Men’s Pelvic Floor Rehab

When the term “core training” is mentioned, one often thinks of sit-ups and six-packs. While important, these muscles are just a small part of the core. An often overlooked and extremely important group of muscles comprising the bottom of our core is what we collectively term the “pelvic floor.” These muscles are responsible for keeping our organs in place against gravity and are vitally important for proper bathroom and sexual functions. Their function is sometimes affected by surgeries that affect the pelvic organs or repair hernias.

Bowel dysfunction:
constipation, difficulty emptying, urgency, incontinence

Post-Surgical:
Prostatectomy, inguinal or umbilical hernia repair, bowel and bladder surgeries

Bladder dysfunction:
difficulty emptying, urgency, incontinence, frequency, painful urination

Sexual dysfunction:
erectile dysfunction, pain, lack of sensation

Pelvic pain:
bladder pain, testicular or scrotal pain, perineal pain, rectal pain, tailbone/coccyx pain

Abdominal:
diastasis rectus abdominis, abdominal pain, abdominal weakness, hernia repairs, scar pain or restrictions post abdominal surgery

Lumbar, SI Joint, or hip pain that has not responded to other treatment or fully resolved

This isn’t the traditional pelvic PT where you just lie on the table getting passive treatment! Our therapists have not only completed advanced internal and external pelvic floor training, they have completed training in returning athletes to sport safely and adapting training to manage pressure appropriately. Whether you are a high-level athlete or an average joe weekend warrior, we have your needs covered!

At your first visit, expect to discuss your history, including any surgeries, cancer history and treatment, and what you have tried so far to address your problem. We will typically complete an external exam at our first visit to address any orthopedic issues or global problems that may be contributing to your problem. This will include a hands-on abdominal exam. Within a handful of visits, as you are starting to improve in pain, mobility, and coordination, we will do an internal exam (rectal) to assess the pelvic floor muscles for tenderness, mobility, strength, and coordination. This exam should not be any more painful than palpating a tender muscle externally, and we take care to ensure comfort. We will add this information into our overall picture and adjust our plan of care accordingly. We may need to complete further internal treatment at future sessions, but this will still be combined with global exercise and orthopedic treatment as appropriate.

Treatment will consist of training your breath patterns, pelvic floor muscles, core, as well as hips and shoulders to all help manage pressure and protect your pelvis and trunk. We will provide you with plenty of education to understand your normal function and learn to optimize that function long-term through a whole-person approach, including elements of diet, fluid intake, habit changes, and the exercise program we will gradually develop through the course of therapy.
It will be important to complete your therapy plan of care and not just stop when your symptoms start to improve – we will be gradually creating a long-term management plan for you to follow, and the exercises you will be doing at your 6th visit should be substantially different from the exercise you will be doing at visit 12! Our plan will typically include therapy visits 1-2x per week, with the duration of treatment dependent on the severity and chronicity of your symptoms, as well as how quickly your body responds to your home program and therapy visits. Every patient is an individual with their own background, so we don’t expect every plan of care to be the same, but do expect to encompass at least 8 weeks due to the physiology of soft tissue healing and muscle development.