Urinary incontinence or other pelvic floor problem may be affecting your quality of life. Often these topics are never discussed at a visit to your primary care doctor—but that doesn’t mean you must learn to live with the condition.
Many types of pelvic floor problems, such as bladder and bowel incontinence, can be corrected with the help of our specially trained pelvic floor physical therapists. Pelvic floor rehabilitation at University Health focuses on restoring function, reducing pain and getting you back to your normal activities.
Conditions We Treat
We treat a wide variety of conditions related to the pelvic floor, and we treat other conditions that may be affecting the function of your pelvic floor.
Pelvic floor problems we can address include:
- Constipation
- Diastasis recti, which is a gap or tear in an abdominal muscle
- Overactive bladder
- Pain during or after pregnancy
- Pain during sexual intercourse
- Pain in the pelvic area, bladder, tailbone, lower back or hips
- Prolapse of the bladder, rectum, uterus or vaginal vault
- Urinary and bowel incontinence
What to Expect at Your Appointment
At your first appointment, you will fill out a survey so our physical therapists can understand what’s most important to you. That will help us work with you to create a treatment plan that complements your lifestyle.
You will have a comprehensive, manual pelvic floor examination, which may be an internal and external exam of all areas related to the pelvic floor, including your mid-back, legs, knees and hips. After the exam, we will discuss treatment options with you.
Treatments We Offer
There’s so much more we can do than simply recommend Kegel exercises to help correct your pelvic floor condition.
Among the treatments we offer include:
- Biofeedback therapy to retrain pelvic muscles to perform correct contractions
- Exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and the lower abdominal muscles
- Heat to reduce pain
- Manual therapy to realign bones and joints, minimizing pain and increasing muscle mobility
- Mild electrical stimulation of a weakened muscle, at the patient’s comfort level
- Neo-bladder rehabilitation to train new tissue to function properly as a bladder
- Nutrition education to identify and alleviate bladder irritants
Biofeedback Therapy for Incontinence
Patients who experience urinary and bowel incontinence may need help retraining their pelvic muscles and overcoming muscular dysfunction. We can help.
Because the pelvic muscles are so small, it’s often difficult for patients to know which ones are being contracted. Our specialty biofeedback unit measures muscle activity, recording a patient’s pelvic muscle contractions. With this feedback, the patient is able to learn which muscles to contract, helping to alleviate incontinence.
Our Physical Therapists
In partnership with UT Health San Antonio, we have expertly trained female physical therapists who specialize in pelvic floor and manual physical therapy. We welcome women, men and pediatric patients.