Tag Archives: Pelvic Health Physiotherapy

General Category, Health and Wellness, Pelvic Health, Pelvic Health Physiotherapists, Physiotherapy, Registered Physiotherapist Mississauga, Registered Physiotherapy Mississauga, Seniors, Urinary Incontinence

Urinary Tract Infections

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Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections typically occur when bacteria enter the urinary tract through the urethra. Bacteria then begin to multiply in the bladder. The most common UTIs occur mainly in women and affect the bladder and urethra.
• Infection of the bladder (cystitis).
• Infection of the urethra (urethritis)

Symptoms

• A strong, persistent urge to urinate
• A burning sensation when urinating
• Passing frequent, small amounts of urine
• Urine that appears cloudy
• Urine that appears red, bright pink or cola-colored — a sign of blood in the urine
• Strong-smelling urine
• Pelvic pain, in women — especially in the center of the pelvis and around the area of the pubic bone

Check out this video for more information: http://www.webmd.com/women/guide/your-guide-urinary-tract-infections#1

Lifestyle changes:

Urinary tract infections can be painful. You can take steps to ease your discomfort until antibiotics treat the infection. Follow these tips:
• Drink plenty of water. Water helps to dilute your urine and flush out bacteria.
• Avoid drinks that may irritate your bladder. Avoid coffee, alcohol, and soft drinks containing citrus juices or caffeine until your infection has cleared. They can irritate your
bladder. These drinks tend to aggravate your frequent or urgent need to urinate.
• Use a heating pad. Apply a warm, but not hot, heating pad to your abdomen to minimize bladder pressure or discomfort.
• Wear cotton underwear on a daily basis. Cotton underwear allows more air movement to occur. This keeps the urethra dry.
• Do NOT wear thongs. They track bacteria from your anus forward to your vagina (to the underwear section).

Physiotherapy Treatment

Physiotherapists that are trained in pelvic floor dysfunction can greatly improve a UTI patient’s quality of life. A typical approach includes training pelvic floor musculature, manipulative techniques and local heat. It also includes breathing and relaxation techniques. Lastly, treatment includes postural education, muscle coordination reeducation, and behavioral therapy.

• Reverse Kegel Down training
• Dynamic ROM program including dynamic stretching and core exercises
• Pain education
• Internal pelvic muscle work including trigger point release techniques
• Connective tissue mobilization

If you suffer from urinary tract infections, consider getting a consultation from one of our pelvic health physiotherapists today. They can help! Please call Physionow to book an appointment and get back to living a comfortable life!

General Category, Health and Wellness, Pelvic Health, Pelvic Health Physiotherapists, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Registered Physiotherapist Mississauga, Registered Physiotherapy Mississauga

Pelvic organ Prolapse

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Pelvic organ Prolapse

Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse is a very annoying problem. Pelvic organs, such as the uterus, cervix, bladder or bowel, may protrude into the vagina because of weakness in the tissues that normally support them. It is a disorder described as a protrusion at or near the vaginal opening. This may or may not cause perineal pressure. This condition is aggravated by standing and relieved by lying down.

Causes of Pelvic Organ Prolapse:

Vaginal child birth
Advancing age
Increased body weight
Hysterectomy
Chronic straining
Abnormalities of connective tissue
Connective tissue repair causes some women to have disruption, stretching, or dysfunction of the connective-tissue attachments of the vagina, or both. This can result in prolapse.

Symptoms of Pelvic Organ prolapse:

The symptoms can vary, depending on the type of prolapse. Generally, people have several complaints. These include bladder, bowel, and pelvic symptoms. Symptoms can include Urinary retention. They can also include changes in bowel function. Many women with pelvic organ prolapse have no symptoms, and do not need treatment. When pelvic organ prolapse causes symptoms, options include observation, conservative pelvic health physiotherapy treatment, and surgery. You can also use a pessary. A vaginal pessary is a removable device placed into the vagina. It is designed to support areas of pelvic organ prolapse.
http://www.webmd.com/urinary-incontinence-oab/placement-of-a-pessary

Treatment for pelvic organ prolapse:

NO effective prevention strategies for prolapse have been identified. However, options include weight loss, and reduction of heavy lifting. There are also various treatments used for constipation. These options can be discussed with your pelvic health physiotherapist. Other treatments include surgery, mechanical devices and pelvic floor exercises.

