Pelvic Floor Therapy in Hales Corners and the Greater Milwaukee Area
Pelvic floor therapy is a specialized area of care that helps women with bladder, bowel, core and pelvic symptoms. It is often performed by physical therapists or occupational therapists that have advanced training in the pelvic floor specialty. Let’s break down what pelvic floor therapy in Hales Corners and the Greater Milwaukee Area actually is, who it’s for and how to find the right pelvic floor therapist for you.
Why Pelvic Floor Therapy Matters More Than You Think
At least 1 in 3 women deal with pelvic floor dysfunction including symptoms like leaking, pain with intimacy, core weakness, prolapse and back or hip pain. Even though these issues are common, they are not normal. They also tend to have a complex root cause which is why pelvic floor therapy looks at the whole body and not just one muscle group.
If you’re searching for a pelvic floor therapy clinic in Hales Corners or the Greater Milwaukee area, it is important to consider their expertise, if they take a whole body approach to care, and if treatment will include more than just exercises.
What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy
Pelvic floor therapy is a specialized area of physical therapy that treats the muscles, nerves, fascia and connective tissue that surround the pelvis, bladder, bowel and reproductive organs. It often includes external and internal assessment of these muscles as long as the client is comfortable and consents to it.
Since the body is so interconnected, pelvic health is just one part of a complex system. That means that pelvic floor therapy will also often address breathing and pressure management, core and hip coordination, and nervous system regulation.
A common misconception of pelvic floor therapy is that it just consists of doing pelvic floor exercises like kegels. This is false and your care should be incorporating core and whole body exercises, hands-on techniques to address the muscles and connective tissue, and nervous system regulation tools. All of this should be done in a gentle, non-painful way all within the client’s comfort levels.
What Conditions Can Pelvic Floor Therapy Help With
Women seek out pelvic floor therapy to help with various conditions at all stages of their life; not just after having a baby. In fact, a common misconception is that women only have pelvic floor dysfunction if they’ve had a baby and that is not true.
Issues can arise at any point in their life and often have a more complex root cause. Here are some of the most common conditions that pelvic floor therapy can help with:
Urinary or fecal leakage
Urinary urgency or frequency
Pelvic pain or pressure
Pain with intercourse or pain with pelvic exams
Prolapse symptoms
Diastasis recti
Chronic low back or hip pain
Athletic performance and core instability
Endometriosis, PCOS and fibroids
Chronic constipation
When Should You Work With A Pelvic Floor Therapist Near You
Everyone is guilty of telling themselves that their issues aren’t “that bad” or thinking that they will just go away on their own with more time. And we get it! It would definitely be much easier for that to happen. Our advice is that if you have been having issues for more than 2 weeks and they haven’t gone away by then, it is time to seek out help.
You should consider pelvic floor therapy if:
Symptoms have lasted >2 weeks
Symptoms are affecting daily life, exercise, or intimacy
You’ve been told “this is just normal”
You’ve tried exercises or online programs without improvement
You want proactive care during pregnancy, postpartum or perimenopause
You do not need to wait until things get worse
Getting care earlier will give you faster results and not require as many sessions
The sooner you address your issues, the more that it prevents compensation patterns and chronic issues
You deserve to live an active life and feel confident in your day to day activities without pelvic floor issues
Just because you may not be able to “see” the issues as much as other types of injuries doesn’t mean they aren’t real issues and don’t impact your life
At Revitalize Physical Therapy, we work with women from Hales Corners, Milwaukee, Franklin, New Berlin, and the surrounding communities to help them resolve these common conditions with pelvic floor therapy.
Why Pelvic Floor Therapy Works (When Other Approaches Don’t)
One of the best things about pelvic floor therapy is that they are experts in connecting all of the puzzle pieces of your issues. Pelvic floor issues are rarely isolated just to the pelvic floor muscles which requires a whole body approach. That includes addressing factors such as sleep, stress, breathing, posture, strength and coordination in an evidence-based approach.
Based on the unique, intimate nature of this therapy, it has to be done in a personalized way rather than generic programs that are given to everyone. It looks very different from traditional physical therapy if you have any experience with that from a previous injury. No generic exercises in the gym surrounded by other patients or quick fixes in a high-volume setting.
Women tell us all the time about their journey to find pelvic floor therapy and all the other approaches that they tried first. And while a lot of these approaches aren’t inherently “wrong”, they just haven’t had the cohesive lens and approach that pelvic floor therapy does.
