Professional Services
The specific professional services I offer are all founded on additional pelvic physiotherapy training courses I have completed through certified Canadian educator Pelvic Health Solutions. I have a special interest in these areas of women’s pelvic health, and I have highlighted here some of the most common examples of conditions and symptoms I can help you with, and how.
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
Pelvic floor physiotherapy is a specialized form of physiotherapy focused on treating pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic floor dysfunction can be caused by either hypertonicity (tight pelvic floor muscles) or hypotonicity (weak pelvic floor muscles).
Conditions that can result from hypertonicity can include:
- Urinary and fecal urgency
- Urge incontinence
- Persistent pelvic pain dyspareunia
- Vaginismus
- Vulvodynia
- Pudendal neuralgia
- Interstitial cystitis
Conditions that can result from hypotonicity can include:
- Stress incontinence
- Urge incontinence
- Pelvic organ prolapse
A pelvic floor physiotherapist can diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction by completing an internal and external hands-on assessment. I can assist you with identifying what tools can help with recovery. These may include strength or relaxation exercises, manual therapy, lifestyle modification and self-care education.
Pregnancy and Perinatal Care
Pregnancy and pelvic floor health and function go hand-in-hand. Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy can feel very overwhelming and frightening at times. Although pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy is common, it is not normal and has very little to do with the hormone relaxin.
A holistic approach of looking at you, as a whole person, will be used to help understand the importance of over-recruiting and under-recruiting the pelvic floor muscles. Services provided will be focused on preventing pelvic floor dysfunction through pregnancy and birth and restoring the pelvic floor postpartum.
Pregnancy related care may focus on topics such as:
- Prenatal and postpartum exercise prescription based on best practice
- Ano-rectal dysfunction related to coccydynia
- How to de-threaten the nervous system and understand how it relates to pelvic pain
- Pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy
- Bladder and bowel incontinence in pregnancy
- Symptoms of prolapse in pregnancy
- Sexual dysfunction in pregnancy
- Constipation in pregnancy
- Building awareness of your pelvic floor muscles in preparation for birth and postpartum recovery
On top of my usual pregnancy related services, I also offer additional perinatal focused visits specially designed for either final birth preparation education or first visit postpartum education. Check out my Prenatal & Postpartum consultations for pricing and details about topics covered in visit type.
Persistent Pelvic Pain
Persistent pelvic pain conditions can include but are not limited to:
- Endometriosis
- Interstitial cystitis
- Vulvodynia
- Painful scarring from surgery or traumatic birth
Ways that I may be able to help you can include:
- Providing education on the science of pain
- Training around positive thinking, relaxation and meditation
- How to desensitize your nervous system
- Exploring your thoughts and beliefs around persistent pain and developing goals to empower and restore hope for your future
- Releasing pelvic floor tightness and tissue tension
Sexual Pain and Dysfunction
Dyspareunia is a condition known as pain with intercourse during penetration and/or thrusting and can also be experienced after intercourse.
Often this pain can be caused by:
- Tissue trigger points
- Connective tissue dysfunction
- Episiotomy scarring
- Skin disorders in the vulva
- Post-partum tissue trauma
- Nervous system sensitivity
I can assist you by prescribing the appropriate exercises to release tissue tension, desensitizing the nervous system and/or providing education around tissue health and care in the perineal area.
Menopause
Female hormones change dramatically throughout our lives, and affect every function and structure in our bodies, from pelvic health to psychological health.
I can help you understand the difference between peri-menopause and post-menopause, what’s happening hormonally during the menstrual cycle, what’s happening during pregnancy and post-natal recovery, and what’s happening if you’re postnatal and peri-menopausal. I can help you live well during all of these transitions.
Services provided may include:
- Evidence-based approaches including yoga, breath-work, stress management, sleep hygiene and lifestyle and how they pertain to menopausal symptoms
- Hormone changes that occur in menopause
- Bone health in menopause
- Bowel health in menopause
- Urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence in menopause
- Sexual health in menopause
- Exercise prescription in menopause based on best practice
