The Women’s Health Specialists at Body Gears are here to empower, educate, and help you to feel better about a variety of pelvic symptoms that you might not even have known that physical therapy can treat. It’s absolutely normal to feel nervous, curious, or scared of incontinence, prolapse, pelvic pain, painful sex or any other symptoms you may be having.
Women’s Health Physical Therapy
At Body Gears, we always begin an evaluation by first listening to your story. Our first job is to listen in order to form hypotheses about what may be going on. Here are some of the rather “odd” questions we may ask you:
- What do you eat and drink? (different types of food and fluid intake can cause frequent urination, constipation, over-activation of your bladder, and many other things!)
- What do you do for a living? (your occupation can have a huge impact on how your pelvic region is being stressed)
- Do you have pain with sex, and if yes, what positions are most painful? (regardless of why you booked your appointment, your therapist may still screen for this)
- Are you able to use a tampon? Is it extremely painful or seem to just slip out? (this question gives us a clue about your pelvic floor muscle tone)
By the time you and your therapist are done chatting, she will have a good idea about what may be going on. The next part of the exam is for us to confirm or deny our hypotheses about what’s causing your symptoms. This is the part where we actually feel with our hands and ask you to do certain movements.
The important thing to know, is that by this stage, your therapist will have a very good idea about whether an internal pelvic examination is appropriate or needed that day. She will ALWAYS ask for your consent first. You can always say no at any time you’re in the clinic with us and ask about alternative techniques.
Once the examination is over, your therapist will sum up the findings of the entire examination and explain the driving factor behind your symptoms as well as physical therapy can make it better. From intercourse to pregnancy, delivery to menopause, we help you reduce unnecessary risk and dysfunction.
Our elite team of women’s health therapists have received advanced training for the treatment and education of women’s health conditions. At Body Gears Physical Therapy, you can expect one-on-one care with a female therapist in a comfortable, private room, ensuring you’re with an expert you can trust. Our techniques are designed to cultivate new, more efficient movement patterns and greater motor control. We can address:
Bladder Incontinence
- Stress Urinary Incontinence
- Urge Urinary Incontinence
- Mixed Urinary Incontinence
- Over Active Bladder
- Nocturnia
- Nocturnal Enuresis
Prolapses
- Cystocele
- Rectocele
- Urethrocele
- Urethral Cystocele
- Enterocele
- Vaginal Vault Prolapse
- Rectal Prolapse
- Uterine Prolapse
Pelvic Pain
- Dysmenorrhea
- Dyspareunia
- Endometriosis
- Vulvar Pain
- Pudendal Neuralgia
- Interstitial Cystitis (IC)
- Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS)
- Vaginismus
- Vulvodynia
- Painful Scar
Abdominal Muscle Separation
- Diastasis Recti
Regardless of the mechanism of injury (surgery, childbearing, or “it just came out of nowhere”), any fear you have will be replaced with understanding and knowledge of your diagnosis.
Request a free consult or Contact Us Today at Chicago Lincoln Park, Oak Brook, Oak Park, & Winnetka, IL Centers to learn more about our women’s health program as well as our pre- and post-natal programs.
Did you know? Our comprehensive pelvic health programs include expert diagnosis listings for both men and women in addition to gender affirming care for trans health. Call today to find out how we can best treat your pelvic health needs!