Regain bladder control, reduce pelvic pain, and restore confidence

What Is the Pelvic Floor?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that forms a supportive sling across the bottom of your pelvis. These muscles support the bladder, uterus (in women), prostate (in men), and rectum. They help control urination and bowel movements, contribute to sexual function and sensation, stabilize your core and lower back, and work together with your diaphragm and abdominal muscles during movement.

Like any muscle group, the pelvic floor can become weak, tight, strained, injured, or lose coordination. The goal of pelvic floor physiotherapy is to restore healthy muscle function rather than simply strengthen the muscles. In many cases, tight pelvic floor muscles require relaxation and improved coordination before strengthening exercises are appropriate.

Conditions Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Can Help Treat

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is effective for many pelvic health conditions affecting women, men, and individuals of all ages.

Bladder Problems

Treatment may help improve urinary incontinence, stress incontinence (leaking with coughing, sneezing, laughing, or exercise), urge incontinence, frequent urination, urinary urgency, difficulty emptying the bladder, overactive bladder, and nighttime urination (nocturia).

Bowel Conditions

Treatment may help with constipation, difficulty passing stool, fecal incontinence, pain during bowel movements, and pelvic floor dysfunction affecting bowel control.

Pelvic Pain Conditions

Pelvic floor dysfunction can contribute to chronic pelvic pain, pain during sitting, tailbone pain (coccydynia), lower abdominal pain, groin pain, hip pain related to pelvic muscle dysfunction, sacroiliac joint discomfort, and persistent lower back pain.

Sexual Health Concerns

Pelvic floor physiotherapy may help improve pain during intercourse (dyspareunia), vaginismus, pain with tampon use, pelvic muscle tightness, erectile dysfunction related to pelvic floor dysfunction, pain after intercourse, and reduced pelvic muscle coordination.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Recovery

Many women benefit from pelvic floor physiotherapy before and after childbirth.

Treatment may help prepare the pelvic floor for delivery, reduce pregnancy-related pelvic pain, improve pelvic girdle stability, address abdominal muscle separation (diastasis recti), restore pelvic floor strength after delivery, improve bladder control, and support a safe return to exercise.

Menopause

Hormonal changes can affect pelvic floor health and contribute to bladder leakage, pelvic pressure, pain during intimacy, reduced pelvic support, and core weakness.

Physiotherapy can help improve muscle function, restore support, and reduce symptoms.

Specialized Conditions We Commonly Treat

Our physiotherapists assess and treat a variety of pelvic health conditions, including pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome), pudendal neuralgia, vaginismus, vulvodynia, levator ani syndrome, coccyx pain, diastasis recti, pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain, postpartum pelvic dysfunction, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and post-surgical pelvic rehabilitation.

What Happens During Your First Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Appointment?

Every treatment begins with a comprehensive assessment.

Your physiotherapist will discuss your symptoms, medical history, pregnancy or surgical history, bladder and bowel habits, pain patterns, physical activity, functional limitations, and your treatment goals.

A physical examination may include assessment of posture, breathing mechanics, core muscle function, hip mobility, lower back function, pelvic alignment, abdominal muscles, and external pelvic floor muscles. When appropriate and only with your informed consent, an internal pelvic floor examination may be performed.

This allows your physiotherapist to accurately assess muscle strength, coordination, muscle tension, trigger points, endurance, scar tissue, and overall pelvic floor function.

Internal assessment is considered the gold standard for evaluating pelvic floor dysfunction, but it is never mandatory. If you prefer not to have an internal examination, your therapist can often gather valuable information through external assessment and customize your treatment accordingly.

What Does Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Treatment Involve?

Your treatment plan is individualized based on your assessment findings and diagnosis.

Pelvic Floor Muscle Retraining

Pelvic floor muscle retraining focuses on learning how to properly contract, relax, and coordinate the pelvic floor muscles.

Manual Therapy

Hands-on techniques may include internal soft tissue release (with consent), external myofascial release, trigger point therapy, scar tissue mobilization, pelvic alignment techniques, and joint mobilization.

Biofeedback Training

When appropriate, biofeedback may be used to help you visualize pelvic floor muscle activity and improve muscle awareness and control.

Breathing and Core Rehabilitation

Treatment may focus on improving coordination between the diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor to restore proper movement patterns.

Exercise Prescription

Customized exercises may include pelvic floor strengthening, muscle relaxation techniques, core stabilization, hip strengthening, mobility exercises, and functional movement retraining.

Bladder and Bowel Retraining

Education may include healthy bladder habits, urge suppression strategies, fluid management, bowel positioning, and constipation management.

Pain Management

Treatment for chronic pelvic pain may include muscle relaxation techniques, desensitization techniques, nerve mobility exercises, stretching, and lifestyle modifications.

Education

Understanding your condition is one of the most valuable parts of treatment. We explain why symptoms occur, what contributes to them, and what you can do at home to support recovery.

What Results Can You Expect?

Recovery depends on the condition being treated, its severity, and how long symptoms have been present.

Many patients notice improvements such as reduced bladder leakage, better bladder control, less pelvic pain, improved bowel function, increased comfort during intimacy, stronger core stability, greater confidence during exercise, improved posture and movement, and better quality of life. Some individuals experience improvement within a few visits, while chronic or more complex conditions may require a longer course of treatment.

Following your personalized home exercise program and attending recommended appointments can significantly improve outcomes.