Pelvic Floor Muscles
Your pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are a group of muscles at the base of your pelvis. They stretch from the pubic bone at the front to the tailbone at the back. These muscles support your pelvic organs – bladder, bowel and uterus. They play a crucial role in the control of the bladder and bowel as well as the ability to release wee and poo. They also play a vital role in sexual function, sensation and pleasure.
What most people don’t realise is that good PFM function involves strength but also the ability to relax completely.
Every single one of us has pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor problems are common at all stages of life, whether it’s during pregnancy or after childbirth, during perimenopause/menopause, after pelvic surgery or as you age. If your pelvic floor muscles aren’t working well, you might have difficulty controlling or emptying your bladder or bowel. You might also have pelvic or sexual pain, prolapse, erectile dysfunction or lack of sexual sensation.
We can’t see our pelvic floor muscles, and they can be challenging to connect with! So before you can improve your pelvic floor muscles, you need to identify them. And it often requires professional help to do so. Research shows that when people read or hear instructions, 50 per cent of them contract or relax the pelvic muscles incorrectly. In fact, 25% of people may be doing more harm than good.
Get help from pelvic health professionals.
Fortunately, most pelvic health conditions can be treated successfully with the right professionals. At Pelvic Health Matters, our experienced postgraduate-qualified pelvic health physiotherapists can conduct a pelvic floor muscle assessment to ensure you’re doing your exercises correctly. And with regular treatment, you’ll get better results more quickly.
Research shows that when people read or hear instructions, 50 per cent of them contract or relax the pelvic muscles incorrectly. That’s why it pays to get help from an appropriately trained professional.
Common signs & symptoms of pelvic floor muscle problems
Everyone is different, but if you suffer from pelvic floor muscle problems, you’re probably familiar with some of the following:
- Leaking urine when you cough, sneeze, exercise or on the way to the toilet
- Rushing to the bathroom, for your bladder or bowel, with an overwhelming urge to go
- Going to the toilet frequently
- Being woken overnight by the need to urinate
- A feeling of vaginal heaviness, dragging or bulge
- Finding it hard to empty your bladder or bowel
- Painful sex
- Difficulty getting or maintaining an erection
- Reduced sexual sensation
Risk factors & causes of pelvic floor muscle problems
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Chronic cough
- Constipation and straining
- Ageing
- Menopause and breastfeeding
- Prostate surgery and hysterectomy
- Strenuous sports
- Overtraining of core and abdominal muscles
- Trauma
- Stress or anxiety
Our Proven Pathway for Treating Pelvic Floor Muscle Problems
Discover what matters
You’re assessed as a whole person
To begin, we take the time to understand all of you – not just what’s going on physically. So, your postgraduate qualified pelvic health physiotherapist will collect the following information:
- QUESTIONNAIRE: You’ll complete a pelvic health questionnaire online before your first visit. This helps us understand your history, current health concerns and what matters to you.
- 1-on-1 CONSULTATION: Here, we’ll take the time to learn about you and your pelvic floor muscles. We believe a holistic approach enables us to understand how your specific physical, emotional and lifestyle factors influence your pelvic health.
- THOROUGH ASSESSMENT: This includes a pelvic floor examination, assessing isolated and correct contraction, strength, endurance, coordination, ability to relax, functional use in different positions, resting tension and other specific symptom measures such as a bladder diary.
- CONNECTING THE DOTS: Now that we’ve discovered so much about your pelvic floor, we can explore how it all fits together. This may include understanding that you can have a pelvic floor muscle problem even if you haven’t had a baby. Perhaps long-term constipation and straining may have weakened your pelvic floor. Or maybe you’ve been putting too much focus on core strength, and so you’re not good at relaxing your pelvic floor.
- SET GOALS: We’ll help you set meaningful pelvic health goals, such as:
- Contract and relax my pelvic floor correctly
- Have the right pelvic floor exercise program, so I'm not doing the wrong thing
- Strengthen my pelvic floor muscles before I become pregnant
Restore what matters
You’ll have a personalised pelvic health plan.
This is where we put your plan into action. Together, we’ll choose the most effective, research-proven treatment options to suit your lifestyle. You’ll learn how your pelvic floor muscles work and what you can do to improve them.
We’ll begin Pelvic Floor Muscle Training, helping you discover and connect with hidden muscles that you may not even realise you have. Your individualised program will be tailored to your needs, teaching you how to activate these muscles when it matters, such as when you cough, sneeze, laugh, walk, run or are on the way to the toilet.
Importantly, you'll also learn how to relax your pelvic muscles when needed. This may be when you go to the toilet or when you're having sex. And, along the way, we’ll give you valuable resources and tools that will help you with your progress.
ABOUT YOUR APPOINTMENTS: Together, we’ll work out how often we should see each other. We’ll agree on what works best for you, your commitments and your finances.
Enjoy what matters
You’ll be living your best life.
The last step is about ensuring you achieve all the important goals you set at the beginning of your journey with us. With newfound confidence and awareness, you might even find yourself spreading the word to your friends about their amazing hidden pelvic floor muscles! You’ll be equipped with the (really useful) skills to ensure you maintain your improved pelvic floor muscle function – without having to return for regular sessions with us.
Sometimes, though, life’s unexpected events might mean you need to return for a reset. Perhaps you’ll experience a time of increased stress, start a new relationship, fall pregnant, begin menopause, or maybe pelvic surgery might make pelvic floor contraction or relaxation tricky again. Whatever the case, we’ll always be here to help you.
Read about Fiona 38 yrs, Mia 32 yrs, Gwen 68 yrs
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Pelvic Health Matters
New name.
Same exceptional care.
Formerly known as Women’s & Men’s Health Physiotherapy, our new name reflects both what we believe in and what we do. We have an unwavering belief that pelvic health matters for everyone, at every stage of life.
Same phone number: 03 8823 8300
New email: physio@pelvichealth.com.au