Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy London, Ontario
If you’ve landed here, chances are that you’re curious about pelvic floor physiotherapy London, Ontario – what it is, how it works, and if it is the right solution for you. Over the past decade, we’ve helped thousands of women discover superior pelvic floor and overall health. It would be an honour to help you do the same.
First of all, thank you for considering us to help you with your pelvic floor challenges. We recognize that seeking care for a pelvic health issue can take a lot of courage. That’s why we’ve intentionally set up our space be welcoming, calming, and private. We’ve also created a seamless process for you from start to finish.
At your first visit, you will meet 1:1 with your pelvic floor physiotherapist for 60 or 75 minutes. This will give you time to share your story, explain your goals, and be truly heard. Your physiotherapist will listen, ask questions, then take some time to evaluate your body and check how you are functioning.
This evaluation may include, with your informed consent, an internal check of the pelvic floor muscles. You are in full control of that process and have freedom to decide if or how you want to complete an internal check. Please read more about that process in our FAQ below.
Once you’ve completed the physical assessment, your physiotherapist will share her thoughts, answer any questions you have, and discuss next steps. We want you to have clarity and confidence as you consider all your treatment options.
If you choose to continue care with us, you’ll discover that our approach is holistic, evidence-based, bio-psycho-social, compassionate, and empowering!
Ultimately, we’re just here to help you get to where you want to go with your health. It is truly a privilege to see our clients discover their inner strengths and pelvic resilience!
We can evaluate and treat many different urological, gynaecological, obstetric, and persistent pelvic conditions – so if there is something you don’t see listed above, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask! Chances are that we can help.
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Helps with
- Bladder Leaks
- Overactive Bladder
- Bladder Pain
- Pelvic Organ Prolapse
- Sexual Pain
- Perimenopause
- Bowel & Bladder Dysfunction
- Chronic Pelvic Pain
- Pregnancy/Prenatal
- Postpartum Recovery
- Vaginismus
- Diastasis Recti
- Vulvo-vaginal Pain
- Much More!
Pelvic floor physiotherapy London, Ontario is worth investigating if you have any trouble related to your pelvic area (low back, abdomen, pelvis, SI joints, hips, groin, genitals) – especially if you’ve made minimal progress with other types of treatments in the past. It may be an underlying pelvic floor issue that was missed!
pelvic floor physiotherapy FAQs
What is pelvic floor physiotherapy?
Let’s start by first defining physiotherapy. From the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario:
Physiotherapy is treatment to restore, maintain, and make the most of a patient’s mobility, function, and well-being. Physiotherapy helps through physical rehabilitation, injury prevention, and health and fitness. Physiotherapists get you involved in your own recovery.
From The Canadian Physiotherapy Association:
Physiotherapists are primary health care professionals with a significant role in health promotion and treatment of injury and disease. They combine their in-depth knowledge of the body and how it works with specialized hands-on clinical skills to assess, diagnose and treat symptoms of illness, injury or disability.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy lives under this umbrella. It is a niche area of physiotherapy which focuses more specifically on the pelvic health and wellness of seniors, adults, teens, and children.
What training do pelvic floor physiotherapists have?
This quote from the Canadian Physiotherapy Association explains the training of physios:
All physiotherapists registered to practise in Canada are qualified to provide safe and effective physiotherapy. They have met national entry-level education and practice standards, and have successfully passed a standardized physiotherapy competency examination prior to being registered with the college of physiotherapists in their province/territory.
In addition to the rigorous training which all Canadian physiotherapists must complete, pelvic floor physiotherapists have additional post-graduate training and clinical experience to assess, diagnose, and treat the pelvic floor muscles and structures. They must also roster this skill with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario – which is the regulatory body that is designed to keep the public safe.
Please read more about the training, experience, and clinical interests of our pelvic floor physiotherapy London, Ontario team on our about page.
What is the pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor can seem mysterious – but it doesn’t have to be. Part of our job is to demystify the pelvic floor and help you learn (and hopefully appreciate) everything that it does for you.
The pelvic floor is like a sling of muscles (think hammock or trampoline) that houses many structures including muscles, ligaments, connective tissue, nerves, lymphatics, blood vessels, and organs. The pelvic floor has several roles. Here is a simple way to remember – think “Five S”:
SUPPORT – Supporting the pelvic organs (the bowel, bladder, uterus in women and prostate in men).
SPHINCTERS – These circular bands of muscles live in the pelvic floor. They must open and close at the right time to allow for normal voiding or bowel movements.
SEXUAL – Pelvic floor muscles contract rapidly during orgasm and are involved in arousal and pleasure.
SUMP PUMP – Just like the sump pump in your basement, the pelvic floor helps keep the pelvic region decongested, promotes circulation, and keeps the lymphatic network in the area functioning well.
