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Incontinence and Pelvic Therapy

Treating bladder, bowel and pelvic floor conditions for men, women and children

HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital offers specialized treatment for men, women and children in our Pelvic Health Specialty Clinic. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that support your reproductive and urinary tract, including your bladder, uterus or prostate, and rectum. These muscles attach to your pelvis, tailbone and sacrum. In addition to providing support, they also help with bowel and bladder control as well as function.

When the pelvic floor muscles are not working correctly, such as being too weak or unable to relax fully, they often cause pain as well as other symptoms such as urinary/fecal incontinence, or difficulty with emptying the bladder or bowel completely. These issues significantly impact daily life. Common causes of pelvic floor dysfunction can include: infections, pregnancy or childbirth, prostate disorders, chronic stress/anxiety, poor posture, back issues, trauma or surgery.

How can pelvic therapy help?

Pelvic dysfunction can affect anyone regardless of their gender or age, including children. Left untreated, many of these conditions can lead to low self-esteem, withdrawal from physical activity and withdrawal from social situations and personal relationships.

Conditions/Symptoms that pelvic therapy can help include:

Urinary and fecal incontinence
Urinary urgency/frequency/retention
Fecal urgency/frequency
Constipation/incomplete emptying
Post-Prostatectomy Dysfunctions
Pelvic pain
Painful tailbone/coccydynia
Interstitial Cystitis/Painful bladder
Painful intercourse

Getting a referral

St. Elizabeth’s Pelvic Health Specialty Clinic has physical therapists with advanced training and specialization in identifying and treating the multiple contributing factors of pelvic floor dysfunction. Our staff includes a Board Certified Women’s Health Therapist, Certified Pelvic Floor Therapist, and Therapeutic Pain Specialist.

Questions and Referrals

Anyone experiencing one or more symptoms should talk to their doctor about their concerns. A signed physician prescription is required to schedule an appointment.

St. Elizabeth’s accepts most insurances and your insurance benefits can be checked before your evaluation.

For questions or more information about how you may benefit from Pelvic therapy, contact St. Elizabeth’s Pelvic Health Specialty Clinic at 618-624-3668.

Treatment

Once a patient has been evaluated, a treatment plan will be personalized and may include computerized biofeedback, manometry training, and/or balloon training.

Private and personal for women

ST. ELIZABETH'S THERAPY CLINIC FOR WOMEN

Women looking for a private, personal and professional therapy setting now have a center created specifically for them. Our certified, female therapist specializes in the treatment of:

Pelvic pain
Incontinence
Constipation/bowel issues
Lymphedema
Breast cancer/Mastectomy patients
Pregnancy and post-partum lumbopelvic pain and bowel/bladder issues
Pediatric bowel/bladder issues for school age children

St. Elizabeth's Hospital's Therapy Clinic for Women offers the services of a board certified Women's Health Certified Specialist (WCS). Our therapist has also achieved the Certificate of Achievement in Pelvic Physical Therapy (CAPP). This is the highest level of training for individuals in women's health given by the American Physical Therapy Association. Scheduling Information: A physician's referral is necessary for appointments. 618-624-3668.

Specialized treatments for men

SPECIALIZING IN TREATING INCONTINENCE

Incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine. This may occur with coughing, sneezing, changing positions, walking and lifting objects. The cause is often weak pelvic floor muscles or pelvic floor muscle incoordination that can occur after pelvic surgery. Urinary incontinence often occurs after prostate surgery. It can lead to embarrassment, depression, anxiety and decreased participation in social activities. Fortunately, specialized physical therapy offers a treatment program that can help restore normal pelvic floor muscle function and allow resumption of normal activities.

St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s board certified physical therapists can develop a comprehensive, individualized and progressive program to improve post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence, and post-void dribble.

Interventions may include:

pelvic floor exercise program
patient education
behavioral modification for bladder retraining
sEMG biofeedback for pelvic floor muscle reeducation

Men can benefit from a pelvic floor exercise program to maintain normal function as weak pelvic floor muscles may contribute to urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, pelvic pain and rectal pain.

Call our Physical Therapy Clinic at 618-624-3668 to learn more about available services. Generally, six to eight physical therapy sessions are required, and are covered by most medical insurances. A signed physician prescription is required.