Many people assume that pelvic pain is just something they have to live with. They don’t realize that you can get a diagnosis for pelvic floor dysfunction that can open doors to treatments. How do you diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction? There’s no one-size-fits-all plan for diagnosing this debilitating disorder. In the chiropractic field, we take a holistic approach to diagnosing pelvic floor disorders that includes patient feedback, patient health history, and an examination. We can also use diagnostic imaging to help us pinpoint sources of pain and dysfunction in the body. Keep reading to learn all about how to get a pelvic floor dysfunction diagnosis.
How Common Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction?
Pelvic floor dysfunction is a problem that millions of people are living with silently because they feel alone. In reality, this is an extremely common disorder. According to research released by the National Institutes of Health, pelvic floor disorders affect 24% of women in the United States. While pregnancy is one of the biggest risk factors for developing a pelvic floor disorder, it’s entirely possible to develop dysfunction of the pelvic floor without ever being pregnant. What’s more, pelvic floor dysfunction is a condition that affects both men and women.
What Is the Pelvic Floor?
Your pelvic floor is a hammock-shaped group of muscles located at the bottom of the pelvis. The tissue that makes up your pelvic floor supports the pelvic organs. Like all of the muscles in your body, your pelvic muscles can be damaged by stretching, trauma, poor posture, and disease.
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: Understanding the Symptoms
What does pelvic floor dysfunction feel like? This condition can be hard to diagnose because it produces a wide variety of symptoms. In fact, two people suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction might have two completely different experiences.
Common symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction include:
- Straining when using the bathroom/trouble evacuating the bowels.
- Frequent need to urinate.
- A feeling of heaviness, fullness, pulling, or aching in the vagina. The pain is often exacerbated by bowel movements.
- Feeling a bulge in the vagina.
- Stool leakage.
- Leaking urine when laughing, coughing, sneezing, or exercising.
- Painful urination.
- Chronic constipation.
- Sexual dysfunction.
- Painful sexual intercourse.
- Back pain.
Pelvic floor dysfunction affects the bladder, the uterus and vagina (in women), the prostate (in men), and the rectum. However, pain that is caused by tension and muscle spasms in these areas can radiate throughout the lower body. It’s very common for a person suffering from pelvic floor dysfunction to feel like they are “covered in pain” due to the relationships between the muscles in the pelvic area. While pain associated with pelvic floor dysfunction is often triggered by bowel movements, the truth is that pain, soreness, and muscle spasms can happen at any time when a person is living with this condition. This can create stress and anxiety because you’re never sure when pain, discomfort, or the sudden urge to use the bathroom will strike.
How Is Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Diagnosed?
Many different tests can be used to diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction. If you’re struggling with pain, inflammation, bulging, incontinence, and other symptoms that may be linked to a pelvic floor disorder, it’s important to see a doctor to have serious conditions and diseases ruled out. A doctor may use a cystoscopy, urinalysis, urodynamic, defecography, colonoscopy, or sigmoidoscopy to rule out everything from infections to growths if you’re suffering from issues related to bladder and bowel control. Some people are told that the only way to correct bladder and bowel weakness is through surgery. However, chiropractors offer alternative treatments that help to strengthen pelvic floor muscles to help relieve your symptoms.
Once serious conditions have been ruled out, a chiropractor can diagnose your pelvic floor dysfunction during an examination. Your chiropractor can then make recommendations for correcting pelvic floor dysfunction based on the nature of your symptoms.
Some treatment options may include:
- Manual adjustments to rebalance the pubic symphysis and sacroiliac joints.
- Manual adjustments to rebalance the soft tissue around the pelvis.
- Strength and stretching exercises.
- Education for how to maintain proper posture to keep pressure off of the pelvis while standing, sitting, working out, and performing work duties.
- Exercises designed to strengthen the core abdominal muscles.
- Education on dietary and lifestyle choices that can help to reduce symptoms.
These are just some examples of what can be done to treat pelvic floor dysfunction naturally. When you visit us at Denver Chiropractic, our team will create a custom plan for strengthening your pelvic floor to reverse the painful, embarrassing symptoms you’re living with. One of the benefits of using chiropractic care to treat pelvic floor dysfunction is that you’ll be introduced to exercises that you can do at home to build on the progress you’re seeing after your office visits.
Get Help for Pelvic Floor Dysfunction in Denver, Colorado
Pelvic floor dysfunction is one of the many common causes of pain we treat here at Denver Chiropractic. As trusted providers of prenatal chiropractic care in Denver, we prioritize pelvic floor health for our clients. Our doctors have many specialized techniques designed to remove pressure from the pelvic floor, help to relieve symptoms, and prevent further damage. Don’t assume that your pelvic floor pain can’t be fixed! Book an appointment with a pelvic floor chiropractor in Denver today!