Conservative management approaches include giving lifestyle advice and delivering Kegel exercises. Kegel exercises are often used in cases of mild to moderate pelvic organ prolapse. Simple instructions are not considered adequate training for a Kegel exercise program (Bump et al 1991). The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada recommends that proper performance of Kegel exercises should be confirmed by digital vaginal examination or biofeedback. This can be done by a skilled Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. PhysioNow has the ability to do this type of treatment at all of our Physiotherapy clinics in Mississauga.
Electrical stimulation with sensor probes can also be used for pelvic floor muscle strengthening.
Kegel Exercises

Finally, it is IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND that pelvic organ prolapse is not a gynecological disease but a FUNCTIONAL problem. Pelvic health Physiotherapy can Help! Call PhysioNow today!

Exercise, General Category, Health and Wellness, Manual Therapy, Pelvic Health, Registered Physiotherapy Mississauga, Seniors, Urinary Incontinence

Urinary Incontinence

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Urinary Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. This condition is more common among women than men. An estimated 30 percent of females aged 30-60 are thought to suffer from it, compared to 1.5-5 percent of men. 3.3 million Canadians have Urinary Incontinence.
– 1 in 4 women
– 1 in 9 men
Only 1 in 12 people tell a health care worker, WHY?
– Embarrassed
– They think it is a Private Issue
– Some think it is an Inevitable part of aging….IT IS NOT!
This issue has a lot of Social Consequences like decreased self esteem.It also causes impaired emotional status, depression and isolation. It impedes social and physical activity. It has a heavy economic burden on patients, families and society (Hunskaar, 1991, Temml, 2000).

Risk Factors for Urinary Incontinence
Gynecological or urinary surgery
• Chronic Illness
• Medication
• Smoking
• Chronic straining
• Obesity
• Post menopausal (hormone changes)
• Over 40 (1 in 3)
• Pregnancy and Birth
• Multiparous: having had more than one child
• Obstetric trauma (forceps, suction, tearing)

Types of Urinary Incontinence

• Stress: This is the most common type of urinary incontinence. It is a loss of small to moderate amounts of urine with exertion – with coughing, sneezing, jumping, running, laughing, changing position etc. Often this is due to weakness of the pelvic floor muscles.
• Urge This is a loss of urine (sometimes large amounts), following an urgent need to empty the bladder. The urge can be extremely strong and impossible to ignore.
• Overflow This consists of a loss of urine due to over-filling of the bladder. This is because the bladder is unable to empty properly.
• Functional: A loss of urine due to physical problems preventing the person from reaching the washroom in time.
Mixed: A combination of stress and urge incontinence.

Physiotherapy treatments of Urinary Incontinence

The goal of Physiotherapy is to teach you to regain control of your bladder. Treatment will always involve a lot of education. Registered Physiotherapy for Pelvic Health will teach you simple measures. TheseUrinary Incontinence can make a big impact on your bladder control.
Pelvic Health Treatment is often focused around the pelvic floor muscles. These are considered as a basket of muscles that support organs against gravity and intra–?abdominal pressure and vaginal/rectal walls.
Other Pelvic Health techniques may include bladder retraining, postural re-education, exercises for the abdominals and other ‘core’ muscles. A home exercise program will always be an important part of your Pelvic Health treatment. Electrical stimulation with sensors is used to increase pelvic floor muscle strength in cases of marked weakness.

You can check out this link to learn more about Urinary incontinence: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165408.php.

If you would like to learn more about Urinary Incontinence or book an appointment with one of our Pelvic Health Registered Physiotherapists, please contact PhysioNow. We can Help!!

Urinary Incontinence

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