Women's Health

Urinary or Bowel Incontinence: Not just an elderly problem

Incontinence is the involuntary loss of bowel or bladder control. It is a symptom and not a disease. It can be caused by surgery, pregnancy and childbirth, weakness of pelvic floor muscles, repetitive lifting , obesity or even a chronic cough. It is also common among athletes. At The Hetrick Center, we can help through the following: body awareness, pelvic floor muscle exercises, biofeedback equipment, fluid intake/nutrition monitoring and posture education. We can help you to strengthen the pelivc floor muscles to provide the needed support to the pelvic organs and provide increased pressure on the urethra to prevent the unwanted flow of urine. Physical Therapy can help minimize or eliminate the symptoms of incontinence in order to improve quality of life and allow you to return to activity.

What can you expect?

On a first visit, a patient can expect a consultation and examination with the use of biofeedback in a comfortable, private and professional atmoshpere. Biofeedback is used as a tool by medical professionals to monitor a muscle's activity. It uses surface electrodes to pick up muscle activity when the patient performs a pelvic floor contraction. The patient and practitioner then see, in a number form, how strong the muscles are and how hard they are working. This allows the practitioner and patient to make sure that the patient is using the correct muscles (not substituting other muscles) and to see how strong of a contraction the patient can achieve. The contraction is assessed on the first visit and is then used in determining treatment.

After the first visit, the patient is usually seen for 30-60 minutes, 1-2 times a week for approximately a month. The patient will then be discharged to a home exercise program as they understand how to strengthen their pelvic floor at the time of discharge.

What conditions can benefit from Women's Health Physical Therapy?

• Urinary Incontinence
• Pelvic Pain (i.e. Levator Ani Syndrome, Dyspareunia, Vaginismus)
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Pain caused by Episiotomy and Abdominal Scars, Overactive Bladder
• Pregnancy Issues such as low back pain
• Lymphedema drainage
• Postnatal Care
• Prenatal Care
• Obstetric Issues...and other Women's Health Issues!

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