6 Core Strength and Pelvic Floor Problems That Can Be Easily Fixed with Physical Therapy

By Guest Blogger Dr. Aaron LeBauer from LeBauer Physical Therapy

Are you suffering from a common, but not normal, issue that could be easily fixed, if you only knew what to do about it? As a doctor of physical therapy, as well as a massage therapist, yoga teacher, host of the Healthy GSO podcast, former semi-pro cyclist, husband, and father of two, I’ve been helping active people recover from pain and injuries for over 20 years. Our team at LeBauer Physical Therapy in Greensboro specializes in helping people heal their pain & injuries without medications, injections or surgery.

Too often people have been told, “Well you’re a mom and that’s how it is.” “You just had a baby, it’s your badge of honor.” “You just need to live with it.” If you’re struggling with a pelvic floor problem, it’s going to cause a lot of different symptoms such as pressure, leaking, poor performance or pain. Surprisingly, many times the symptom of a pelvic floor problem is back pain, a hip issue or even a knee problem!

Below I list the top six signs that you’re suffering from a pelvic floor or core strength problem that can be easily resolved with physical therapy.

1) You Leak During Exercise, When You Laugh, Lift or Sneeze

You leak or pee (or are afraid you might) when you sneeze, laugh, run, squat, jump or even just feel the need to wear a pad when you work out (especially on HIIT Days or Double Unders). Way too often women are told there’s nothing they can do about leakage, that you just need to live with it. In reality, there are exercises you can do, and physical therapy is the solution most people don’t know about, not even your physician!

2) You Have Interstitial Cystitis and Were Told You Just Have to “Live with it

IC is a condition where you might have bladder pressure, bladder pain, urinary frequency and sometimes pelvic pain. Many assume that it’s an inflammatory process, but antibiotics have not been proven to help this condition. Not all pain and dysfunctions are caused by “inflammation,” and there are many common pain conditions that can be treated with muscle re-education and prescriptive exercise.

3) Fullness & Pressure

You feel fullness or pressure in “your bottom” when you run, jump, squat, lift or even just pick up your child. What it might mean is you have a prolapse, which is when a pelvic organ descends down instead of being held up by the muscles in your pelvic bowl. That’s something that can be quickly resolved with physical therapy!

4) Sex is Painful

Sex with your partner is no longer enjoyable, but now painful, especially after giving birth.  Maybe you’ve had other traumas in the past and sex is uncomfortable or painful. Often, one of the major causes of the discomfort and pain could be due to muscular tightness. Physical therapy can help relax these muscles!

5) Now That You Had a Baby You Should Accept that Your Body Isn’t Strong

You’ve been told that, since you’ve had kids you just need to accept you’ll have leakage, back pain, hip pain, or that you shouldn’t even feel confident in your body. You can change those things, your body is strong and resilient (you’re amazing, you had a baby!!!).

6) Kegels Don’t Solve the Problem

You’ve been doing kegels but your symptoms have not gone away. If you’ve been doing Kegels and it’s not solving the problem, then strengthening your pelvic floor muscles may not be the fix. Likely you’re not recruiting the muscles correctly. Too often we end up trying to fix a problem with a general exercise that’s not specific enough and in this case strengthening the pelvic floor is not the solution.

Asking Doctor Google for a Diagnosis

You can try a bunch of different things (exercises on YouTube, Instagram or what your friends are doing) and see if they work. Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. Maybe they will only help a little.

Don’t waste any more time. Find a specialist who has the time to sit down and talk with you, ask the right questions, and look at your whole body so they can help you figure out exactly where the problem is and how to fix it.

If you have one or more of these symptoms, the good news is that there is hope, a solution for you and we can help. Whether you’ve got a pelvic floor problem, or with another body part, we look at everything. A Total Body Diagnostic exam looks at your whole body and tells us exactly where the root cause of the problem is and exactly what we need to do to fix it.

If you’d like to talk to our specialist about what’s going on or schedule a Total Body Diagnostic exam, please call us at 336-271-6677. If you are not ready for a call just yet or unsure if you want to try physical therapy, go ahead and download The Pelvic PT Checklist. This is a FREE downloadable checklist we created for you to help you learn if you have a pelvic floor or core strength problem that can be easily fixed with physical therapy.

Many people think physical therapy is just for rehab after surgery or when you get injured. Physical therapy is all about helping your whole body move well, feel confident and optimize your ability to be fit, strong and healthy.

*Sponsored by LeBauer Physical Therapy