Speaking Up About Your Pelvic Pain
Most individuals who experience pelvic pain suffer in isolation and are often hesitant to disclose their concerns for fear of the unknown or the likely pelvic examination. Pelvic pain is most often caused by dysfunctions like: tightening and/or shortening of the pelvic floor muscles, fascia, and ligaments. When pelvic floor muscles are functioning optimally, they maintain urinary and fecal continence and allow for pleasurable and pain-free sexual intercourse.
Pelvic pain can cause the muscle to be hypertonic (increased tension in the muscles and ligaments) or to have trigger points. This can result in:
- Urinary symptoms including frequency, urgency, painful urination, or incomplete emptying of the bladder.
- Bowel dysfunction like constipation and diarrhea, a constant need to strain to achieve a bowel movement, incomplete emptying and pain with bowel movements.
- Unexplained shooting and sporadic pain into your low back, pelvic region, hips, and genital (vaginal and/or rectal) areas.
- Pain during or after intercourse, orgasm, or sexual stimulation.
“What is causing my pelvic pain?”
Common Causes of Pelvic Pain |
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Treatments to Improve Your Health
Here at Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates, we strive to have all patients pain-free and healthy at the end of their treatment. In regards to pelvic health, we address the causes of your pelvic pain using a comprehensive health history. An internal and external assessment will be conducted to view your ability to contract and relax the pelvic floor muscles. There will also be an assessment of your lower back, hips, and sacroiliac joints as these joints can stress your pelvic floor muscles and refer pain into your pelvic area.
Hands-on techniques to address the tissue health in the pelvic floor region will also be conducted in your assessment. Once your tissue health has been addressed, strengthening exercises will be introduced. To keep you educated about your condition, your physiotherapist will keep you updated on the specific progression of any strengthening and stretching exercises as well as education about activities that can exasperate your symptoms.
Female Incontinence: Your Concerns Addressed
Many women believe that incontinence; the involuntary loss of urine, is a normal occurrence after childbirth or aging. Continence concerns are common but NOT normal and issues are varied. Stress incontinence (SI) refers to leakage that is noticed during a cough or sneeze, when laughing, or during strenuous activities. Sometimes women get the sudden and urgent need to get to a bathroom. Urge incontinence (UI) is the loss of urine that is accompanied by this sudden, urgent feeling. Mixed incontinence (MI) refers to the most common form of incontinence, which is a combination of both SI and UI.
Your urinary leakage may have started off with minimal and tolerable amounts of leakage that occurred with that cough or sneeze. Eventually, leakage can accelerate to amounts that are substantial enough to wear protective padding or to avoid activities that were once enjoyed. If you are tired of worrying about that inconvenient leaking, booking an assessment with Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates will put you on the Path to Improved Health.
Female Incontinence: Common Causes
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Female Incontinence: Treatment to Improve Your Health
Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates will get you on the Path to Improved Health by addressing the causes of continence concerns using treatments such as:
- A comprehensive assessment including a thorough review of your Bladder History
- Hands-on techniques to address both external and internal muscle weakness, pain, or trigger points
- Inclusive assessment of areas that can contribute to continence concerns such as the low back, hips, and bones of the pelvis, in addition to an assessment of the strength of the core abdominal muscles
- Education of the specific progression of pelvic floor exercises, the importance of hydration, and correct toileting practices
- Therapeutic modalities, when indicated, including acupuncture, muscles stimulation, and biofeedback
Male Incontinence: Your Concerns Addressed
If you are a male with continence concerns, you are not alone. Many men feel isolated as to the reasons behind their pelvic health concerns. Men, like women, can experience incontinence or urinary leakage. Unlike women, who are often under the misconception that incontinence is normal, men are acutely aware that it is not normal or expected.
Incontinence can be dramatically recognized following prostate surgery and/or radiation. Men are alarmed by the immediate decrease in their quality of life that comes with being reliant on urinary pads throughout the day. The leakage that results when you exert pressure on your bladder during laughing, coughing, lifting, or exercising is termed Stress Incontinence (SI). The leakage of urine that happens with a sudden, uncontrollable need to go to the bathroom is termed Urge Incontinence (UI) and is also known as “overactive bladder”.
Like women, many men’s pelvic health concerns go beyond urinary leakage. Men may suffer painful pelvic health complaints such as: post ejaculatory pain, post-urination dribble or excruciating and often unpredictable sharp pain that can often radiate through the rectum and testicles. This unpredictable pain is often likened to the ‘sciatica’ of the pelvis – and is called Pudendal Neuralgia.
Male Incontinence: Common Causes
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Male Incontinence: Treatment to Improve Your Health
Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates will get you on the Path to Improved Health by addressing the causes of continence concerns using treatments such as:
- A comprehensive assessment including a thorough review of your Bladder History
- Hands-on techniques to address both external and internal muscle weakness, pain, or trigger points
- Releasing scar tissue, connective tissue, and nerve tissue
- Inclusive assessment of areas that can contribute to continence concerns such as the low back, hip, and bones of the pelvis, in addition to an assessment of the strength of the core abdominal muscles
- Education of the specific progression of the pelvic floor exercises, the importance of hydration, and correct toileting practices
- Therapeutic modalities, when indicated, including acupuncture, muscle stimulation, and biofeedback
Male and Female Incontinence: When will the incontinence go away?
At Eramosa Physiotherapy Associates, our goal is to get you back to being you as quick and effective as possible by keeping your on the Path to Improved Health™. Your commitment is typically 2-3 times a week for 40 minute sessions during the first 4-6 weeks, along with an individually tailored at-home exercise plan. Most continence complaints are significantly improved with measurable changes in leakage within 8-12 weeks.
If your continence complaints have not resolved in a timely manner based on your diagnoses, we will work with your healthcare provider to request further tests and necessary treatment. We want to help you reach your continence goals!
Male and Female Incontinence: What happens after I am discharged?
To help keep your on the Path to Improved Health, you will receive a home-based program tool for you to maintain your continence achievements. With your permission, your primary healthcare provider will also receive an overview of changes, improvements of continence and overall function.
It is EPA’s priority to keep your at the peak of your Path to Improved Health. Thus, we will follow up with you on your progress upon your discharge from our clinic. Continence care can be a lifelong process, and we are here to support you as you move towards maintaining an independent program. Should you ever experience any recurrence or regression in your symptoms, we invite you to return to the clinic at your convenience.