The world of pelvic health rehabilitation has been around for 20+ years, but recently it’s been getting some necessary time in the spotlight as more women are sharing their health journeys and ups and downs of pregnancy and postpartum symptoms.  In case you were wondering, Pelvic Health Physical Therapy can be for individuals of ALL ages, female or male and for many reasons. 

Curious as to what actually happens during a pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation and assessment?

At Inside Out our women’s health physical therapy program specifically emphasizes treatment for the active woman building movement confidence for female athletes and mothers from pregnancy through postpartum. Our hope is to empower women seeking to live life strong and build a foundation to progress her performance inside and outside the gym.

Curious to learn more?

Here’s an example of what your experience at Inside Out for a pelvic floor physical therapy evaluation typically will look like:

A key aspect of the initial evaluation is to gather information from the client to gain a better picture and understanding of your symptoms and how they are impacting your life.  Prior to meeting, we will send over a few forms for you to fill out for general information but then I will ask you more in depth and intentional questions and listen as you provide subjective history chatting about what symptoms you are experiencing, past medical history, and current lifestyle, hobbies, dietary choices and screening for potential “red flags”.  We value your story and want to learn as much as we can about your symptoms and determine our assessment game plan moving forward to best assess our pathway to identifying the root cause of your problem or symptoms rather than chasing a secondary symptom that will not provide long term results or relief.

Then we will transition into the Objective portion of the evaluation. This can look different depending on what your current symptoms may be, but the main idea is we were gathering more data to help us zero in on the best approach for taking action to address your reason for coming to us.  I like to assess a person as just that, an entire person. I want to see how your body moves globally and look for any signs of movement dysfunction or impairments. I will complete specific tests and measures such as posture & gait assessment, observe functional quality of movement for specific tasks-especially ones that reproduce your symptoms, breathing patterns, muscle strength, motor control, joint range of motion and flexibility.

Next (one of my favorite aspects of my work) is to provide education with specifics of pelvic floor anatomy and muscle functions in addition to. Discuss and talk through internal pelvic floor muscle assessment and testing techniques and of course obtain verbal consent.

In our private treatment space, we will conduct the external & internal pelvic floor muscle assessment and abdominal wall integrity checks. The assessments include:

• Visual observation of tissue integrity
• Sensation testing and external palpation for tenderness or pain reproduction
• Checking muscle tone, coordination and symmetry
• Identifying potential pain generators or reproduction of symptoms
• Assessing an individuals’ ability to contract and relax pelvic floor muscles
• Internal manual muscle testing for each layer and strength testing
• Additional tests & measures may be conducted such as prolapse screening or diastasis recti assessment pending a patient’s past medical history and symptoms.

In case you were wondering, the internal pelvic floor muscle assessments are completed with prior verbal consent, modesty, respect and a gloved finger with some lube.

After this portion of the objective assessment is complete we will reconvene in our clinic to discuss findings and how they relate to symptoms and what course of action we will take moving forward for frequency and duration of our sessions together. At Inside Out, will provide a tangible action step to take home as homework after the initial evaluation such as exercises, bladder diary, stress management strategies or body mechanic tips for symptom management.

Unsure if you would benefit from a pelvic health evaluation? 

Check out the Cozean Pelvic Dysfunction Screening Protocol below:

Cozean Pelvic Dysfunction Screening Protocol

If you have 3 or more circles checked, please contact us and we can work together to determine your next steps. We hope this helps ease some of the curiosity and anxiety you may be feeling around this subject and look forward to being of support and guidance for you. 

 As we mentioned earlier, our women’s health physical therapy and training programs specifically emphasize care for the active woman building movement confidence for female athletes and mothers from pregnancy through postpartum. Our hope is to empower women seeking to live life strong and build a foundation to progress her performance inside and outside the gym. 

Most people don’t know how to stay healthy and fit without getting hurt. At Inside Out Strength and Performance we provide a clear plan to get you in the best shape of your life, without getting injured, so that you can be active and confident that you’ll feel your best for years to come.

We help North County San Diego’s active adults and runners dealing with pain or injury get back to living a pain-free, strong, and confident life.

We are the Strength Docs who help active adults and runners live a strong, confident, and pain-free life. Fill out our contact form here to get a clear plan and get started.