Specialized Pelvic Health Care
What Is Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy looks at how the muscles, joints, nerves, breathing, movement, and daily activities work together to support pelvic health.
Dr. Lina Loyd provides individualized pelvic floor physical therapy for both men and women. Treatment begins by understanding your symptoms and how they affect your life, then identifying the physical factors that may be contributing and developing a plan around your individual needs and goals.
Pelvic health is about more than muscle strength.
Healthy pelvic floor function depends on muscles being able to do different jobs at the right time.
- Contract and support
- Relax and lengthen
- Coordinate with breathing
- Respond to movement and pressure
- Support bladder, bowel, and sexual function
Understanding the Pelvic Floor
What does the pelvic floor actually do?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissues at the base of the pelvis. These muscles work with the abdominal wall, diaphragm, hips, and surrounding structures to support several important functions throughout everyday life.
01
Support
The pelvic floor helps support the pelvic organs and responds to changes in pressure during movement, lifting, coughing, and exercise.
02
Bladder & Bowel Function
These muscles help maintain continence and must also relax and coordinate appropriately for urination and bowel movements.
03
Sexual Function
Pelvic floor muscle tension, relaxation, coordination, mobility, and comfort can all influence sexual function.
04
Movement & Stability
The pelvic floor works with breathing, the abdominal muscles, hips, and trunk during movement, exercise, and daily activity.
A healthy pelvic floor needs more than strength.
Depending on the person, symptoms may involve weakness, excessive muscle tension, difficulty relaxing, poor coordination, reduced endurance, or a combination of factors. That's why treatment should begin with an individualized evaluation rather than assuming everyone needs the same exercises.
Individualized Treatment
What does pelvic floor physical therapy look like?
Treatment depends on what your body needs — not on a standard set of pelvic floor exercises.
Dr. Loyd looks at the pelvic floor as part of a larger system. Your treatment may address the pelvic floor itself as well as breathing, abdominal function, mobility, strength, posture, movement, bladder or bowel habits, and the activities that reproduce your symptoms.
Understand the Problem
Begin with your symptoms, history, activities, goals, and the situations in which your symptoms improve or become worse.
Evaluate How Your Body Is Working
Assessment may include movement, mobility, breathing, strength, coordination, muscle tension, and pelvic floor function when appropriate.
Treat the Contributing Factors
Treatment is selected based on the findings of your evaluation rather than assuming the pelvic floor is simply weak or tight.
Build Toward Real-Life Function
Your program progresses toward the daily activities, exercise, work, intimacy, or other goals that matter to you.
Treatment may include:
Pelvic floor therapy is not just Kegels.
Some patients need strengthening. Others need to improve relaxation, mobility, coordination, or movement. Many need a combination.
Your Evaluation
What does a pelvic floor assessment involve?
A pelvic floor evaluation is individualized to your symptoms and goals. Not every patient needs the same assessment, and an internal pelvic floor examination is not automatically required simply because you are receiving pelvic floor physical therapy.
External Assessment
Your evaluation may begin by looking at how the pelvis and surrounding areas function during movement and everyday activity.
- Posture and movement
- Breathing and pressure management
- Hip, pelvis, and lower-back mobility
- Strength and muscle coordination
- Abdominal and core function
- Areas of muscle tension or tenderness
- Functional movements related to your symptoms
Pelvic Floor Assessment
When clinically appropriate and with your consent, a more specific pelvic floor assessment may provide information about how the muscles are functioning.
- Muscle activation and strength
- Ability to relax and lengthen
- Muscle tension or tenderness
- Coordination and control
- Endurance
- Symmetry and muscle response
- How pelvic floor findings relate to symptoms
Your First Visit
What can you expect?
Your first visit is about understanding you — not rushing into treatment. Dr. Loyd will learn about your symptoms, concerns, activities, and goals, complete an appropriate evaluation, and explain what she finds along the way.
Talk About What's Going On
Discuss your symptoms, relevant history, daily activities, concerns, and what you hope to improve through physical therapy.
Complete an Individualized Evaluation
Dr. Loyd will evaluate the areas relevant to your symptoms and goals, explaining the assessment as you go.
Understand What We Find
You'll discuss the findings, how they may relate to your symptoms, and what physical therapy may be able to address.
Build a Plan Together
Your treatment plan is developed around your individual findings, priorities, comfort level, lifestyle, and goals.
Pelvic Health Project
Have questions about whether pelvic floor PT is right for you?
Contact Dr. Lina Loyd to discuss your concerns and learn more about getting started with individualized, one-on-one pelvic floor physical therapy.