PELVIC HEALTH & CONTINENCE

Do you have any of these symptoms?

  • Pain in or around the pelvis
  • Incontinence/bowel or bladder problems including constipation 
  • Pain with intimacy
  • Heaviness/bulging at the vagina (prolapse)

 

Book in to see Meghann, our Pelvic Health trained Physiotherapist, to get back in control. Your first consultation will be approximately 1 hour to do a full assessment and get your treatment started. 

Did you know that 1 in 3 Australian women who have had babies have problems with continence. Your pelvic floor muscles form a very important part of the support network for your pelvis and lower back, as well as working to help maintain good control of your bladder and bowel function. Unfortunately, around 25% of women incorrectly activate their pelvic floor muscles, pushing them down instead of contracting them, and 30% of women have difficulty or can’t contract their pelvic floor muscles effectively. Learning how to use your pelvic floor and core muscles sometimes requires assistance so don’t feel embarrassed to ask for help. Current research shows correct pelvic floor exercises can help reduce labour time, improve healing post-delivery, prevent incontinence and improve lifelong function.  

Continence Physiotherapy:

Incontinence affects up to 4 million Australians of all ages and gender. Meghann Cutler has completed further training in this area to allow her to best assess and treat women of all ages who have concerns with bladder and/or bowel control.

Urinary Incontinence (Bladder):

Urinary incontinence affects up to 13% of men and 37% of women in Australia.

There are several types of urinary incontinence:

  • Stress urinary incontinence: leaking urine when there is increased pressure in the abdomen i.e. coughing, sneezing and exercise
  • Urge urinary incontinence: not being able to hold to get to the toilet when you get the urge to urinate
  • Functional Incontinence: not being able to make it to the toilet because of physical or environmental conditions
  • Mixed Urinary Incontinence: a combination of the above

  

Other bladder symptoms may include:

  • Frequency: passing urine frequently
  • Urgency: needing to rush to the toilet but not necessarily resulting in incontinence
  • Getting up to go to the toilet more than once a night 
  • Feeling that the bladder is not empty after just going to the toilet
  • Straining to empty the bladder or to start your stream

 

Faecal Incontinence (Bowel):

Faecal incontinence is the involuntary loss of control of the bowel, and it affects up to 20% of men and 12.9% of women. It is a health issue which is often not discussed, and people feel embarrassed and isolated by this condition.

Other bowel symptoms include:

  • Leaking with the urge to use your bowels
  • Inability to control wind
  • Straining to empty bowels 

 

How can Physiotherapy help?

Physiotherapy by a continence trained therapist is recommended as a first-line treatment for most forms of incontinence. It involves a detailed history and pelvic assessment followed by ongoing treatment to obtain the best long-term effect. Your physiotherapist will most likely recommend an internal assessment to ascertain the correct cause of your complaint as well as the strength and activation of your pelvic floor, however if you are not comfortable with this there are other ways of assessing your pelvic floor. Treatment often involves pelvic floor muscle training. 

The first session is generally one hour with follow-up appointments of 30 or 45 minutes as required based on your condition and progress. 

See Bump, Birth & Beyond Page for: 

  • Pain during pregnancy
  • Breast/Nipple Pain (mastitis)
  • Postnatal Assessment