When it comes to pelvic rehab, there is so much information out there – who knows what exactly to believe? Here at Fitzgerald PT, we have PT’s who specialize in pelvic floor rehab and work with patients every single day. Therefore, we wanted to break down the top 5 myths around this:

1. It’s just for pregnant and postpartum women

While pregnant and postpartum women make up a large population of pelvic rehab patients, many people experience dysfunction in their pelvic region that have never been pregnant. Other common pelvic health conditions include pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, overactive bladder, constipation, fecal incontinence, tailbone pain, and low back pain.

2. It’s just for women, in general

Men have pelvic floors too and can also experience dysfunction! Some conditions specific to men include prostatitis and erectile dysfunction. They can also experience issues with urinary and fecal incontinence, constipation, and lumbopelvic pain, to name a few.

3. It’s all about the Kegels

A “Kegel” is a contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. While many patients seeking pelvic health rehab may have weak pelvic floor musculature, for some patients doing Kegels can actually make their condition worse. For instance, for patients with pelvic pain due to overactive or hypertonic muscles, repeated Kegel exercises can actually result in increased pain.

4. Incontinence is normal postpartum or with aging

Just because urinary incontinence postpartum or with aging is common, that does not mean it is normal. Urinary incontinence should never be considered normal and should be able to be addressed with pelvic rehab.

5. Chronic problems can’t be fixed

Just because a symptom or issue has been present for months to years, does not mean that dedicated physical therapy cannot help improve symptoms and address root causes. In fact, the bladder is the most re-trainable organ in the human body!

Moral of the story: if you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms related to bladder, bowel, or sexual dysfunction, come see one of our pelvic health specialists for an evaluation or learn more about pelvic health on our website now. GREAT NEWS – we also accept insurance to cover pelvic rehab services!

Article written by Fitzgerald PT’s own Dr. Sara MacNeill, PT, DPT, Pelvic Floor Specialist