Understanding Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Gain insights into the concept and benefits of pelvic floor physical therapy.
Pelvic floor physical therapy has gained popularity in recent years. But what exactly is pelvic floor physical therapy, how do you know if you need pelvic floor physical therapy, and what are the logistics for finding a pelvic floor physical therapist?
First, what exactly is pelvic floor physical therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy that addresses the muscles and joints of the pelvic floor. Every person regardless of age or gender has a pelvic floor and these small but powerful muscles are an important part to our daily functions.
The pelvic floor muscles is a group of muscles that sit in the bottom of the pelvis (hence the name). The external genitalia is continuous with the pelvic floor muscles.
Pelvic floor physical therapists are traditional physical therapists who have acquired continuing education in the assessment and treatment of pelvic floor conditions. Like most physical therapists, pelvic floor physical therapists typically hold doctorate degrees and take advanced and more in depth coursework on pelvic health.
What kinds of symptoms are treated by a pelvic floor physical therapist?
In pelvic floor physical therapy, any condition affecting bowel, bladder, or sexual function can be treated and addressed. This includes constipation and fecal incontinence, urinary urgency, frequency, and leakage, and sexual dysfunction or pain in adults. These symptoms are all forms of pelvic floor dysfunction.
Pelvic floor dysfunction, or symptoms of a problematic pelvic floor typically occur when the pelvic floor muscles are weak, tight, painful, or not working properly.
What does pelvic floor physical therapy entail?
In order to gain a deep understanding of the pelvic floor and pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor physical therapists can perform internal pelvic examinations to assess and treat dysfunction within the pelvic floor muscles.
Internal pelvic floor therapy typically involves a pelvic floor physical therapist using a single gloved finger and inserting it either vaginally or rectally to assess and/or treat the problematic pelvic floor muscles.
Internal pelvic floor therapy requires consent from a patient and if you do not feel comfortable with a therapist assessing you internally, you can decline to participate in the internal portion of pelvic floor therapy.
How do you know if you need pelvic floor physical therapy?
If you have symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction (listed above), then you would benefit from seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist.
Often, people are left to believe that constipation, urinary leakage, and pain with intercourse is a normal part of aging, post surgically, or post pregnancy. The pelvic floor muscles are meant to be resilient. Therefore, if they are not doing their job, and you are having symptoms, that is a sign that there is something that needs to be addressed.
How do you find a pelvic floor physical therapist?
There are many websites like: pelvicrehab.com, pelvicguru.com, and www.pelvicptrising.com/map that you can use to find a pelvic floor physical therapist near you?
How do you know if you are seeing the right provider for your concern?
Ask them! You should feel 100% comfortable with the pelvic rehab provider that you choose. You want to make sure that the pelvic floor physical therapist you choose is well versed in your condition and has the training in your specific condition.
There are subspecialties within the pelvic floor physical therapy profession. Including: neurological based pelvic rehab, oncology pelvic rehab, mens health, post gender affirming care, women’s health, pregnancy and postpartum, and pediatrics.
Therefore, if you are in need of an oncology based pelvic floor rehab provider, you may need to ask that they are trained in treating oncology patients. Not all pelvic floor therapists treat all conditions, and choose to further specialize in a particular population!
Is pelvic floor therapy covered by insurance?
It depends! Your plan sometimes will cover pelvic floor rehab and sometimes it won’t. Insurance makes things very complicated and unfortunately doesn’t consider intercourse or returning to sport/recreation fitness functional goals. Therefore, your symptoms may not be covered by your insurance.
In addition, many pelvic floor physical therapists choose to not contract with health insurance companies. Pelvic floor physical therapy requires a lot more one-on-one time and patient specific treatments compared to traditional PT. The pelvic floor is complex and each condition will not respond to the same treatment.
Since care has to be so individualized and patient centered, many therapists cannot contract with insurance companies who don’t value how much time and attention to detail is required for a pelvic health diagnosis. One of the benefits of going out of network though is that since care is so thorough, care may end up costing you less in time and money.
Keep in mind too, that many times if you haven’t met your deductible or have poor physical therapy benefits, going in network may cost you significantly more money due to hidden fees and up charges.
Seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist can be life changing as pelvic floor dysfunction can significantly affect your quality of life. There are many resources that can help you find the right pelvic floor physical therapist. Understand that some pelvic floor physical therapists choose to not contract with insurance so that they can give you the best care possible, without insurance limitations and hidden fees.