STABILITY – Pelvic floor muscles act in an anticipatory (pre-emptive) way to provide a stable platform for controlled movement. The pelvic floor is a key player in the inner core unit.
Also, healthy pelvic floors have the ability to counteract downward forces generated from lifting, straining or other intra-abdominal pressures. Lastly, the pelvic floor needs to progressively expand during vaginal childbirth.
Isn’t it amazing all the things the small hidden muscles of your pelvic floor can do?!
What does an internal pelvic floor examination involve?
By completing an internal check, pelvic floor physiotherapists are able to evaluate:
- muscle position
- movement through range
- muscle tone or stiffness
- spasm
- pelvic floor muscle strength
- muscular endurance
- involvement of pelvic structures
- prolapsed organs
- levator ani avulsion
- neuromuscular function
- tissue compliance
- tissue quality and texture
- tenderness and sensitivity
- muscular reactivity
- impact of pressure on the pelvic floor
- scar tissue mobility
- neuromuscular patterning and coordination
- and more
So if you are coming to us with a pelvic floor condition, your physiotherapist will likely suggest that you may want to have your pelvic floor checked.
If you provide your informed consent for a pelvic examination, you will be asked to lie down on a physiotherapy table and you will be draped comfortably with a sheet. The process will be explained step by step using an anatomical pelvis model as a visual guide.
The internal examination is a gentle and clean technique (using non-latex gloves) and does not involve a speculum or stirrups. One or two gloved fingers are inserted into the vaginal canal (or one finger is inserted into the rectum) in order to access the pelvic floor muscles. We walk you through each component of the internal examination so you understand what we are assessing for and can also offer us feedback.
It is very important that you feel comfortable and in control at all times. Please know that you can revoke your consent to an internal examination at any time and for any reason – no questions asked.
Many of our clients have expressed surprise that the internal exam was not as awkward or scary as they had originally anticipated. And many are also thankful when they learn more about how their own bodies work.
Some of our clients prefer to defer an internal examination until a future appointment, or some opt out of having one done at all – and that is 100% fine with us as well. We are still able to gain very helpful information through external assessment techniques so we can plan effective treatment.
What conditions does pelvic floor physiotherapy help to treat?
We treat urological, gynecological, obstetric, sexual, gastrointestinal, anorectal, orthopaedic, neurological, myofascial, visceral, and persistent pelvic pain conditions. These include:
- Urinary incontinence – stress incontinence, urge, or mixed incontinence
- Urinary urgency, frequency or hesitancy
- Bowel issues such as constipation or faecal incontinence
- Prolapsed bladder, urethera, uterus or rectum
- Heaviness or pressure in the pelvic region
- Diastasis recti or other abdominal wall dysfunction
- Weakness of core muscles
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
- Persistent pelvic pain
- Endometriosis
- Painful bladder syndrome – interstitial cystitis
- Pain with sex – dyspareunia
- Painful periods – dysmenorrhea
- Vulvar pain – vulvodynia or vestibulodynia
- Vaginismus
- Coccydynia
- Pudendal neuralgia
- Persistent low back, hip, groin, or abdominal pain
- Pregnancy related mobility or pain problems
- Sciatica, sacroiliac joint or pubic symphysis dysfunction during or after pregnancy
- Childbirth preparation and pre-natal education – with focus on prevention of pelvic floor dysfunction
- Pre and post operative rehabilitation for any type of abdominal or pelvic surgery (include c-sections)
- Scar tissue restricting the abdomen, pelvic floor or vulvar region
- And more
What does pelvic floor physiotherapy treatment for the pelvic floor involve?
Treatment is cased on your initial consultation findings and ultimate goals. It can include any of the following:
- Providing education on your condition and practical things you can do
- Lifestyle recommendations
- Alignment and posture awareness and education
- Looking at breathing mechanics
- Flexibility or mobility exercises
- Learning if kegels are appropriate for you and if so, how to do them correctly
- Pelvic floor strengthening OR lengthening
- Manual work and normalize pelvic floor muscle tension or stiffness
- Connective tissue mobilization
- Childbirth education as it relates to pelvic floor and abdominal wall
- Core retraining or strengthening exercises
- Bowel or bladder retraining
- Internal or external manual (hands-on) therapy
- Visceral work
- Pain modulation
- Biofeedback, ultrasound, neuromuscular electric stimulation, or other modalities
- Acupuncture or dry-needling
- Development of a home program to practice
- Brain-training, nervous system rewiring
- Sensorimotor cortext remapping exercises
- Referral to other members of the healthcare team
- Product recommendations
- More.
We take a bio-psycho-social approach to treatment. This simply means we are mindful that your physical health is impacted by your emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational health. And vice versa. So we may prompt you to explore some of those other areas as you work towards healing or recovery.
Book your pelvic floor physiotherapy visit
At The Mama’s Physio, we would be honoured to help you reach all your pelvic health goals for your life at the moment and in the future.
