Use vaginal weights. Weightlifting strengthens your muscles. You gain the same effect when you use vaginal weights. Inserting cone-shaped weights into your vagina helps to train your pelvic floor muscles. You simply contract your pelvic floor muscles to keep the weight in place. You can find vaginal weights, such as Yoni Eggs, or Lelo balls, online. I find this approach far superior to the standard Kegel exercises which, in far too many women, just make the one small pubococcygeus muscle tight and don’t do much of anything with the rest of the pelvic floor.
My pelvic floor dysfunction has the opposite effect in terms of peeing. My bladder will not fully empty when I pee although I’ll wait and wait until a little more will come out, then I’ll go lie down because I have some burning sensation and discomfort. At that time, lying down, I will experience of flood of urine. my urologist wants to test me by filling my bladder up but that is counterintuitive to me so I’m not sure if I should have that test?
Strengthening weak pelvic floor muscles often helps a person gain better bowel and bladder control. A physical therapist can help you be sure you are doing a Kegel correctly and prescribe a home program to meet your individual needs. Diet modifications can also reduce urinary and fecal incontinence. Bladder re-training can decrease urinary frequency and help you regain control of your bladder.
Pelvic floor dysfunction is a common condition where you’re unable to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles in your pelvic floor to urinate or to have a bowel movement. If you’re a woman, you may also feel pain during sex, and if you’re a man you may have problems having or keeping an erection (erectile dysfunction or ED). Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles found in the floor (the base) of your pelvis (the bottom of your torso).
Never had correct diagnosis of any female related issues going to male doctors. Years on meds for bladder infections, labs say I never had until switched to female doctor with immediate result, diagnosed 3rd degree prolapse, seriously. Thank you to all the female doctors who examine and listen and more importantly, believe. And, then help resolve and prevent.
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves applied through a wand or probe on your skin to produce an internal image or to help treat pain. Real-time ultrasound can let you see your pelvic floor muscles functioning and help you learn to relax them. Therapeutic ultrasound uses sound waves to produce deep warmth that may help reduce spasm and increase blood flow or, on a nonthermal setting, may promote healing and reduce inflammation.
Scars are almost always a fact of life. From surgeries, to accidents, to conditions like endometriosis, or certain STI’s, almost everybody has one. What doesn’t have to be a fact of life are the muscle, nerve and skin restrictions and overactivity that they can cause. By releasing scar tissue in physical therapy, it has been shown that the surrounding restrictions also decrease their resistance and adherence to the deeper tissues and surrounding organs.
Joint mobilization is a common and favorite tool of most orthopedic physical therapists. We love it so much because it can have so many different benefits depending on the type of technique used. Maitland describes types of joint mobilization on a scale between 1 and 5. Grade 1 and 2 mobilizations are applied to a joint to help to lessen pain and spasm. These types of mobilizations are typically used when a patient is in a lot of pain and to help break the pain cycle. On a non-painful joint, grade 3, 4, and 5 (grade 5 requires post graduate training) mobilizations can be used to help restore full range of motion. By restoring full range of motion within a restricted joint, it is possible to lessen the burden on that and surrounding joints, thereby alleviating pain and improving function.
Stephanie Prendergast, a pelvic floor physical therapist who is a co-founder and LA’s clinical director of the Pelvic Health & Rehabilitation Center, says that while information on pelvic floor issues isn’t always easily accessible, doctors can spend some time online looking at medical journals and learning about different disorders so they can better treat their patients.
