Bowels Symptoms
Dysfunction of the pelvic floor can lead to constipation, urgency, incontinence, pain, haemorrhoids and other bothersome symptoms. Women’s Health Physio’s are trained to help!
How your pelvic health physiotherapist can help you:
Constipation: 50% of people who suffer constipation experience defecation dyssynergia. This is where they contract their pelvic floor instead of relaxing to allow stool to pass through. Learning to relax your pelvic floor while defecating can help to make it easier to pass stool and avoid straining.
Faecal Urgency: is a strong desire to empty that is difficult to defer, making us need to rush to the bathroom to fear of leaking
Anal Incontinence: Loss of wind or stool
Proctalgia Fugax: This is a sudden onset of severe pain into the rectum associated with spasm of the pelvic floor and or anal sphincters. The pain is often experiences as a stabbing pain into the rectum and can last for seconds or minutes.
How do I know if women’s health physio will be helpful for my bowel symptoms?
If you have had a new onset of bowel symptoms I would always recommend checking in with your GP to rule out anything sinister.
After this is you have been given the all clear, women’s health physio’s are capable of helping you address the above symptoms. Often if stool consistency is an issue we may also recommend that you work alongside a naturopath or dietitian or help improve stool quality.
What Treatment Options Are Available For Bowel Symptoms?
We will always start with taking a full history of your symptoms.
When you present to pelvic floor physiotherapy we will ask you about your bladder, bowel and sexual function to help gain a full understanding of how your pelvic floor is functioning and where we can best help.
For a complete history we may ask you to complete a bowel diary. This is a diary of your bowel habits over a week to see if there are any patterns we an establish with your bowel function.
We will also offer a physical assessment, whether this be external or internal to help gain a full understanding of how your pelvic floor is functioning. You can always choose what assessment you feel most comfortable with.
Based on that information we will come up with a tailored treatment plan to you.
Treatment options will likely include education regarding your bladder and bowels. We will provide a tailored home program for your pelvic floor depending on what we find on assessment.
Other options may include breathing exercises, stretches, strengthening exercises, electrotherapy, urgency suppression strategies etc
Your women’s health physio is well placed to help guide you on the most appropriate treatment options for your bothersome bowel symptoms.