About Women’s Health Physiotherapy

Women’s health physiotherapy is non-surgical treatment for a variety of women’s health problems related to obstetrics and gynaecology, particularly focusing on the pelvis and pelvic floor area (your pelvic floor is a group of muscles at the bottom of your pelvis). It covers a number of conditions including incontinence, prolapse and pelvic pain. Physiotherapy has been shown to alleviate and often cure these symptoms.

Research shows that as many as one in three women will experience some type of women’s health problem during life, but many are too embarrassed to ask for help. In fact, if the issue has occurred since childbirth, some even begin to consider it normal. Our compassionate physiotherapists are fully trained and experienced in dealing with women’s health issues. Often only a short course of physiotherapy is needed to get you back on track. In fact, for many this can be life changing.

Common Women’s Health Symptoms

There are many different symptoms that you may be suffering from, and our understanding team at Active Physiotherapy is fully qualified to treat all of them. We will soon have you comfortable, relaxed, and able to carry on with day-to-day life, without worry. Common women’s health issues include:

• Pelvic girdle pain, or SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction), which affects around 3% of women during pregnancy and post-birth.
• Back pain or sciatica, which is a very common problem in women during pregnancy, post-birth, and onwards.
• Separation of the tummy muscles, which sometimes occurs following pregnancy and birth (when muscles have become over-stretched and weakened).
• Carpal tunnel, which causes pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand and fingers.
• Frequently passing urine (more than six to eight times a day, or more than twice at night) and a need to go to the toilet when your bladder is not full.
• Urinary leaking (which is the need to rush to the toilet, and potentially leaking on the way).
• A feeling of weight in your vaginal area.
• Stress urinary incontinence when there is a rise in intra-abdominal pressure (coughing, sneezing, laughing, shouting etc.).
• Difficulty when urinating.
• Difficulty controlling wind or a strong urge to open your bowels.

Treatment and Rehabilitation for Women’s Health

All of these aforementioned problems can be treated by the experienced physiotherapists at Active Physiotherapy including:

• Strengthening and tightening your pelvic floor muscles through exercises devised by your physiotherapist.
• Treatment for back pain during pregnancy and post-pregnancy.
• Physiotherapy to aid you in restoring fitness levels after pregnancy, helping with posture, and improving abdominal and pelvic strength.
• Continence physiotherapy enabling you to achieve control of your pelvic floor using special exercises devised by our physiotherapists.
• Use of pregnancy massage and manual therapy to alleviate pelvic girdle pain, mastitis, back pain, and relief from perineal tears.
• Advice given by our physiotherapists to help those with pelvic floor muscle problems, bone density reduction, and general health issues during peri-menopause and post-menopause.
• Post-gynaecological surgery or urological surgery (our physiotherapists will tailor a suitable program of exercises and rehabilitation physiotherapy to bring you back to ultimate health).
• Using physiotherapy and other therapies, we will help repair abdominal muscle separation following birth.
• The team at Active Physiotherapy is fully qualified to help you achieve and maintain optimum pelvic floor, bowel, and bladder health through tailored exercise programs and other therapies.