It is common for clients to feel some uneasiness about their first treatment session in pelvic floor physical therapy, but our therapist is good at making you feel as comfortable as possible by being a good listener and empathizing with you. Many clients have said and feel the same way you might, so you should not be worried in telling them any stories or worries you may have.
Clients come from many walks of life. Their journeys have been longer for some than others and our therapist wants to know all the details of each journey, which led you to pelvic floor PT. The first step to learning more about you is through our intake forms which we encourage you to fill out prior to starting the evaluation. You may fill these forms out by printing them off from the online resources and bring them with you to your first treatment session or you may arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled treatment time to fill them out at our facility. In addition to these forms, a list of medications and previous surgeries or procedures you have had will be helpful in achieving a more detailed picture and how they may be affecting your life.
Questions during the examination may be geared toward gaining a better understanding of your pelvic health. These questions may include frequency of bathroom visits, whether you have any leakage, if you have pain with urination or a bowel movement, as well as pain during sexual intercourse. Answers to these questions can help develop ideas for goals the patient and therapist can set such as pain-free bowel movements, undisturbed sleep without waking to urinate, or having pain-free intercourse. These are just a few common examples of what our clients aim to achieve in pelvic floor PT.
Each treatment session will be 60 minutes and will include a thorough history and detail the evaluation of symptoms that brought you to PT, as well as education of pain or muscles involved and how PT can help. Sometimes our therapist is unable to get through the history and examination within the allotted time, but she will help you understand her findings, and examinations can be resumed at the next treatment time.
Our therapist understands that some clients are not comfortable or may not feel safe immediately after an internal pelvic exam. It is our goal to make you feel as comfortable and at ease as possible and to never feel pressure to have an internal pelvic exam. We encourage you to allow our therapist to do an internal exam as it gives the PT a much better understanding as to your individual issues. We understand if you are uncomfortable yet can still teach you things, which can greatly improve your condition.