Do you suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction? Signs and Symptoms can include:

  • Involuntarily leaking urine especially when you cough, exercise, jump or sneeze.
  • A need to run to the bathroom to avoid leaking urine or not making it to the bathroom on time.
  • Frequently needing to use the washroom.
  • Low back, hip, pelvic or genital pain.
  • Pain during intercourse
  • Painful menstruation
  • A bulge or feeling of heaviness in the genital/rectal area

If you experience any of the signs & symptoms listed above, then you may have pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic floor dysfunction is very common and can occur in anyone regardless of age or gender but is more common in females. Urinary incontinence, defined as an involuntary loss of urine, is a very common sign of pelvic floor dysfunction. In Canada, 3.3 million people experience urinary incontinence, affecting 1 in 3 females and 1 in 9 males. Urinary incontinence and other forms of pelvic floor dysfunction can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life by causing reduced self-esteem, an avoidance of social or physical activities that an individual enjoys, and feelings of isolation.

A pelvic floor physiotherapist can help with these conditions, and others (listed below), to optimize your quality of life by doing a detailed assessment of your pelvic floor. We use internal and external assessment techniques to determine the factors contributing to your condition and then collaborate with you and your healthcare team to create the best course of management.

If you have been diagnosed with a pelvic condition or are experiencing symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, book an assessment with our pelvic floor physiotherapist.

What is the Pelvic Floor?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles within the pelvis in both males and females which has several important functions:

  • Support: It provides support to the organs within the pelvis (the bowel, bladder, and sex organs).
  • Sphincter function: It plays an important role in urinary and fecal continence (bowel & bladder control) by controlling the opening & closing of the urethra and rectum.
  • Sexual function
  • Stability: Along with your abdominal and lumbar muscles, your pelvic floor is a very important part of your core. The pelvic floor muscles work together with the lumbar and abdominal muscles to provide lumbo-pelvic stability and help to unload the spine.

Conditions Treated by Physiotherapy

  • Urinary incontinence (Stress, urge or mixed)
  • Fecal incontinence
  • Urinary frequency
  • Overactive bladder
  • Constipation
  • Coccydynia (tailbone pain)
  • Vulvodynia/Vestibulodynia
  • Vaginismus
  • Dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
  • Endometriosis
  • Dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation)
  • Post-partum rehabilitation
  • Pelvic organ prolapse
  • Pudendal neuralgia
  • Bladder pain syndrome
  • Interstitial cystitis
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM)
  • Chronic non-bacterial prostatitis
  • Chronic pelvic pain syndrome