Treatment Expectations & FAQs

Q: What is required after the evaluation?

A: Your plan of care and treatment will depend upon the results of your evaluation and your individual goals. You can expect hands on care specific to your body which may include soft tissue and/or scar tissue mobilization, visceral manipulation, and/or dry needling. Your home program may include breath work, strengthening and stability exercises, stretches, and modifying fluid/fiber intake. 

Q: How long does each session last?

A: Sessions typically last 60 minutes. If you and your provider decide that longer sessions would be beneficial, session time may be increased. 

Q: How long will I need to come to physical therapy?

A: The number of visits you need will vary based on your specific problems, how long you’ve had these problems, your overall health, consistency with your home program, and what you want to get back to doing! The average person will start to notice a significant improvement in pain, strength, or function within the first 6-8 visits of pelvic floor physical therapy. Often times, 10-12+ visits are required to get you back to feeling 100%.

Q: How often will I need to come to pelvic floor physical therapy?​

A: You will see the most progress if your initial visits are weekly. From there, sessions may continue at a once a week frequency or decrease to every other week for hands on care and progressions to your home exercise program based on your progress and needs.

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Q: Is it necessary to do an internal vaginal and/or rectal exam?

A: There are many ways to evaluate the pelvic floor muscles. They can be assessed externally over clothing, externally, or internally (vaginally or rectally). Assessing the pelvic floor muscles internally gives us a full picture of how your pelvic floor is functioning and takes the “guess work” out of what your pelvic floor muscles are doing and how they are functioning. This assessment is performed to assess the strength, endurance, symmetry, mobility, and tone of the pelvic floor muscles.

An internal exam is not required, but may be recommended at or after your first visit in order to provide the best possible treatment options. External and internal pelvic floor muscle assessments are performed based on your symptoms and only with continuous informed consent.