01
Bladder Symptoms
- Urinary urgency
- Frequent urination
- Urinary leakage or incontinence
- Leakage with coughing, sneezing, or exercise
- Difficulty starting the urine stream
- Feeling unable to completely empty the bladder
- Bladder or pelvic discomfort
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Bladder & Bowel Dysfunction
Bladder and bowel symptoms are common, but they don't have to become your normal.
Dr. Lina Loyd provides individualized pelvic floor physical therapy for men and women experiencing urinary urgency, frequency, leakage, difficulty emptying, constipation, and other bladder or bowel concerns. Care focuses on understanding the factors contributing to your symptoms and improving the function of the pelvic floor.
Bladder & bowel health
Individualized pelvic floor physical therapy
with Dr. Lina Loyd, PT, DPT
Understanding Your Symptoms
Bladder and bowel dysfunction can show up in many different ways.
Healthy bladder and bowel function depends in part on the pelvic floor being able to contract, relax, and coordinate at the right time. When that coordination is disrupted, symptoms may involve leakage, urgency, frequency, difficulty emptying, constipation, pain, or a combination of concerns.
02
Bowel Symptoms
- Constipation
- Straining with bowel movements
- Difficulty starting or completing a bowel movement
- Feeling of incomplete emptying
- Pain with bowel movements
- Bowel urgency
- Accidental bowel or gas leakage
03
Pelvic Floor & Emptying Concerns
- Difficulty relaxing the pelvic floor
- Pelvic floor muscle tension
- Pushing or straining to empty
- Changes in pelvic pressure during elimination
- Difficulty coordinating muscles during toileting
- Symptoms that change with position or movement
- Bladder and bowel symptoms occurring together
Pelvic floor physical therapy may help with a range of bladder and bowel concerns.
Dr. Loyd's care focuses on the pelvic floor, musculoskeletal, movement, and behavioral factors that may contribute to bladder and bowel symptoms. Some symptoms may also require evaluation or treatment by a physician or other healthcare provider.
Stress urinary incontinence
Urge urinary incontinence
Urinary urgency & frequency
Difficulty with bladder emptying
Constipation
Defecatory dysfunction
Fecal incontinence
Pelvic floor muscle overactivity
Pelvic floor muscle weakness
Postpartum bladder or bowel changes
Symptoms following pelvic surgery
Bladder or bowel symptoms associated with pelvic pain
Bladder and bowel symptoms are not always caused by weakness. The pelvic floor may need better strength, relaxation, coordination, or a combination of these. Your physical therapy evaluation helps determine which factors are relevant to your individual symptoms.
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Improving bladder and bowel function starts with understanding how your body is working.
Treatment is about more than simply strengthening the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor needs to contract when support is needed, relax when it's time to empty, and coordinate with breathing, abdominal pressure, and movement. Dr. Loyd evaluates these relationships to identify the factors that may be contributing to your bladder or bowel symptoms and develops treatment around what your body needs.
01
Understand Your Symptoms & Habits
Your visit begins with a conversation about your bladder and bowel symptoms, frequency, urgency, leakage, emptying, daily habits, activity, medical history, and the ways these concerns affect your life.
02
Evaluate Pelvic Floor Function
When appropriate and with your consent, evaluation may assess pelvic floor strength, relaxation, coordination, muscle tension, breathing, mobility, and other factors related to bladder and bowel function.
03
Improve Coordination & Function
Treatment may focus on improving the pelvic floor's ability to contract, relax, and coordinate appropriately for continence, bladder control, and comfortable bowel movements.
04
Build Strategies for Daily Life
You'll learn practical strategies that may help with urgency, toileting mechanics, bladder and bowel habits, exercise, and managing symptoms during everyday activities.
Treatment is based on what your pelvic floor needs.
Whether your symptoms involve weakness, tension, poor relaxation, coordination, or a combination of factors, Dr. Loyd develops care around your individual presentation and goals.
How the Pelvic Floor Works
Bladder and bowel function depends on coordination.
The pelvic floor has different jobs at different times. It helps support continence when you're active, but it also needs to relax and coordinate with the rest of the body when you urinate or have a bowel movement. Good function depends on these systems working together.
01
Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor needs appropriate strength, endurance, relaxation, and coordination to support bladder and bowel function.
02
Breathing & Pressure
The diaphragm, abdominal muscles, and pelvic floor work together to manage pressure during movement, exercise, coughing, and elimination.
03
Toileting Mechanics
Positioning, breathing, relaxation, and muscle coordination can influence how effectively and comfortably the bladder and bowel empty.
04
Habits & Daily Activity
Bathroom habits, fluid intake, activity, exercise, and learned responses to urgency can all influence bladder and bowel symptoms.
The goal isn't simply a stronger pelvic floor. It's a pelvic floor that works when you need it to.
Dr. Loyd looks at how these factors work together for you. Treatment is then directed toward the specific areas that may be contributing to leakage, urgency, difficulty emptying, constipation, or other symptoms.
Getting Started
What to expect at your first visit.
Bladder and bowel concerns can be difficult to talk about, but they are an important part of pelvic health. Your first appointment gives you time to discuss what you've been experiencing, understand how your pelvic floor may be involved, and begin developing a plan for moving forward.
01
Talk Through Your Symptoms
Dr. Loyd will ask about your bladder and bowel symptoms, bathroom habits, medical history, daily activities, exercise, and how these concerns are affecting your quality of life.
02
Evaluate How Your Body Is Working
Your evaluation may look at movement, mobility, breathing, pressure management, strength, muscle coordination, and pelvic floor function when appropriate.
03
Identify Contributing Factors
Dr. Loyd will discuss whether strength, muscle tension, difficulty relaxing, coordination, toileting mechanics, habits, movement, or other factors may be contributing to your symptoms.
04
Develop Your Treatment Plan
Together, you'll develop an individualized plan focused on your symptoms, goals, comfort level, and improving bladder or bowel function in everyday life.
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Your comfort and consent matter. Pelvic floor assessment and treatment are individualized and should be discussed with you before they are performed. You can ask questions and communicate your comfort level throughout your care.
Pelvic Health Project
Ready to take the next step?
Contact Dr. Lina Loyd to discuss getting started with individualized pelvic floor physical therapy for bladder or bowel concerns.