The month of May is Pelvic Pain Awareness Month and now Dr. Yvonne Huang is here at Rehab and Revive to address all of your pelvic floor concerns and ailments! We are so excited to have her here to fill in that missing piece and be able to widen our treatment scope! So without further ado, we will let her take over and explain a little more about pelvic floor anatomy and pelvic pain dysfunctions!
So, what is the pelvic floor?
Pelvic floor is a commonly used phrase in pelvic physical therapy. It is a group of muscles that close off the pelvic outlet acting as a hammock-like support of the pelvis. The pelvic floor supports the abdominal organs and plays a key role in urinary, bowel, and sexual function and postural support.
The muscles that make up the pelvic floor are the same in both men and women. The pelvic floor includes 3 layers of muscles: superficial 1st layer, 2nd layer, and deep 3rd layer that divide the pelvic floor into anterior and posterior triangle. In addition, the obturator internus, a deep hip rotator muscle, and piriformis are commonly involved with pelvic floor dysfunctions.
When any of the muscles in the pelvic floor present with tension, it may lead to pelvic pain.
Pelvic pain is one of many common pelvic floor dysfunctions. It includes but not limited to:
Pain with perineal, vaginal, penis, anus, rectum or scrotum/testicle
Pain in tailbone, pubic symphysis, or sacroiliac joint (SIJ)
Pain with sitting, exercises, or sexual function
Pain radiates to the abdomen, buttocks, or thighs
Pain with urination
Pain with bowel movements or constipation
Urinary retention, urgency, frequency
Pain in bladder (Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome)
Pain associated with chronic UTIs
Pudendal neuralgia
So since this month is pelvic pain awareness month, you can expect one or two more blogs diving a little deeper into pelvic pain from us!
With gratitude,
Dr. Yvonne Huang and Staff
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