Women’s Health Physiotherapy
Women’s Health Physiotherapy is
different from general physiotherapy as its practitioners have a special
interest and extra training in a range of female-oriented concerns across the
lifespan. A women’s health physiotherapist will work with you to
help you
achieve your physical best.
So, what is Women’s Health
Physiotherapy? As previously mentioned, it generally tends to focus on women’s
pelvic health concerns across the lifespan. Contrary to common misconceptions,
it isn’t just for pregnant women; in fact, it addresses the changes to the
female body throughout the various stages of life. Clients who work with a
Women’s Health Physiotherapist have someone to guide them and organize a health team if needed
to achieve their individual goals.
A general musculoskeletal
physiotherapist can assist with injuries to various body areas, including
symptoms associated with pregnancy and gynecological surgeries. However, they
may not have a deeper understanding of how to effectively treat pain and
injuries stemming from the pelvic region long term and prevent reoccurrence.
Therefore, they will often refer to a Women’s Health Physiotherapist who can utilize their extra knowledge,
hands-on skills, and exercise prescription in this area to achieve the
client’s goals and keep the area strong and healthy to prevent re-injury.
Women’s Health Physical Therapy
Conditions
- Lower back, mid-back, and neck pain pre and post-pregnancy
- Pelvic girdle pain or coccyx pain
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction or pain
- Postnatal pelvic floor assessments (excluding internal examinations)
- Bladder concerns include stress urinary incontinence, urge incontinence/ overactive bladder syndrome, bladder pain syndrome, and urinary retention.
- Bowel function concerns include incontinence and constipation
- Painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia)
- Exercise programs for menopausal women
- Exercise programs to increase bone density
- Exercise programs for a return to exercise post-pregnancy
- Advice and education on safe exercise throughout pregnancy
- Endometriosis pain
- Vaginal Pain
Women’s
Health Physio Procedure
First, your
typical initial assessment will start with a detailed subjective examination.
This will include asking the client to detail previous medical history,
previous injuries or physical concerns, current physical injuries or concerns,
any current medications, who your current health care team is, and any other
relevant information to your presentation.
Then your
Physiotherapist will go through a series of objective assessments, including
testing for underlying neural irritation, any movement restrictions throughout
the body, tightness in joints or muscles, or any specific weakness in the
pelvic floor or deep abdominal muscles. We don’t do any internal examinations;
we have thorough assessment techniques that we use. And if we deem that an
internal examination is necessary, we may refer you to a trusted colleague.
Once your
Women’s Health Physiotherapist has a thorough understanding of your
presentation, they will utilize the remainder of the appointment for treatment;
this may include but isn’t limited to; manual therapy to relieve tight
muscles/joints/ nerve irritation, advice, and education about exercise,
activity modification and postures and muscle activation or light
strengthening.
Depending on
the reason for your visit, your Women’s Health Physiotherapist may also
recommend an SIJ belt or taping to help relieve your symptoms.
When do you
have to visit a women’s health physiotherapist?
Treating
conditions associated with the pelvic floor, such as bladder and bowel
dysfunction, women’s health physiotherapy can be particularly beneficial for
pre and postnatal women and peri and postmenopausal women. A trained women’s
health physio can assist with conditions including:
- Stress incontinence – involuntary urine leakage during everyday activities and actions, e.g. exercise, laughing, coughing, or sneezing
- Overactive Bladder symptoms – urinary frequency, urgency (a sudden, urgent need to pass urine) and urge incontinence, nocturia (getting up to pass urine overnight)
- Bowel symptoms – fecal urgency and incontinence, problems with bowel evacuation, chronic constipation
- Pelvic organ prolapse (descent of the bladder, uterus, or bowel, causing symptoms)
- Vaginismus (spasm of the vaginal muscles) and dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
- Overactive pelvic floor (seen in conditions such as endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain)
- Pelvic girdle pain during or following pregnancy
- Separation of abdominal muscles during pregnancy/childbirth (diastasis recti)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome – is often associated with pregnancy.
Role of Female
Health Physio in Pregnancy
A major area
of Women’s Health Physiotherapy is the focus on antenatal and postnatal issues.
A female’s body undergoes major changes throughout pregnancy. Therefore, as the
body adapts, females can develop issues or concerns with pain and dysfunction,
which can last throughout the entirety of their pregnancy and into
post-pregnancy if not addressed by a Women’s Health Physiotherapist.
Women’s Health Physiotherapy can help prevent pregnancy-related concerns such as; pelvic girdle and coccyx pain, pregnancy and postnatal lower or mid back pain, incontinence (bladder or bowel), pelvic organ prolapse, and or exercise-related muscle fatigue/ pain. A Women’s Health Physiotherapist can address the above issues through advice and education around pelvic organ health, hands-on therapy to release tight muscles causing discomfort, exercises to increase pelvic floor strength and endurance, and postural education. In addition, they can work with you to develop a safe plan for exercise during pregnancy and a graded return to activity post-pregnancy. Women’s Health Physiotherapists aim to empower you to feel confident in your body, prevent issues from occurring or reoccurring, and achieve your individual goals.
Techniques
& Procedures
A women’s
health physiotherapist may use various techniques, such as:
- Pelvic floor muscle awareness and training
- Down-training for an overactive pelvic floor
- Bladder training
- Advice for prolapse management
- Biofeedback for bowel evacuation retraining
- Pelvic floor-safe exercise advice
- Post-surgical rehabilitation and exercise advice (following gynecological surgery)
- Prescription of abdominal support garments, pelvic girdle belts, and other supports
- Core muscle training
- Real-Time Ultrasound for visual biofeedback
- Occasionally, specialized equipment and small hand-held machines may be used.