Womens Health

Do you have treatable incontinence?

  • When you laugh, sneeze, cough or exercise, do you sometimes leak a small amount of urine?
  • Are you ever “caught short” by a sudden, strong urge to pass urine?
  • Do you arrange your daily routine around where the nearest toilets will be?
  • Do you wake twice or more during the night to go to the toilet?
  • Do you experience bowel problems such as soiling, urgency, poor wind control or difficulty emptying?
  • Have you given up enjoyable activities – like walking, aerobics or dancing – because of fear of bladder leakage or loss of bowel control?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you have a treatable problem that will not improve without management and may worsen.

Our women’s health and continence Physiotherapists provide quality management in the areas of continence, pelvic floor disorders and conditions of the childbearing years.

Over 2 million Australians, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience incontinence, a very distressing condition that has a major negative impact on quality of life. Physiotherapy for incontinence and pelvic floor dysfunction can help to manage the following conditions:

Urinary incontinence

  • Loss of bladder control
  • Urgency and frequency

Bowel symptoms

  • Incontinence of faeces or wind
  • Obstructed defecation and constipation

Prolapse of pelvic organs

  • Bladder, bowel or uterine
  • Symptoms of internal dragging or heaviness

Pelvic Pain

  • Pain in the pelvic, abdominal or vulval region related to childbirth, surgery, endometriosis and sexual pain

Pre and post pelvic surgery

  • Prostate surgery
  • Hysterectomy, prolapse repair
  • Continence and other bladder and bowel procedures
  • Pelvic floor and abdominal muscle weakness Including poor awareness of how to exercise these muscles correctly or effectively.

Physiotherapy for these conditions incorporates the assessment of the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, bladder and bowel function and lifestyle factors, and designing an educative rehabilitation program which may include a variety of treatment methods.

Pre and post natal services

1 in 3 women who have had a baby suffer from incontinence at some stage in their lives. Research shows that a tailored pelvic floor exercise program is effective in reducing postnatal urinary incontinence.

Physiotherapy for women in the pre and post natal period aims to prevent, manage and improve conditions such as:

  • Pelvic instability (sacro-iliac and pubic symphysis joints)
  • Back, neck and coccyx pain
  • Carpal tunnel and wrist pain
  • Breast conditions such as blocked ducts or obstructive mastitis
  • Post natal recovery of perineal pain and pelvic floor dysfunction

Other services for women in the pre and post natal period include:

  • Childbirth education
  • Use of TENS machines for labour
  • Individually tailored pelvic floor exercise programs
  • Specific exercise modification for weakened abdominals and general fitness programs

Women’s health Physiotherapists can also help in the preparation and recovery from gynaecological or breast surgery, e.g. lymphodema or restricted movement after breast surgery.