By Jovie Murtha, Physical Therapist, Women’s Health, Accelerated Rehabilitation
Most people get wide-eyed with the thought of utilizing electrical biofeedback to assist with bowel or bladder dysfunction. A typical response to this is, “You are going to do what, where?!” The great news is, literature supports the use of electrical stimulation and/or biofeedback as a very effective adjunct to physical therapy for the treatment of stress incontinence, urge incontinence, pelvic pain, and constipation.
Biofeedback is a painless process that utilizes special sensors and a computer screen to display information about muscle activity. The sensors first measure the electrical activity of the muscles that control bowel and bladder functions, and then the clinician and patient are able to see the activity as it is displayed on the monitor. Specifically, they are getting a real-time view of the activity of the pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor is a sling-like group of muscles deep within the pelvis that supports the bladder, uterus, and rectum. When the pelvic floor is weak, it does not contract adequately to provide closure to the urethra, vagina, and/or rectum and can result in urine leakage, gas leakage, stool leakage, or pelvic organ prolapse. In contrast, if the pelvic floor is not able to fully relax and is hyperactive, it can create pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, and difficulty passing urine or stool. Oftentimes, patients with endometriosis, painful intercourse, constipation, interstitial cystitis, or IBS/colitis have a non-relaxing, painful pelvic floor.
In most cases, we can teach a patient the correct technique to strengthen or relax the pelvic floor simply through instruction, manual therapy, and exercise in physical therapy. However, some patients are just not able to engage or relax the correct muscles. Biofeedback is an extremely effective tool in identifying the muscle and gaining control over it.
If you are experiencing urinary leakage, bowel, or gas leakage, constipation, or pelvic pain, physical therapy can help and is an excellent first-line treatment of choice. It reduces or abolishes symptoms in patients and often eliminates the need for surgery, the price of incontinence pads, and the expense of medications. Most insurance companies cover physical therapy for the treatment of these conditions.
Many women are embarrassed to speak with their doctors about these problems, but they are extremely common and can be treated. Don’t suffer in silence any longer. Life is too short not to enjoy it to the fullest and be your very best!
Physical therapy for women’s health issues is available at Accelerated Rehabilitation. Physical therapist Jovie Murtha is relentless in her mission to help women conquer pain and discomfort so they can be more active. For more information, contact
jovie.murtha@acceleratedrehab.com or please call 309-683-6900.
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