integrated care, focusing on the root causes of health issues and employing advanced medical technology. Our medical provider and pelvic floor-certified physical therapist have the knowledge and experience to help you find relief from the pain, inconvenience, and embarrassment of pelvic floor dysfunction. Although pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms are common, they don’t have to be your normal!
No referral is required, and C.O.R.A.MED will create a custom care plan tailored to your unique needs. To learn more, please give us a call at 417-207-2441 or send us a message online.
