Physiotherapy – Pelvic Health
The Pelvic Health Physiotherapy team work with adults with pelvic health concerns of all genders.
What is Pelvic Health Physiotherapy?
The Pelvic Health Physiotherapy team work with pelvic dysfunction in all genders and provide a service to outpatients across a number of sites as well as on the maternity wards.
Conditions we treat include:
- Pregnancy-related musculoskeletal disorders including pelvic girdle pain, back / rib pain and hip pain
- Postnatal abdominal separation (rectus diastasis)
- Postnatal pelvic floor recovery including 3rd and 4th degree tears and bladder / bowel dysfunction
- Bladder dysfunction including incontinence, urinary frequency or urgency, overactive bladder
- Bladder pain syndrome / bladder pain
- Pelvic organ prolapse
- Bowel dysfunction including incontinence, urgency, constipation, obstructive defecation (difficulty emptying)
- Female sexual pain or dysfunction (dyspareunia)
- Pre-operative and post-operative education for prostate surgery and gynaecology surgery.
How do I access the service?
Our Gynaecology and Urology service is referral only. This means that you will need to be referred by a health care professional. This could include your GP, nurse, midwife, health visitor or consultant.
Patients who require support for pregnancy-related and after delivery symptoms such as back pain, pelvic pain, hand numbness/pins and needles, postnatal separation of the tummy muscles and pelvic floor problems (eg bladder and bowel leaking), feeling of vaginal prolapse (eg bulging and heaviness), and pelvic floor muscle weakness can find helpful information on the Pelvic Health information pages on the Maternity Matters Dorset website. Patients can also self-refer during pregnancy and up to 12 months after birth via this link. Click here to self-refer.
Our team
Our service is provided by specialist physiotherapists who are registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and registered with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP). All team members either have postgraduate qualifications and / or specialist training in pelvic health physiotherapy.
We work closely with all disciplines involved in our patients’ care, and take a holistic approach to healthcare. Our main links are with our colleagues in urogynaecology, maternity, gynaecology, urology, colorectal and musculoskeletal physiotherapy.
Useful links
The following links provide helpful information to help you manage pelvic health conditions such as back and pelvic pain in pregnancy, pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence for all genders.
Living with prostate cancer | Prostate Cancer UK
Click here to access patient information leaflets.