Phoenix Physical Therapy

Pursuing Pelvic Floor PT

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Going to see a pelvic floor PT after pregnancy and childbirth should be standard care in the U.S. health care system like it is in other countries, but unfortunately it isn’t. You have to ask your healthcare provider for this care.  Whether you have experienced a normal or complicated pregnancy and/or childbirth, you have entered a phase of pelvic floor muscle dysfunction that may be symptomatic or not.  Common symptoms you may experience include: urinary/fecal leakage, back pain, rectal pain, pain with intercourse, organ prolapse, weak core ‘diastasis recti’, and constipation following vaginal delivery or caesarean section.  Other complicated symptoms may include tail bone pain, pelvic pain due to vaginal wall tear and episiotomies, scar tissue build up and limited overall mobility following caesarean section.

Many women don’t think of their pelvic floor muscles as part their core stability.  If these muscles are not rehabilitated, pelvic floor muscle dysfunction symptoms may rise or worsen as you approach menopausal age or if planning to be pregnant again.  Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction can also affect your lower back or hip stability.  Here at Phoenix PT, we care about your pelvic floor and will help you feel yourself again by addressing your symptoms and pelvic floor muscle dysfunction.  We provide a relaxed environment, extensive knowledge, skills and expertise to make sure you meet your PT goals and feel comfortable with long term management of your pelvic floor health.

Please don’t hesitate to ask your OBGYN or primary care physician about pelvic floor PT or call us directly at 802-863- 6662 to talk to one of our pelvic floor therapists with any general or specific questions you may have.  We will be glad to help!

This Holiday Season

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Have you ever heard yourself say, “I don’t have time to go to the bathroom”? As you get ready for the holidays do you think, “there is no time for me to take care of necessary functions, I am just too busy”? At Phoenix Physical Therapy we hear remarks such as these all the time! Some of our patients will report that they never take the time to void completely (if at all) during the day and yet in the evening or during the night they will void several times! Some patients will ‘multitask’ while in the bathroom, making shopping lists, sending text messages, talking on the phone or just focusing on what else needs to be done in the course of a busy day. Holidays often make these issues more pronounced as we tend to be busier and have more to accomplish in a given day.

At Phoenix Physical Therapy we are proud of our ability to help men, women and children who don’t take the proper time to use the toilet. We work closely with our clientele to teach them the skills to manage these private body functions in a way that empowers them to take charge of their needs! How many times a day do you use the toilet to empty your bladder? Six to eight times is normal during the course of 24 hours, but once a night for an older adult is appropriate while younger people shouldn’t need to get up at night. Does that match your habits? Postponing the urge to void (beyond a normal voiding interval) during the day creates an abundant source of issues including, but not limited to: urinary tract infections, urinary leakage, use of pads for protection, limited fluids, or more voiding at night while you are trying to sleep. Even constipation can become an issue (just think of all that holiday food you will eat that can bother your belly!). All of this can lead to what we term a “pelvic floor muscle dysfunction”. Holiday time for some will exacerbate these symptoms when people ignore the desire to empty their bladders or use the toilet when their bodies signal it is time to do so.

Phoenix Physical Therapy can help! These behaviors are not a normal part of bladder function and can lead to a variety of problems as listed above. Is it time for you to take charge of your bladder? Would you like to not depend on the use of pads for the ‘just in case’ leaking that can occur when you ignore your urge to void?

Phoenix is not your ordinary PT practice. We specialize entirely in treatment for women, children and men with these issues. Our treatment, in a relaxed and comfortable home-like clinical environment conveniently located in South Burlington, empowers our patients to take control of their problem, overcoming incontinence, pain, or muscle dysfunction. Even during holiday time there can be an opportunity to ‘destress’ in our spa like environment while learning to control symptoms.

Contact us today and we will schedule your convenient appointment time while also answering any questions you may have about treatment. All major insurances accepted.

Recent Guidelines for Incontinence Treatment: American College of Physicians

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Just this past week the American College of Physicians published a Clinical Guideline for Physicians in an effort to provide clinical recommendations on the nonsurgical management of urinary incontinence in women.   This publication recommends that pelvic floor muscle re-education with bladder training is recommended as the first treatment option in women with stress incontinence, urge incontinence or a combination of both (mixed incontinence).

The staff at Phoenix Physical Therapy, PLC is thrilled to see such a recommendation in the professional literature!  We have known for years that this treatment option, when performed correctly, will make a difference in the quality of a woman’s life.  Our use of pelvic floor muscle retraining with biofeedback along with behavioral modifications empowers women to get their incontinence symptoms under control, allowing them restored self-confidence and resumption of the activities they previously enjoyed, without worry of leaking.  Our tag line “no surgery, no drugs, just you” is implied in the new Clinical Guidelines just published.

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine and can occur in approximately 25% of young women aged 14 to 21 years, 44-57% in women ages 40-60 and 75% in women over 75 years according to some of the research reported.  Another 6% of nursing home admissions is attributed to incontinence, accounting for $3 billion in medical spending. These numbers can vary greatly as other research indicates that women often will not report these symptoms to their physicians for a variety of reasons.  The degree of symptoms, when reported can vary from mild to debilitating and represent almost $20 billion spend on medical management of the symptoms.

Phoenix Physical Therapy is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding treatment.  We are here to help!  Incontinence is not a normal part of aging and is not something you need to live with.  Call us, email us or stop by!  We would be honored to be a part of your medical care.  “No surgery, no drugs, just you”.

Jane