Did
you know that physical therapy can help your sex life??
Duffy
& Bracken, PT has a unique specialty called Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
that can benefit both men and women. There are very few physical therapy clinics that specialize in
this and Duffy & Bracken was one of the first to do so. Not to mention, we now have 20
years experience in this area.
Painful
sex is NOT normal!! Many people experience ongoing pain during sex, and the longer they let this go on, the more chronic and
stubborn it may become. We all know that a woman’s first sexual experience is
often painful because the hymen, which is very sensitive may still be intact. Anything from tampons to GYN
exams (with a speculum) or physical activity before intercourse may have widened
the hymen. However, some women are unable to use tampons or have sex due
to extreme sensitivity, pelvic muscle spasm or nerve
pain-neuralgia. Fear-avoidance also adds to this problem since fear acts like
cement to pain and makes it difficult to overcome. Understandably, everyone is
afraid of pain but understanding where the pain is and why it’s there, in
addition to learning techniques to decrease it; can slowly stretch the vaginal
opening allowing you to have pain free intercourse. This process can be quite
quick if you do your homework, and usually resolved in 6 to 12 visits or
sometimes even less! Even chronic cases sometimes resolve quickly especially if
you work at it with your therapist.
Pelvic Floor conditions do not only affect women. Men who have pain with ejaculation may have painful or trigger points in their pelvic floor muscle (PFM) that can be treated with retraining and massaging of the muscle. Additionally, getting education that explains 'pain' can aid
in reducing the fear and hopelessness that sometimes accompanies pelvic pain.
Pelvic
pain and dysfunction may also cause urinary and bowel problems or vice versa since
the pelvic floor controls voiding. Poor posture and muscular skeletal problems
involving the back, pelvis, sacrum, coccyx (tailbone) and hips, can also be a
cause or a result of pelvic dysfunction - or as we like to say the 'culprit or the
victim.'
Likewise, women may experience pelvic pain during or after menopause as we lose
estrogen and the pelvic floor muscle thins and atrophies (muscle gets smaller).
Men lose testosterone around age 60 and sexual dysfunction may accompany this. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscle can help keep and sustain erection plus improve orgasm for both men and women.
There
are many reasons to keep the pelvic floor muscle healthy including: pain free
sex, better orgasm, and improved sexual stamina. Not to mention, a healthy pelvic
floor also prevents: prolapse (the bladder and cervix can fall out of
the vagina), incontinence (leaking of urine or feces), and flatulence (gas). It also improves posture and results in a flatter stomach, as the pelvic floor muscle works together with the
transverse abdominis (which holds the belly flat).
Medical terms used to describe these problems include: pelvic
floor dysfunction, dyspareunia, levator ani spasm, vulvodynia, vulvar
vestibulitis, vaginismus, and erectile dysfunction. These conditions
may accompany: coccydynia, low back, sacroiliac or hip diagnosis, urinary or
bowel frequency, constipation or irritable bowel or bladder disorder,
interstitial cystitis, and post-partum scars from tearing during childbirth.
Let us help you with
these very personal problems today. So
get a move on receiving help or recommending anyone you know to a specialized
PT. We will make you feel comfortable in more ways than one!
Ann Duffy, M.A., P.T.
Owner & Pelvic Floor Expert
