Frequently Asked Questions

A detailed history of your symptoms will be collected by your Pelvic Physiotherapist. Questions regarding sexual function, bladder, bowel, low back, hip, and tailbone symptoms will be asked. Your therapist may ask you to fill out questionnaires that will give her a better idea of what is contributing to your specific symptoms. These questions may seem personal and unrelated but the answers do help to determine if there is any pelvic floor dysfunction. Once the information is gathered, a physical assessment (external and internal) is then started. The full assessment may not be completed within the initial session as the length depends on the symptoms presented. Once your Pelvic
Physiotherapist has completed her examination, she will explain her findings to you. She will give you exercises or other homework to do, and explain how often you should return for treatment. She will explain what changes you should expect to see, and how long you should expect your treatment to take. She will give you time to ask questions.

An internal examination is the gold standard for assessment and treatment of
conditions related to the pelvic floor. Without feeling the muscles, your pelvic floor physiotherapist will be unable to identify if you have trigger points, or if you can contract your pelvic floor effectively.
That being said, there are generally many parts of the assessment and treatment that can take place without an internal exam. Some patients have been treated successfully without ever doing an exam.
Though the most benefit will be derived if your pelvic floor physiotherapist completes an internal exam, you will still benefit from coming if you are uncomfortable with or unable to have an internal exam.

Pelvic floor physiotherapy is so much more than just Kegels (pelvic floor muscle training). If you have tried doing Kegels in the past but have not noticed any improvement, there could be many reasons.
Firstly, up to 30% of women are unable to do a kegel when asked. Many women instead contract their abdominals, glutes, or adductors. Or they bear down (push). If this is the issue, you may have been attempting to do Kegels, but you have been strengthening the wrong muscles.
A pelvic floor physiotherapist will check vaginally or rectally so they can feel your Kegel, and teach you how to locate and contract your pelvic floor. If you have been doing Kegels with no effect, the problem could be that your pelvic floor is too tight or has trigger points.
For a muscle to be effective, it needs to have strength, but it also needs to be able to relax. For instance, if you can’t open your fist, strengthening your hand is not going to help. In this case, doing Kegels may have made your symptoms worse.
Instead, your pelvic floor physiotherapist will release the tension or trigger points in your pelvic floor muscles and give you stretches or other exercises to do at home.
Your pelvic floor physiotherapist will also help you determine what other factors may be contributing to the tension or trigger points in your pelvic floor.

Sessions are typically 60 minutes long. Time used to give one-on-one care and a program designed specifically for you in mind.