Let's Talk About Sex: What Is Dyspareunia and How Can Physical Therapy Help?

When it comes to your bladder, have you ever wondered, is this normal? Most of us have asked ourselves that at some point in our lives, especially after having a baby, surgery, or any injury. As a pelvic floor physical therapist, I've been asked that question countless times. So here's a breakdown of urinary habits and functioning: what is normal, what is not, and what we can do about it.

Constipation plays a big role in bladder and bowel functioning. So ruling it out should be one of the first things to do. But how do you know if your child is constipated? You may think of constipation simply as having difficulty pooping or having to strain significantly. While these can be indicators of constipation...

Medications can be a vital part of constipation management in children. There are several different kinds of medications including stool softeners, osmotic laxatives, stimulant laxatives, and options such as suppositories and enemas. Miralax, an osmotic laxative, is one of the most common and discussed options. While these medication methods can be very beneficial with constipation management, they can also be intimidating to use with children.

Dyspareunia is the medical term for painful sexual intercourse. The Mayo Clinic defines this as “lasting or recurrent genital pain that occurs just before, during, or after sex”. Dyspareunia is more common in women than men, and can happen at any age. Symptoms of dyspareunia include pain with initial penetration and/or deep penetration which may include burning, aching, and throbbing sensations.

So you had your baby, congratulations! As a pelvic health physical therapist, I often get the question, “If I had a c-section, do I still need pelvic floor physical therapy?”. The answer is that pelvic PT is not just for those who birthed vaginally, it's also hugely beneficial for those who underwent a c-section. No matter how you gave birth, pregnancy affects the pelvic floor muscles.

Many people do not even know that pelvic floor physical therapy is an option for children. Here, I will highlight some reasons why kiddos are in pelvic floor PT and how it can help.‍ At Activcore, a few common diagnoses that we see for pediatric pelvic floor physical therapy are enuresis (bedwetting), encopresis (fecal incontinence), urinary incontinence, and constipation.

As a pelvic health physical therapist, a question I get often is, "When should I come back to physical therapy after my baby is born?" Typically there's no clear answer to this. While our society dictates 6 weeks as the "normal" recovery period; in reality, we should address the body (especially the pelvic floor) both before this and far after it. The short answer is: you can come in whenever you need it!

You may have heard that breathing is good for the pelvic floor, or you may have received breathing exercises from a PT before. But why? Here I will dive into how the pelvic floor and breathing are intimately connected and why it’s important in your pelvic floor care.