Females have unique health concerns that physical therapy can help with.

This is, of course, on top of all the other myriad issues we can face with our bodies that overlap with both sexes.

However, if you’re dealing with one of the health concerns you find listed below, consider booking an appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy in downtown Washington DC.


Physical Therapy For Urinary Incontinence In Women

It can be an embarrassing subject to talk about, but if you struggle with urinary incontinence, you’re not alone. According to the National Association For Continence, nearly 18 million American women deal with urinary incontinence.

Urinary incontinence is a loss of bladder control. While it’s not strictly limited to women, it tends to affect us more often.

Why? Because many of the causes of urinary incontinence are related to female experiences, such as:

Pregnancy
Childbirth
Menopause

Other causes may include:

Obesity
Chronic constipation
Diabetes
Nerve damage

Having had a hysterectomy
Taking certain pharmaceutical drugs
Urinary tract infections
Bladder infections

There are a number of different types of urinary incontinence, but the ones that most frequently affect women are stress incontinence and urge incontinence.

Stress incontinence is the most common – it’s where you experience pressure, or stress, on your bladder. This can lead to a number of different everyday activities causing urination, like coughing, sneezing, laughing, or any sort of physical activity.

With urge incontinence, on the other hand, you may experience a sudden urge to go to the washroom, but when you get there you may only urinate a little bit.

Urinary incontinence isn’t often experienced on its own, but is a symptom of other contributing factors. Frequently, it’s related to weak pelvic floor muscles. As a result, a physical therapist’s approach to treatment for urinary incontinence often focuses on strengthening and coordination of the pelvic floor muscles.

Administered correctly, pelvic floor physical therapy can be incredibly effective at relieving urinary incontinence.

If you’re struggling with urinary incontinence, you’re not alone.

Book an appointment today with Capitol Physical Therapy – we can help.

Physical Therapy For Pelvic Floor Issues

Of course, pelvic floor physical therapy is useful for more than as a treatment for urinary incontinence.

Like the name suggests, pelvic floor physical therapy is mostly concerned with the muscles in your pelvic floor, a group of muscles from your pubic bone to your tailbone. They support your bladder, bowel, and reproductive organs.

When there are issues with your pelvic floor muscles, it can cause a number of different health issues, including:

Incontinence (urinary/fecal)
Pain while urinating
Lower back pain
Pelvic pain
Rectal pain

Genital pain
Constipation
Pelvic muscle spasms
Difficulty inserting or keeping a tampon in
Pain during sex

The reason why pelvic floor issues are so common for women is because this part of our body goes through a lot – pregnancy, childbirth, hormonal imbalances, and even heavy lifting can lead to pelvic floor issues.

Often this can lead to a condition called pelvic organ prolapse, which is where one or more of your organs descends into your vaginal canal.

In some cases, you might need surgery to treat pelvic organ prolapse, but not always. Physical therapy can help mitigate this condition by strengthening your pelvic floor muscles. But even if you do need surgery, physical therapy both before and after can help you get better results from your surgery, and reduce the necessity for repeated treatments.

If you’re dealing with any of the above symptoms, it could be a pelvic floor issue. Book an appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy today to find out.

Physical Therapy For Chronic Pelvic Pain

Often, the symptoms above will come along with pelvic pain. Sometimes, however, it might just be chronic pelvic pain on its own you’re dealing with.

There are a number of different possible causes for chronic pelvic pain, including:

 

Kidney stones
Urinary tract infection
Endometriosis
Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease

Uterine fibroids
Pelvic congestion syndrome
Stress
Trauma

Physical therapy can help with pelvic pain.

If you’re dealing with pelvic pain, your Capitol Physical Therapy treatment provider can help you get to the bottom of its source, and provide you with an effective treatment plan.

Physical Therapy For Prenatal Issues

Let’s face it – those who are pregnant experience a lot of changes to their bodies.

If you’re pregnant, you might be experiencing a wide range of different concerns, such as:

Pubic bone pain
Back pain
Groin pain
Pelvic pain
Leg pain
Diastasis recti (separation of the abdominal muscles)

Sciatic pain
Difficulty walking
Difficulty sitting
Urinary/fecal incontinence
Painful intercourse

However, while many of these issues frequently appear during a pregnancy, they can often be addressed with physical therapy.

Not only can physical therapy help you manage these issues during your pregnancy, it can help you maintain a healthy posture as well. It can even help your body prepare for birth by reducing the risk of injury to your pelvic floor muscles.

If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, physical therapy can help.

Book your appointment at Capitol Physical Therapy today to find out how.

Physical Therapy For Postpartum Recovery

So you’ve recently given birth. Welcome to your postpartum life!

Whether you gave birth via vaginal birth or caesarean section, it has a significant impact on your body.

We might not generally think of it this way, but having a baby creates a significant amount of trauma to your pelvic floor. Your muscles will be stretched and strained, and often torn as well. Your doctor may give you the “all clear” after a few weeks, but without physical therapy this can lead to significant issues down the road.

Some of the more common postpartum symptoms include:

Perineal tear
Pain during sex
Upper back & neck pain

Urinary incontinence
Fecal incontinence
Difficulties orgasming

A physical therapist can help.

We’ll work with you to rebuild and strengthen the muscles in your pelvic floor, soften scar tissue, and desensitize the more painful areas, helping you manage these and other postpartum symptoms.

Book your appointment at Capitol Physical Therapy today to find out more.

Physical Therapy For Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is not a health condition strictly related to women, but it’s far more common in the female population to deal with it. Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones lose mass, which causes them to become brittle and more prone to fractures.

To date, we don’t know exactly what causes osteoporosis, but we do know some of the risk factors. These include, but are not limited to:

Being a woman
Being older
Having a small frame
Having hormonal imbalances

Smoking tobacco
An inactive lifestyle
Having low vitamin D levels
Taking certain pharmaceutical drugs

If you have osteoporosis, or you’re at risk for developing it, your Capitol physical therapist can help. We can develop a treatment plan designed specifically for your unique needs, with the goal of improving your bone strength and avoiding fractures.

Just like your muscles, your bones are living things that grow stronger and weaken based on a number of different factors. Your physical therapist will help you improve your bone density, reduce the amount of bone loss, and work on your balance to avoid falls and potential fractures.

Book your appointment with Capitol Physical Therapy today to find out more.

Physical Therapy For Recovery After A Hysterectomy

A hysterectomy is the second most common surgical treatment for females, just after a caesarean section. In fact, by the age of 60, one in three women in the US have undergone this procedure.

But while this may be a common surgery, it’s by no means minor.

In fact, accompanying a hysterectomy can be a wide variety of different complications, including:

Pelvic pain
Pressure in the lower abdomen
Pelvic floor prolapsed
Urinary/fecal incontinence

Inflammation
Constipation
Irritable bowels

While visits to your doctor are important, what’s also important is a visit to a physical therapist.

Your physical therapist from Capitol Physical Therapy can help you manage these and other symptoms, help your body heal from this treatment, and get you feeling back to normal as quickly as possible.


Book An Appointment With Capitol Physical Therapy

Are you dealing with one of the above issues?

Not sure how to get relief?

Don’t worry. Capitol Physical Therapy is here for you.

Book an appointment today with Capitol Physical Therapy.

Whatever your concerns, Capitol Physical Therapy can help.

Book your appointment today, and take your first step toward relief from your troublesome symptoms

Chronic pain or an injury holding you back? Capitol Physical Therapy can help. 

Book your free 15 minute consultation today.