Did you know that pelvic floor physical therapy can be an effective treatment to help with pain from endometriosis? Unfortunately, pelvic floor PT will not cure your endometriosis, however it has been proven to be very effective in helping with pain management, as endometriosis and pelvic floor dysfunction often go hand in hand.
It has been found that often, women who have endometriosis also have some degree of pelvic floor dysfunction. The common pattern we see is the pelvic floor tensing up and getting tight. When this happens, your pelvic pain can intensify. Think about it, tight muscles anywhere else on your body can cause pain, and the pelvic floor is not any different!
When a women experiences pain from the endometriosis itself, the pelvic floor will often react by protectively contracting to guard against that pain. Unfortunately, because you can’t see your pelvic floor and it can be difficult to really feel what it is doing, it often gets stuck in that contracted position. When this happens, your pelvic floor may now also be contributing to your pain and making it worse.
Pelvic floor physical therapy has been proven to be able to help with pelvic floor dysfunction, including when your muscles become too tight or tense. With a combination of manual therapy techniques, coordination training including biofeedback, and guided exercises, we are able to decrease pelvic floor tension, which will lead to overall decreased levels of pelvic pain.
It is also common for patients who have endometriosis to have increased scarring or adhesions to their abdomen. This may be due to inflammation from Endo itself, or prior surgeries. These adhesions can also cause pain. Luckily, our pelvic floor PTs at Apex are also trained in advanced manual therapy techniques to the abdomen to help reduce scar tissue, which in turn can also help decrease pain.
Pelvic floor physical therapy can be a great treatment option to help decrease pain from endometriosis. By decreasing restrictions or tension in the structures surrounding the pelvis and abdomen, we can help with pain reduction and returning to a better quality of life. Give us a call today (701-364-APEX) to get started on a journey of less pain and more function!