Here are several specific issues associated with women’s health, some of which are addressed through physiotherapy. These include childbirth, menopause, pelvic floor dysfunction, and chronic pain. Several issues are specific to women, such as sexual violence and osteoporosis. In addition, women also face more challenges when accessing healthcare, as gender and sex are known to be determinants of health.
Physiotherapy
A physiotherapist specialising in women’s health can help women with various aches and pains, including pelvic organ prolapse, postural education, and pain management during pregnancy.
Because women have unique physiological and physical attributes, physiotherapy is vital to their health. These physical characteristics are linked to complex hormonal patterns affecting behaviour and health. For instance, women have higher body fat levels than men, and these body fat deposits are often stored in the breasts. Physiotherapists are well-trained to work with these unique physical and hormonal issues.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy is also crucial for women experiencing pelvic pain and discomfort. Traditional women’s health physiotherapy has mainly focused on treating pelvic pain during pregnancy, but other conditions related to the pelvic floor are also common after childbirth. These include painful bladder syndrome, painful sex, vaginismus, and vulvodynia.
Post-natal physiotherapy can help women who have undergone a caesarean section. These specialists can help rehabilitate the external scar and the underlying fascia. Because the caesarean section procedure cuts through four layers of abdominal muscles and adipose tissue, women often experience various postural changes. A physiotherapist specialising in post-natal physiotherapy can help women avoid these changes by creating a safe and effective exercise program.
Exercise
Women’s health physiotherapy involves non-surgical therapy to address various problems affecting the women’s body. Physiotherapists use specialised equipment and exercises to help women regain physical activity. Exercise can also help women cope with menopause, osteoporosis, and postpartum recovery. Women’s health physiotherapy also addresses postoperative rehabilitation. It helps women improve their quality of life.
Women’s bodies are remarkable creations of nature, with powerful self-healing and transformative capabilities. Despite these exceptional capabilities, the sensitivity of the female anatomy makes it vulnerable to chronic pain and women-specific illnesses. Physiotherapy for women can assist women in managing pain caused by these issues.
Exercise and women’s health physiotherapy professionals can help women recover from childbirth and ensure a safe return to physical activity. Exercises that are too advanced or performed too early can cause injuries. Physiotherapists can also help women deal with mastitis, pelvic floor pain, and vaginal blockages. Post-gynecological surgeries are also important topics for women’s health physiotherapists. These women’s health issues often need to be addressed through scar management and pelvic floor strengthening.
Exercise and women’s health physiotherapy specialists can help women manage the symptoms and complications of breast cancer. Some women with breast cancer undergo prophylactic hysterectomies. Other women may experience bladder incontinence, diarrhoea, and constipation. Women may also experience menopause, which causes the loss of muscle mass, skin elasticity, and lower libido. Women’s health physiotherapists can help women maintain muscle mass and libido.
Pelvic floor muscle
Pelvic floor muscles are essential to a woman’s reproductive health, and physiotherapy can help strengthen them. These muscles are located between the pubic bone and tailbone. They help support the uterus, bladder, and bowel in a woman. If they are overactive, they can cause pelvic pain.
While pelvic floor physical therapy interventions may focus on the intrapelvic musculature, the treatment may also include strengthening accessory muscles, gluteal muscles, hip adductors, and the anterior abdominal wall. Studies have shown that strength training in the transverse abdominis can reduce SUI and improve QOL in women with multiple pregnancies.
Pelvic floor physiotherapy helps women with urinary incontinence, prolapse, and other health problems. Pelvic floor physiotherapists work with a multidisciplinary team to maintain bowel and bladder health while strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. Treatment may include gentle stretches to increase pelvic floor strength and prevent pain.
Caesarean scars
While the scars from Caesarean births usually heal on their own with minimal complications, there are a few things that you can do to optimise healing. One of the essential things is regular deep breathing, including moving your abdomen and taking air down to your lower lungs. You should also be aware of the importance of rest while healing the new scar.
The scar from a caesarean section is often located on the pubic bone area. This area starts at the bottom of the pubic bone and extends towards the sitz bones in the back. It is filled with muscles that run behind and up from the pubic bone. The abdominal muscles also originate from the pelvis and wrap around the pubic bone and spine.
A Physio Inq Womens Health Physiotherapists in Sunshine Coast who specialises in women’s health will assess the muscles and connective tissue of the abdomen. These muscles are often weak after a caesarean section. It can result in pain and mobility limitations. It can also lead to diastasis recti and numbness.