Understanding Pain
Pain isn’t just physical, and it’s not as straightforward as many people think. It affects emotional and mental wellbeing, plus our attitudes, beliefs, personality, and social factors all affect our pain experience. This is why two people with the exact same condition sometimes have very different experiences of pain!
Pain can be acute or chronic./perisstent. Acute pain lasts for a short time, follows trauma, and usually improves as the body heals. Chronic pain lasts longer than we’d expect for healing from trauma. It can be a symptom of a disease or a disease in its own right.
Understanding Persistent Pelvic Pain
According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, chronic pelvic pain is any pain in the pelvic area that lasts for 6 months or longer. For some women, the pain is constant. For others, it comes and goes.
Pelvic pain in women can be caused by conditions related to the reproductive organs, the urinary tract, or the bowel. Some women have more than one condition contributing to their pain, and some women have pain even though there’s no obvious cause.
If you’re experiencing persistent pelvic pain, I can help you figure out why. I’ll get to know you, take an in-depth history, and do a physical exam (including a pelvic exam). I may also run tests or refer you to other specialists if need be– whatever it takes to get the answers we need!
Pelvic floor physiotherapy can help you:
Manage Pelvic Pain
Pain is time consuming, overwhelming, physically limiting, and it weighs heavy on your body & mind. I’ll help you find relief with movement and coping strategies.
Understand Chronic Pain
I won’t just treat your pain, I’ll share my knowledge and provide answers as to why you’re feeling pain. I’ll also do objective testing and build a care plan specific to you.
Feel Seen & Heard
I know your pain is real and I understand how it can affect all aspects of life. I’ll listen, try to understand your unique experience, and together, we’ll go from there.
Pelvic Pain Support
Book Individual Physiotherapy
In one-on-one pelvic floor physiotherapy, we combine our education with your lived experiences of chronic pelvic pain. We provide treatment, answers, and gentle evidence-based exercises to help you cope with and manage pelvic pain.
Join Pelvic Health Group Classes
There are so many pain myths out there. Core & Pelvic Floor will dispel many of them! By combining hypopressives, breathing techniques, postural correction, and more, it’ll help you manage your pain and understand what’s happening.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily. Not everyone needs to have an internal pelvic floor physio exam, because we can make very accurate assumptions about the issue by taking an in-depth history. Also, many GP’s are now doing more of an exam instead of just doing a pap test, so there’s no need to duplicate.
But, if you do need an exam, know that it’s a totally normal part of our day. It can even be a good experience! 98% of women comment that they’re very happy having had an exam, because they feel better knowing what’s going on with their Pelvic Floor. Many women say they would prefer not to have an exam initially, but once they start working on a program, they come back and want to confirm what they’re feeling (or not feeling).
I like to keep things simple and give you all of the education and background you need to fully understand why you’re doing each one, so it’ll be hard to do any of the exercises I give you wrong! During your visit, I’ll teach you the exercises and then get you to explain them back to me, because teaching something is one of the best ways to make sure you really know something.
Once you understand why you’re doing an exercise, you’ll easily know when you’re not getting the results you want.
Pelvic pain is relatively common, but no, it’s not normal. If you’re experiencing any pain, it’s worth talking to someone who can help you understand why.