Women’s, Men’s and Pelvic Health Physiotherapy

Women’s, Men’s and Pelvic Health is a specific area of physiotherapy that requires additional training to provide management of pelvic floor related problems. They can occur throughout life in both women and men. Louise, Rebecca, Laura and Margo have pursued a high level of continuing education and have extensive experience in this area.

At Total Physiotherapy Manly Vale (and previously as Sydney Rd Physiotherapy Seaforth) our team having been helping the women and men of the Northern Beaches for almost 20 years to improve their quality of life by gaining control of their bladder and bowels and reducing the impact of prolapse and pelvic pain.

Women’s Health problems we can help with:

Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Bladder Control

• Stress urinary incontinence (leaking of urine with a cough, sneeze, laugh, exercise etc.)
• Urgency/ urge incontinence (sudden urge to empty the bladder, possible leaking before reaching the toilet).

Bowel Control

• Faecal incontinence
• Functional constipation

Pelvic Organ Prolapse

A condition where one or more of the pelvic organs has dropped into the vaginal space. Women describe it as a lump or bulge or “something coming down”.

Pelvic Pain

Pain in the vulva/vaginal area sometimes related to intercourse.

Pelvic floor specific exercise class

Classes designed to enhance compliance with your pelvic floor muscle exercise progamme and integrate the pelvic floor into functional exercise. Learn more about the classes here.

Pregnancy and Postnatal Problems

• Pain or lack of stability in the low back, coccyx or pelvic girdle (sacro-iliac joints and pubic symphysis). All our physiotherapists can help with this. Our women’s health physios can assess if the pelvic floor is involved in the problem.
• Wrist Pain and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Our expert hand physiotherapist can help with this.
• Abdominal separation (diastasis rectus abdominus).
• Ultrasound therapy for breastfeeding conditions (mastitis, engorgement) or postpartum haemorrhoids.

Postnatal Assessment

A one hour assessment of abdominal muscle function, pelvic floor muscle function, pelvic control particularly in relation to return to exercise. Any time after 6 weeks postpartum.

Exercise during pregnancy and postpartum

Our Women’s Health physiotherapists can provide you with guidance on exercise that will best suit your body and stage of the childbearing year. We also offer pregnancy and postnatal exercise classes – click here for more information.

Post Mastectomy Problems

• Shoulder, chest or upper back stiffness or pain
• Cording
• General exercise advice
• Lymphatic drainage (Therapists – Gunda Lehman, Clara Thompson)

For more information on women’s health conditions, please click here.

Areas we can help with: Men’s pelvic health

Pre and post-prostatectomy rehabilitation

Physiotherapists: Louise Henderson and Rebecca Rutherford

• Learn to do pelvic floor exercises correctly prior to surgery
• Post-op – advice and guidance on pelvic floor exercises to regain continence and erectile unction

Male Pelvic pain

Pain in the pelvic region or genitals associated with urination or sexual function; pudendal neuropathy.

Children

Louise and Rebecca can help with children with problems of bladder and bowel control (including constipation) and bedwetting.

One of the options we can use to assess your pelvic floor muscles is Real Time Ultrasound.