An estimated 1 in 5 people will suffer from some type of pelvic floor disorder in their lifetime, yet not many people truly understand what the pelvic floor is, what it does, and how it can affect your health when it cannot work as it should.
As lifelong learners ourselves, Vitality Medical Wellness Center prioritizes the education of our patients. To help you better understand your pelvic floor, we’ll take the time to explain everything you need to know about it, and how to improve and maintain your health with pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN.
The Basics of the Pelvic Floor
First things first: to truly understand how to maintain the health of your pelvic floor, you need to understand what the pelvic floor is. The pelvic floor is a grouping of muscles that connect from your tailbone to the front of your pelvis. These muscles work together to support your organs, aid in your natural bodily function, and work with your other abdominal muscles to provide strength and stability.
Many of the organs located in your pelvic and lower abdominal regions need the support of your pelvic floor to operate normally, including your bladder, your bowels, and your prostate or uterus. This allows them to function properly without discomfort or pain.
However, like any muscle, the pelvic floor can become overworked and lose strength over time. This can lead to several issues with the affected organs, including incontinence, sexual dysfunction, and more.
Symptoms of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
For those who experience pelvic floor dysfunction, symptoms can look different between each individual. However, here are the most common symptoms our team sees in those who have pelvic floor dysfunction.
Sexual Dysfunction
Sexual dysfunction is a common issue for those suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction. For men, this can look like erectile dysfunction, difficulty keeping an erection, and difficulty reaching orgasm. For women, this can look like pain during intercourse, difficulty reaching orgasm, dryness, and lack of desire for intercourse. Many, if not all, of these symptoms can be treated using pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN.
Fecal Incontinence
Fecal incontinence is the involuntary loss of stool or gas. This can manifest in a person feeling the urge to pass stool but not being able to reach the bathroom in time, or they may pass small amounts of stool without sensing it. While fecal incontinence is common, it’s one of the least talked about symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction because it can cause emotional distress.
However, it is important to discuss all of your symptoms with your provider to ensure you receive the best care for your needs. When it comes to your care, our team at Vitality meets you where you are at in life without judgement, and focuses on helping you feel confident in your body.
Urinary Incontinence
Another concern caused by pelvic floor dysfunction is urinary incontinence. There are 6 types of incontinence, but there are only 2 types that are caused by pelvic floor dysfunction: stress incontinence and mixed incontinence. While our treatments for pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN, can help improve the symptoms of other types of incontinence, you will otherwise need to treat the underlying medical condition to experience full relief.
Stress Incontinence
Stress incontinence is caused by a weakened pelvic floor, characterized by involuntary urine leakage during activities that place sudden abdominal pressure, including sneezing, jumping, laughing, running, and more. Stress incontinence typically occurs in women, especially women over the age of 50, but it can happen to anyone.
Mixed Incontinence
Mixed incontinence is when you are experiencing other types of incontinence alongside stress incontinence. Many women who experience urinary incontinence experience mixed incontinence, meaning they will need other forms of treatment on top of pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN. Usually, another underlying medical condition is responsible for a portion of symptoms. In cases of mixed incontinence, you and your provider will work together to determine the source of your concerns and develop a holistic plan for treatment.
Causes of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
There are many reasons someone might develop pelvic floor dysfunction, but generally, the cause is intense or consistent stress on the pelvic floor. That stress pushes the pelvic floor muscles beyond their limits, causing them to stretch and weaken, rendering them unable to fully support the organs. There are many situations that cause excess stress to the pelvic floor, but here are the ones our team members consistently see.
Straining
Whether you experience chronic constipation or struggle to urinate, you might have to strain to use the bathroom. Straining once in a while is fine, but having to strain consistently puts pressure on your pelvic floor, pushing it beyond its normal capabilities. This causes weakness in those muscles, leading to symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction.
Giving Birth
One major cause for pelvic floor dysfunction for female patients is childbirth. This strain of pregnancy and birth can damage the pelvic floor, with urinary incontinence developing in approximately a third of mothers. Thankfully, this type of pelvic floor damage can be easily treated with our options for pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN.
Surgery
Surgeries in or around the pelvic area can also damage your pelvic floor. When surgery is done on the pelvic floor, like with prostate surgery, the muscles cannot flex normally as they recover. Additionally, the surrounding nerves and muscles may be damaged by the procedure. Surgeries done on areas that work in tandem with the pelvic floor, such as spinal surgeries, may also impact pelvic floor function.
Obesity
Excess weight puts a lot of strain on all your muscles, but especially the pelvic floor. Not only does it need to support your organs, but it also needs to support the excess weight on the body. Over time, this causes weakness and loss of functionality in the pelvic floor.
Aging
The natural aging process is one of the more frustrating causes of pelvic floor dysfunction, because it is one that you have no way of preventing. Like all of our muscles and tissues, our pelvic floor slowly loses strength as we get older. Thankfully, our treatments for pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN, can help reverse the effects of the natural aging process and improve the strength of those muscles.
Our Solutions for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
We offer holistic and personalized treatments for pelvic floor dysfunction, utilizing the body’s natural healing capabilities to improve the pelvic floor. These treatments include:
Emsella
Emsella is a noninvasive option for pelvic floor therapy that uses HIFEM (high-intensity focused electromagnetic) energy to stimulate rapid contractions within your pelvic floor muscles—over 11,000 in 28 minutes.
For treatment, all you need to do is sit on the unique Emsella device, which resembles a chair, fully dressed—no injections, surgery, or disrobing is required. During your 30-minute session, all you need to do is sit back and relax while your pelvic floor is stimulated with rapid but painless contractions.
These contractions provide your pelvic floor with an intense workout. This creates micro-tears in the muscle, which then causes your body to experience muscle hypertrophy. This is when your body increases the production of hormones, proteins, and other nutrients and sends them to these micro-tears in the muscle, building up muscle mass and increasing the strength of your pelvic floor muscles.
We often like to pair Emsella with Emsculpt NEO in what we call “Core to Floor.” The pelvic floor muscles and the abdominal muscles are intertwined with one another, and by working to improve muscle mass for both, you greatly increase the benefits of each treatment.
Emfemme
We offer another treatment for pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN, and that is Emfemme. Emfemme is wonderful for treating female patients and helping improve the tissues and muscles in the pelvic floor and surrounding area.
With Emfemme, a small wand is carefully inserted into the vaginal canal, where a 360° head administers a gentle heat generated by radiofrequency. This heat stimulates your body’s natural production of collagen and elastin, which helps to tighten and strengthen the pelvic floor, vaginal walls, and surrounding area.
Find Your Solution
Finding the right treatment for pelvic floor therapy in Belle Meade, TN, can be intimidating, but our team can help provide the knowledge and resources you need to make the best decision for your health and wellness. You can either use our holistic treatment planning tool or request an appointment with one of our experienced team members to explore your options and find the right solutions.
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