Women’s Health Physiotherapy

The appointment will consist of an open discussion of your symptoms, medical history, and how it is impacting your life. This helps us to get a greater understanding of what might be causing your symptoms, as well as contributing factors to guide her assessment.

This discussion will be done empathetically and sensitively, and of course, in complete confidence. We understand that pelvic floor problems can be stressful and cause anxiety, but we aim to put you at ease and make you feel comfortable throughout.

The initial discussion about your symptoms, concerns and therapy goals will help inform the second stage of the appointment, where a more detailed assessment of your symptoms takes place.

This generally involves looking at your movement patterns (eg: walking, picking something up or standing up from a chair), muscle strength and ability, as well as any positions you have identified as particularly painful or aggravating to your symptoms. We will also look at how you breathe and your ribcage movement, as this is often key in helping with pelvic problems so can often play a big part in your assessment. In some cases, it may be necessary to perform a brief vaginal assessment as this is a helpful way to assess the pelvic floor. If this is necessary, it will of course be discussed with you, and we are more than happy to answer all your questions should you decide to proceed.

All parts of the assessment are very much tailored to your symptoms and needs to help you achieve what you want to get out of therapy – there is no set template, or one size fits all approach! Time is then taken to explain what has been found during your assessment, to help you better understand the cause of your symptoms.

This detailed assessment informs the third stage of your appointment, where a tailored treatment plan will be created for you. This may involve hands-on muscle treatment, breathing exercises, assisted movement, or strengthening exercises. Advice on positioning, movement and a home exercise plan may also be provided to help you progress towards your goals between physiotherapy appointments.

We may also recommend a programme of Massage Therapy, Pilates or Nutritional Advice depending on your needs.

Creating a treatment programme is a collaborative process. All therapy or exercises will be tailored to you to help you feel more like yourself (but without the aches!).

If you want more information on our women’s health physiotherapy services get in touch!