How To Find the Right Pelvic Floor Therapist In The Milwaukee Area
Like all services, there are unique differences between businesses and it’s important that you find the best fit for you and pelvic floor therapy is no different. There can be a wide range of what is all included as treatment, their approach and model, and their expertise level. Below are some features to look for with their approach and questions to ask before booking to ensure you are finding a good fit for you.
What to look for:
Specialized training in pelvic health. Is it all that they do or does it seem like an add-on service with other specialties.
Experience with your specific life stage (ie: pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, athletics). Will they be fully knowledgeable about all of the factors during this stage you’re in in order to best help you.
Personalized approach. Are they going to give you a personalized plan or do they do the same, generic approach with everyone.
Whole-body assessment approach. Are they addressing more than just the pelvic floor muscles and more than just the physical factors such as sleep, stress and nutrition.
Clinic environment. Will you feel comfortable in the clinic space and not have to feel like you are “on display” or in a loud gym environment.
Questions to ask before booking:
Do you assess both internally and externally? There are clinics that advertise that they are pelvic floor therapists or women’s health specialists but they do not actually assess the pelvic floor internally. This is the most ideal way to know exactly what is happening without guessing (as long as you are comfortable with it).
How long are sessions? Shorter sessions often mean that you will need more sessions overall to get results and may take longer to feel better.
Will my care be individualized? Can they tell you how it will be individualized with a personalized plan, a thought out, proven process and the environment to meet your individual needs.
Do you exclusively work with pelvic health? Do they have the specialization that you want or does it feel like an “add-on” service that may not give you the best expertise.
Do you look beyond just the pelvic floor muscles? Are they going to truly take an integrative approach by looking at stress, sleep, hormones, nutrition and nervous system.
What To Expect At Your First Pelvic Floor Therapy Visit
Starting pelvic floor therapy can feel unknown and uncomfortable for many women but knowing what to expect can greatly help. While we can’t speak for all pelvic floor therapy clinics, we can tell you what your first pelvic floor therapy visit here at Revitalize Physical Therapy would look like.
We always start off with a detailed history and goals discussion to make sure our plan is working towards what is most important to you. Then we do a whole body assessment in order to determine all the factors of your issue and be able to get to the root cause of them.
As we move through the assessment, we make sure to thoroughly explain what our findings are and why they are relevant so that you can fully understand what is happening in your body.
Once we have all the pieces of the puzzle, we then form a collaborative plan of care and go through it together. Our signature method, The Revitalize Remedy, breaks this down into 3 phases in order to get our clients full, long-term results.
We take time to go through this so that there are no surprises with your care and there’s never any pressure for you to do something you aren’t comfortable with.
Why Choose a Local Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Clinic
Online programs, social media advice, and “do-it-yourself” pelvic floor exercises are everywhere but fixing pelvic floor dysfunction is rarely a one-size-fits-all problem.
Working in-person with a local pelvic floor physical therapy clinic offers something that online programs cannot: individualized assessment, real-time feedback, and hands-on clinical expertise.
When you work with a local pelvic floor therapist in the Hales Corners and Greater Milwaukee area, you benefit from:
A thorough, personalized assessment to identify why your symptoms are happening.
Guidance and troubleshooting that adapts for your body rather than following a static, generic program.
Immediate correction of movement, breathing, and coordination patterns that are difficult to self-identify
Care that addresses all the physical, lifestyle, and nervous system factors for your issues rather than just focuses on exercises.
Many women try to strengthen their pelvic floor without realizing that their symptoms could actually be from a tight pelvic floor and poor coordination. Without proper assessment, these exercises can often make symptoms worse.
In-person pelvic floor therapy removes the guesswork and provides a clear, personalized plan designed specifically for you. The value of this cannot be provided by an online program or ChatGPT search.
Pelvic Floor Therapy in Hales Corners: Getting Started
If something doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. Pelvic floor therapy offers expert, individualized care to help you move forward with confidence.
Book a pelvic health evaluation in Hales Corners to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
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There is no referral is needed in the state of Wisconsin to work with a pelvic floor therapist.
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Treatment should not be painful and hurt but there can be times during treatment that you may experience some muscle discomfort. Any manual, hands-on treatment should always be within your comfort level and tolerance and not go beyond that.
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There is no quick fix to pelvic floor issues and a good rule of thumb is the longer the issues have been happening, the longer it will take to resolve them. On average, most clients work with us over the course of 6 months to get long-term relief.
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Yes! It can help at any age and any stage of life so it’s never too late to get help.
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Finding the best pelvic floor therapist for you should be based on your current life stage, goals that you want to achieve, and your comfort level with their expertise and credibility.
