Women’s Health

For any Women’s, Men’s or Pelvic Health problems such as those listed below, we recommend you see Local Business, Lift Pelvic Physiotherapy.
Please find contact details on the website: www.liftpelvicphysio.com.au

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Many women (and men)  can have pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. Factors that may contribute include pregnancy, childbirth, chronic constipation, heavy lifting, chronic cough, surgery (prostate surgery, gynaecological surgery) and ageing. Pelvic health physiotherapists can assess your pelvic floor muscle function and give you a personalised exercise program to get these important muscles functioning at their best.

Urinary Incontinence

Did you know that 37% women and 13% of men will suffer from urinary incontinence (bladder leakage) during their lifetime? This common and embarrassing problem can be successfully treated by a physiotherapist with postgraduate qualifications in pelvic health.

Overactive Bladder

The symptoms of overactive bladder include needing to pass urine frequently and urgently. This can also result in urinary leakage when you ‘don’t make it’ on time. Overactive bladder symptoms respond very well to specific physiotherapy interventions.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Prolapse is a very common condition, especially in women who have had children. In Australia, it is estimated the around half of all women who have had children will have a prolapse. Symptoms can include a feeling of ‘heaviness’ in the vagina, feeling or seeing a lump or bulge in the vagina,
difficulty with emptying the bladder or bowel, frequent urinary tract infections or painful sexual intercourse. Mild prolapse may not be symptomatic but an untreated prolapse may become worse with time.

Our pelvic health physiotherapist can help you if you have prolapse. There are many non-surgical treatments that they can offer including specific exercises, lifestyle advice and pessary fitting.

Painful Sexual Intercourse

Dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) can have many causes including overactive/tight pelvic floor muscles, tight scar tissue after vaginal childbirth, alterations to the vaginal microbiome and hormonal changes throughout your different life phases. Our pelvic health physiotherapist can assess and treat the factors causing your pain and work with you to manage the problem.

Vulvodynia/Vaginismus

Conditions in which sufferers have moderate to severe pain or spasms in the vulval/vaginal area. Our postgraduate trained physiotherapist can help by carrying out a thorough assessment and working with you to manage and treat your problems.

Bowel Issues (Incontinence, Constipation, Haemorrhoids) Constipation is a very common problem and is one of the main factors contributing to pelvic floor weakness and prolapse. Bowel incontinence is estimated to affect 5-10% of the population.

Haemorrhoids are inflamed and enlarged blood vessels in the anal canal. They can be very painful and often respond well to therapeutic ultrasound treatment to reduce the inflammation, along with advice to ensure the bowels are functioning optimally. All of these issues can be expertly treated by a pelvic health physiotherapist.

Prostate, Gynaecological or Urological Surgery

Many women will have pelvic health issues before and after gynaecological surgery.
Working with a pelvic health physiotherapist before and after your surgery can help to optimise your recovery.

Breastfeeding Problems – Mastitis and Cracked Nipples

Physiotherapists use therapeutic ultrasound to treat blocked milk ducts/mastitis and low level LASER treatment to help to heal cracked nipples in breastfeeding mothers. Treatment can help to resolve these painful conditions quickly.

Abdominal Separation

Abdominal muscle separation (rectus abdominus diastasis) is normal at the end of pregnancy to allow room for the baby to grow. However if the separation is particularly large or if the muscles do not return to their usual arrangement after the birth, special exercises may be useful to assist this process.

Pelvic health physiotherapists have all the up to date information about this condition and how best to manage it.

Postnatal Pelvic Floor Screening

Have you had a baby and want to return to exercise? It is really important to have you pelvic floor health checked by a physiotherapist qualified in internal assessments. This is to ensure that your pelvic floor muscles are strong enough to withstand the forces that your chosen exercise will
generate. Having a 6 week postnatal pelvic floor check can help to prevent problems like urinary incontinence or prolapse.

Real Time Ultrasound

Our pelvic health physiotherapist uses a real time ultrasound as part of the assessment of your pelvic floor. The machine allows us to view the bladder and pelvic floor on a screen by placing the probe on your lower tummy. This can provide very useful visual feedback to help you learn how to contract the correct muscles.