Women’s Health Physiotherapy

What Does A Women’s Health Physio Do?

A women’s health physiotherapist will start by asking you questions to get to know your history, and to treat your pelvic health concerns by looking at the whole picture. They will get a thorough clinical picture and talk through your symptoms. These questions may seem personal but will always remain confidential. 

Next, they will assess you physically for posture, movement and alignment. Often we will use tools such as real-time ultrasound to assess your pelvic floor externally. Depending on your condition and symptoms, you may require an internal vaginal examination to assess resting tone, muscle strength, pain or prolapse. Your experienced physiotherapist will explain what is involved in more detail to ensure you understand and are comfortable before, during and afterwards. We will always ask for your consent and you are welcome to withdraw that consent at any point. 

Finally, together with your physiotherapist, you will make an evidence- based plan for treatment. Treatment will depend on the findings of the examination and may include various exercises, manual therapy (hands-on treatment) and most likely a home program. Most importantly, it will be something that is achievable by and acceptable to you. 

Common Conditions Treated By A Women’s Health Physio

  • Pelvis and Spinal Conditions

  • Urinary Incontinence (Stress, Urgency, Mixed)

  • Pelvic Organ Prolapse and Pessary Fittings 

  • Antenatal Conditions and Birth Preparation

  • Postnatal Conditions 

  • Sexual Pain Including Vulvodynia, Vaginismus, Dyspareunia

  • Complex or Chronic Pelvic Pain Conditions Including Endometriosis/PCOS/Adenomyosis

  • Pre/Post Gynecological Surgery

  • Bowel Dysfunction

Pessary Fittings

If you have been diagnosed with pelvic organ prolapse, you may be referred by your doctor or our women’s health physiotherapist to have a pessary fitted as a popular conservative treatment. A pessary is a silicone device used to support your pelvic organs.

The decision about which type of pessary each woman should use depends on the type of prolapse and the symptoms it causes. The pessary has to be fitted correctly and it may take several tries to get the right one.

An initial pessary fitting fee of $160 will be charged on top of your regular appointment fee. This fee covers the pessaries fitted in the appointment including the one you take home.

You will then be required to have a standard 45 minute follow-up appointment 2 weeks later and again in 3 months time to ensure the correct fit and health of your tissues. These appointments are extremely important to keep for your health and safety.

 Common Women’s Health Questions We Get Asked?

  • This very much depends on what is causing the weakness in your pelvic floor. The pelvic floor consists of a number of muscles which form the base of your core and support your pelvic organs. It also contains many nerves, and is supported by fascia and connective tissue. The pelvic floor muscles need to be able to contract well, and they also need to relax well.

    Put simply, sometimes “weakness” can be caused by the muscles not being strong enough or by urethral insufficiency, whereby there is not enough support. Other times it can be caused by the muscles actually being “too tight” which means that full range of motion cannot be achieved. The mechanism causing your incontinence will determine which treatment is best.

    If we need to increase support, you may be prescribed pelvic floor exercises, or training devices such as electrical stimulation, vaginal cones or a continence pessary among many others. Alternatively, if your pelvic floor is too tight, we need to help it relax and increase the range of motion which may involve manual release, pelvic floor relaxation exercises etc.

    Finally, pelvic floor weakness can also be because the demand placed on your pelvic floor is also too high because it is trying to compensate for other problems in your body, for example if you abs are too tight it can increase the pressure in your abdominal cavity which puts excessive strain and work on your pelvic floor.

    Every individual is different and treatment will depend on the very specific cause of your weakness. It will also be discussed with you so that you are comfortable and happy with whichever treatment is prescribed.

  • Your pelvic floor and deep core muscles while connected, are different. It is important that you understand how to correctly activate and then relax your pelvic floor and deep core muscles, and to ensure you are not over-activating your superficial abdominal muscles and pelvic floor.

    We also want to ensure that your posture and body positions support optimal loading for daily functions. While Pilates can absolutely help your pelvic floor strength when taught correctly, sometimes pilates taught in large group fitness environments can overlook these important factors.

    At Move Mountains Physiotherapy, we can assist you in finding correct posture and in activating and relaxing your muscles appropriately using real time ultrasound so that you are able to strengthen your pelvic floor in Pilates and beyond.

  • While common, it is definitely not normal to leak after you’ve had a baby or as you get older (post-menopause).

    There are many reasons you might be leaking during these times in your life including decreased pelvic floor strength, connective tissue integrity problems, urethral insufficiency, decreases in oestrogen as you breastfeed or go through menopause, or an overactive bladder muscle, just to name a few.

    If you are experiencing any kind of bladder or bowel urgency or incontinence, we strongly recommend seeing a specialised women’s health physiotherapist, such as our very own Jaimi Gallagher, to identify the cause and to treat your leaking effectively.

For quick relief of your women’s health concern, book in for an appointment with our expert physio Jaimi Gallagher at our Jindabyne Physiotherapy Clinic.