Three ways Pelvic PT Can Help with Menopause Symptoms

Pelvic floor physical therapy plays an important role during menopause. This major life transition, is often not talked about enough. And the number one thing I want women to know as they go through menopause is that you do not need to suffer alone. There are many resources available to you but it may not always seem apparent. A pelvic floor physical therapist can be a vital part of this journey and they can also help refer you to the right providers and provide you with resources on additional treatments to help with your symptoms.

So here are three ways that pelvic floor PT can help with your menopause symptoms.

1.) Education - Your pelvic floor physical therapist should be well versed in the pelvic floor anatomy, hormones and the changes that occur in your body during menopause. They can really help shed some light on what is going on and explain why you may be experiencing symptoms. Like mentioned above, they can also provide you with additional resources to better educate yourself as well as provide you with referral to providers that they know and trust.

2. Urinary Incontinence - Your pelvic floor physical therapist can help you with symptoms of urinary incontinence which can become much more apparent during menopause. This is a very common symptom during menopause and the answer isn’t just to wear pads, or just deal with it. And it is also much more than kegals. More often than not, your incontinence symptoms can improve and even be eliminate with pelvic floor physical therapy.

3.) Pain with intercourse - This is another common symptom during menopause, and can be very isolating and difficult to deal with for many women. Addressing the pelvic floor and improving pelvic floor mobility can really help to improve these symptoms and reduce the pain completely. Often this is due to hormonal changes as well, so your therapist should also work with your referring provider to discuss treatments such as vaginal estrogen to help as well.

This is a very short list of how a pelvic floor physical therapist can help you during menopause, but know that you have help, you do not need to suffer in silence, and there are a lot of resources out there to help you.