Questions for a Pelvic Floor Specialist
Seeing an occupational or physical therapist who is trained as a pelvic floor therapist can help you better understand your symptoms and allow you to create a customized program to alleviate pain or discomfort through retraining and strengthening your muscles in and around the pelvis.
Many pelvic floor issues can be treated without surgery. People may see a pelvic floor therapist to assess their strength, coordination, and flexibility, receive assistance for a personalized self care or exercise program, better understand how to engage their pelvic floor and core muscles, and guidance on maintaining optimal pelvic heath. Some see a therapist 1-2x and others may need more sessions for their condition to be sufficiently treated.
Pelvic floor issues rarely occur in isolation. It’s common for you to experience more than one symptom or one issue leading to another, like a cascading effect. Conditions treated by a pelvic floor therapist include
Bladder & bowel issues
Incontinence
Pain during sex or difficulty having penetrative sex
Pelvic organ prolapse
Musculoskeletal pain involving the hips, SIJ, lower back, groin, and abdomen
Pregnancy and postpartum recovery
When seeking out a pelvic floor therapist, it can be a little overwhelming figuring out where to begin and what to expect. Like picking out a restaurant, everyone has different wants and needs, and each therapist has a their own approach and style.
Pelvic floor therapy is anything but cookie cutter.
Part of what makes pelvic floor therapy highly recommended as the first-line option for pelvic floor dysfunction is that its holistic and individualized in nature. But it also makes searching for a pelvic floor specialist a bit tricky.
With that, I’ve complied a list of questions to ask a pelvic floor specialist. There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions.
What resonates with some will simply not work with others, and that’s okay.
You can ask these questions on your first session or in a consult/discovery call. These calls are offered by most clinics and small practices as an opportunity to speak with a therapist before an evaluation. Imagine it as a ‘first date’ sort of scenario, a therapist wants to learn more about you and you want more information about them.
What’s more important is that you, the client, are informed about your options and understand what to expect when beginning treatment involving such an intimate part of the body. Above all, know that you are in full control of all interventions and assessments. Nothing should happen without your full consent.
Let this script give you confidence to ask the important questions that will guide your decision to finding the right therapist for you.
8 questions to ask a pelvic floor specialist
1. Do you work with women who are pregnant?
If you are pregnant, this should be question #1. Not every pelvic floor therapist focuses on pregnancy, or even women’s health. Pregnancy presents its own set of challenges, so it is best to find a therapist who is comfortable with prenatal clients.
2. What is the treatment setting?
Knowing more about the treatment space, how many therapists work in the clinic, how many clients are seen at once, availability of private treatment space, and how spaced out are clients all help to paint a picture of your potential experience.
3. Do you do internal pelvic floor muscle work?
It’s important to understand their approach prior to treatment. You can ask specifically if they use biofeedback, manual work, or a combination of both. It is also reasonable to ask what internal pelvic floor work looks like and how much of treatment is typically spent on internal work. Once again— there’s no right or wrong, it’s about your comfort level, expectations, and desired takeaway experience.
You may want to ask if they will be doing a pelvic exam in the first session. And if you have prolapse, does the therapist test for prolapse in different positions. This is good to know because prolapse presents differently in standing and other positions.
4. Do you do tele-therapy and what do those sessions look like?
Taking into account COVID precautions and your comfort level, it may be important to know about your tele-therapy options and get an idea of what virtual sessions look like. For example, if a therapist shares with you that they often utilize hands-on manual therapy during in-person sessions, what happens during virtual sessions? Does this therapist’s virtual clients often learn and perform manual techniques on themselves?
You may also have the opportunity to do a combination of both in-person and virtual sessions which can be helpful!
5. What kind of equipment do you use? Would I need to purchase any equipment or devices?
This helps you to further understand what to expect during your treatment as well as additional financial investment.
6. What does a therapy session look like?
This gives you information about their approach and style. Pelvic floor therapy is anything but cookie cutter. You could ask 3-5 different therapists about your condition and they may all have a slightly different take, meaning you’d have a different experiences with each.
7. How often would I be expected to see you? And for how long?
Assuming you haven’t had an assessment yet, take any response with a grain of salt and know that their recommended service delivery is an approximation. However, this gives you a gross estimate of the time and financial investment, so that you can make the arrangements necessary.
8. How will treatment affect my very busy life?
Setting realistic expectations to the potential changes in your daily life due to treatment helps you be more compliant and successful.
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