Pelvic floor therapy is fairly new on the therapy scene. Only a decade ago you rarely heard about people receiving pelvic floor therapy. Fortunately, over the past decade a lot has changed including the number of pelvic floor therapists and the amount of people actively seeking out pelvic floor therapy support. Despite this increase in availability there is still a lot that people don’t know about the diversity of pelvic floor therapy and therapists.
One aspect they often don’t know is that there are pelvic floor therapists who work as generalists, meaning they work with a wide population of clients. Then there are pelvic floor therapists that work with a specific population, known as specialists. I want to stress that both generalists and specialists can see any type of pelvic floor therapy client. Specialist, however, have clients with more similarities between clients.
Generalists often work in physical therapy clinics or hospitals seeing both pelvic floor therapy cases and other unrelated cases, like orthopedic clients.
Specialists typically work in the community and run small private practices focusing on specific populations or symptoms within the pelvic floor therapy realm. For example, I would consider myself a specialist because I only work with women who are in the perinatal period of life- pregnancy and postpartum.
Some other areas pelvic floor therapists might focus are:
- Athletes- working with clients who are seeking pelvic floor therapy because symptoms are impacting their performance
- Cancer- working with clients before, during, after treatment related to cancers impacting the pelvic floor system such a colorectal, bladder, uterine
- Geriatrics- providing care into independent, assisted living and skilled nursing homes for residents experiencing pelvic floor related symptoms like incontinence
- Then there are therapists who have exceptional knowledge on certain conditions such as interstitial cystitis, hysterectomy, and sexual reassignment
- Finally you will find therapists who work with specific populations- men, transgender, pregnant women, etc
When seeking care from a pelvic floor therapist, a good place to begin is with a generalist who sees a wide variety of cases and has some knowledge about many things related to pelvic floor dysfunction, however if your looking for more personalized and tailored approach to your pelvic floor therapy journey, I think it is important to seek out pelvic floor therapist that primarily or exclusively works with clients similar to yourself.
I focus on pelvic floor issues of pregnancy, postpartum, providing care to women during these phases of life. Every year I pursue continuing education courses related to pelvic floor dysfunction in pregnancy and postpartum. I basically live and breathe pelvic health for pregnant and postpartum women!
So if you’re thinking you might need pelvic floor therapy and you are currently pregnant or postpartum, I’m your girl! Why would you go anywhere but to the pelvic floor therapist who specifically focuses on working with clients just like you day in and day out!
In Health,
Hilary
PS- I am transitioning my practice to virtual care only. If this interests you because there is no one in your area or you have difficulty getting to a clinic, let’s connect! Schedule your free consult HERE
