Women's Continence and Pelvic Health Physio offers tailored support for incontinence, pelvic pain, and pelvic floor strength changes that can commonly occur as a result of cancer treatment.

Why might you need Women’s Continence and Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?

1.Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation 

Cancer and its treatments can impact the pelvic floor muscles. Our physiotherapy assessment and interventions aim to provide women with an individualised pelvic floor exercise program aimed at targeting these specific muscles, improving strength, function and overall pelvic health.

2. Bladder & Bowel Continence Management 

Incontinence is a common symptom of the pelvic floor not functioning at its best. Some cancer treatments can increase the risk or worsen the symptoms of bladder and bowel incontinence. While incontinence is common, it should never be considered normal. Physiotherapy management, including pelvic floor muscle exercises, is recommended as first line treatment for the management of incontinence symptoms.  Our pelvic health physiotherapists can help with

• Stress urinary incontinence - leaking urine when coughing, sneezing, running or lifting

• Urge urinary incontinence - needing to use the bathroom very urgently with or without leaking urine

• Faecal incontinence – accidental loss of stool and can be associated with urgency

• Constipation – passing of hard, dry bowel motions that may be infrequent or difficult to pass

3. Pain Management 

Physiotherapy can help with pelvic pain associated with gynaecological cancer and its treatments. Pelvic pain is any pain felt in the lower abdomen (below the belly button), pelvis (bladder, uterus, bowel), vaginal, vulva (including the clitoris) and rectum. This can also include pain with intercourse, which can impact up to 1 in 2 women across their lifetime.  Our physiotherapist can help you understand the factors that may be contributing to your pain. They employ evidence-based techniques and tools to assist in alleviate pain and enhance your overall comfort.

4. Prolapse

Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the bladder, bowel or uterus descend into the vagina. It causes a feeling of vaginal heaviness or dragging, or ‘feeling of a lump or bulge in the vagina’. Prolapse is common, with over 50% of women who have had a baby experiencing the symptoms. There is strong evidence to support pelvic floor exercises and lifestyle modifications to reduce the bother of prolapse symptoms and prevent the prolapse from worsening.  Our physiotherapists can also advise on the correct ways to lift objects, open bowels and exercise while managing a prolapse.

Pessary fittings are unfortunately not part of this service. Our physio can guide you to where this can be accessed if after assessment is it thought this may assist in your care.

5. Pre-gynaecological surgery

The pelvic floor can be significantly impacted after cancer related gynaecological surgery. Seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist before surgery can aid in your recovery. They can help you to improve your bladder and bowel habits and start you on a pelvic floor muscle training program to minimal the effects of surgery. Following surgery, they can help support your return to the activities and exercise you enjoy. 

Who needs to see a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist?

The pelvic floor muscles are the muscles that sit inside the pelvis and support the bladder, bowel and uterus. Up to 40% of people incorrectly perform pelvic floor exercises and this can often make their symptoms worse. By making an appointment to see our pelvic health physiotherapists, you can ensure you are correctly activating your pelvic floor and are on the right path to improving your symptoms.

What to expect at a Pelvic Health Physiotherapy appointment

We understand seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist and talking about your bladder, bowel and sexual health can feel overwhelming. Our team have extensive training in pelvic health and will ensure you feel supported to achieve your pelvic health goals. The physiotherapist will take time to understand your story and your symptoms. They will ask a range of questions about your bladder, bowel and sexual function, as well as other relevant lifestyle factors and past medical history. Bring along any previous scans or reports you feel may be relevant or important to your story.

The physiotherapist will then perform a physical examination including an assessment of your pelvic floor. There are several ways to assess your pelvic floor and understand how it is functioning. Non-invasive real-time ultrasound assessment is where an ultrasound probe is placed on the lower abdomen to view the bladder and pelvic floor.  Digital vaginal or rectal assessments are other ways to assess the pelvic floor muscles. The physiotherapist will discuss the different options of assessing the pelvic floor with you at the first appointment.

The physiotherapist will then spend time explaining the findings and the factors impacting your symptoms. They will work with you to establish treatment goals and devise an evidence-based treatment plan using a range of strategies to achieve these goals.

Making an appointment

To make an appointment please call Lift on (08) 7231 8000.

Fees

Initial Visit: $220

Review (long): $170

Review (standard): $120

Rebates

A rebate of $60.35 from Medicare may apply. Alternatively, you may be able to claim through your private health insurer (under your extras cover).

Please ask the Lift staff for more details if you are unsure of what your out of pocket cost will be

Meet Georgia Clarkson, Specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist