Everybody needs to go to the bathroom – when frequent bowel movements become painful, it’s time for pelvic floor physiotherapy. Our highly trained registered pelvic health physiotherapist (Mary Kazem) can assist you in attaining regular bowel movements that can affect other functions of your body.
We can help you strengthen your pelvic floor and give you exceptional chiropractic care in Richmond Hill to optimize your body’s functions. Additionally, we can help you implement simple lifestyle modifications that can address the root cause of your irregular bowel movements without the pain attached!
What is constipation?
Constipation is any dissatisfaction with bowel movements, including infrequent bowel movements, difficulty passing stool or straining to defecate. There are a number of reasons why you may experience constipation, with a majority of individuals having problems due to an improper diet. Other factors may include a stagnant activity level, not enough water consumption, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), medication and hormones.
Pelvic floor muscles play a vital role in healthy bowel function. The puborectalis muscle that wraps around the rectum must be able to relax enough to pass the stool while also maintaining enough tension to support the rectum during the process of defecation. If the rectum floor is too relaxed or too tight, an improper bowel movement will result.
Constipation may be a sign of bowel incontinence which is the involuntary loss of stool or gas. It is not a disease but a symptom of a physical or neurological problem that can be helped with pelvic floor physiotherapy.
How does pelvic floor physical therapy help with constipation?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments and connective tissue, fascia and nerves attached to the front, back and sides of the bottom of the pelvis and sacrum. The pelvic floor has a very important role in our body. They work like a sling and provide support to the organs such as the bladder, uterus and bowel.
They also wrap around the rectum, urethra and vagina. Pelvic Floor muscles should be able to contract to maintain continence and be able to relax to let bowel movement and urination happen. The pelvic floor is important for the stability of the spine and the proper function of the bladder and bowel. Any dysfunction of these ligaments and muscles can cause lower back pain, incontinence, prolapse, pelvic pain and sexual dysfunction.
We can help you implement exercises to encourage a regular bowel movement
Do you have to strain when having a bowel movement? Our multidisciplinary team can help you change the positioning of your body to facilitate relaxing your puborectalis muscle. Generally, most toilets are designed so that our hips sit at a 90-degree angle which constricts the rectum. We can help you integrate positions that help your hips be more flexed, leading to an improved bowel movement every time you have to go.
Pelvic floor muscles are crucial in helping you have a regular bowel movement. Our multi-disciplinary team of physiotherapists can help you employ detailed exercise programs, diet and activity modifications and manual techniques that can help you resolve irregular bowel movements.
What will your first consultation look like?
Upon your first visit, your Pelvic Health physiotherapist Mary Kazem will review your medical history and a list of your current symptoms. Also, she will do an external assessment to check spine, sacroiliac joints, hips and pelvis mobility, muscles of the lower back, abdominals and glutes. She will also do an internal examination to assess the function of pelvic floor muscles, possible muscle tightness and adhesion.
After the examination, Mary will discuss her findings and treatment plan with you. Treatment may include soft tissue release, strengthening exercises, hands-on mobilization, pelvic hygiene education and exercises. In some cases, your physiotherapist might use a muscle stimulator to train pelvic floor muscles.
Are you experiencing irregular bowel movements? It’s time to book an appointment with Premier Care Physiotherapy today!