Your Pelvic Health Assessment will begin with a thorough health history. A whole-body approach is taken with detailed assessment of your back, ribcage & pelvis, abdominal wall function, and lower extremities. To assess the pelvic floor most effectively, an internal exam will provide our women’s health physiotherapists with valuable information on pelvic floor function, as well as it’s synergistic relationship with your deep core system, to get to the root cause of your symptoms. It is critical to get a holistic picture of all impairments that may be impacting your pelvic floor to create a personally tailored treatment program to restore your overall health and function. Your Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist has undergone extensive training and is an experienced professional whose main priority is your comfort. If you are not comfortable having an internal exam your practitioner will use external techniques and important information you provide in your health history and symptoms to create a treatment plan for you to reach your goals. Your treatment plan will be individualized based on the findings of your assessment – and may include manual therapy, education, individualized exercises, Pilates, and lifestyle modifications.

A pelvic floor initial assessment is 1 hour. A follow up treatment may be booked for either 30 or 45 minutes depending on your personal treatment plan and goals.

We understand that an internal assessment can be intimidating! If you are not comfortable having an internal exam – you don’t have to! Your experienced practitioner will use external techniques in combination with important information you provide in your health history and symptom description to create a treatment plan for you to reach your goals. Your comfort is our top priority.

The number of follow up treatments will vary based on the severity of your symptoms and condition. Upon completion of your Initial Assessment, your physiotherapist will review your individualized treatment plan with you. Most often follow ups occur once every 1-2 weeks.

This can vary greatly depending on how your delivery went and how well you are adjusting after your baby’s arrival. The best answer is to come when you feel ready! Typically, an internal assessment won’t be done until 6 weeks postpartum or after you have been cleared by your OB or midwife. If you choose to come before this, we can provide guidance on early education and healing, gentle mobility & also start working on reconnecting with your pelvic floor. Also, don’t forget the postpartum period is forever – it is never too late to work on your pelvic floor or core function (even if it is many years later)!

There is often a misconception that if you had a C-Section your pelvic floor must be fine. The truth is - the process of being pregnant puts a lot of stress and strain on your pelvic floor, and dysfunction is also very common after a C-section. It is also important to work on scar mobility and regain optimal function and strength of your pelvic floor + abdominal muscles.

Absolutely! We understand that it can be challenging to schedule appointments and arrange childcare as a new mom. You are always welcome to bring your baby with you to your assessment or treatment session.

You do not need a referral to book a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy appointment.

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy is covered by private insurance under your Physiotherapy Health Benefits. That being said, each patient should check with their respective providers to get an understanding of their physio benefits and limitations as each plan varies one from the other.

1) Do you urinate more than 5-8 times/day? 2) Do you experience ANY urine leakage (ex. cough, sneeze, jump, exercise)? 3) Do you have any difficulty with emptying your bladder or bowels fully? 4) Do you experience strong and/or uncontrollable urges to go to the bathroom? 5) Do you ever experience pain with sexual intercourse? 6) Do you have pelvic pain and/or a pressure sensation vaginally? 7) Are you pregnant or have you had a baby? 8) Did you have any perineal tearing or an episiotomy during your delivery? 9) Have you had a c-section or abdominal surgery? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, your pelvic floor could be implicated in your condition/symptoms. There is a good chance Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy can help!