Women's Health Physiotherapy in Melbourne

Women’s Physiotherapy in Melbourne

What is Women’s Health Physiotherapy?

Women’s health physiotherapy is the treatment to a variety of conditions that may affect women throughout their life. These conditions may include incontinence or leakage of the bladder or bowel; chronic pelvic pain that could include endometriosis (where tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus) or muscle spasm; conditions associated with pregnancy and early parenthood such as back or sacroiliac joint pain in pregnancy, carpal tunnel syndrome and mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue usually due to infection).

Capital Physiotherapy’s Women’s Health Physiotherapists

At Capital Physiotherapy, we have experienced Women’s Health Physiotherapists that can provide you with help and support. Our women physiotherapy treatment focuses on maintaining and restoring normal function, minimising dysfunction, preventing disability and improving quality of life.

Our female physiotherapist will be able to treat women’s health related conditions such as:

Pregnancy related pain and/ or dysfunction (pre- and post-natal)
Abdominal separation (rectus diastasis)
Pelvic floor strengthening
Caesarean or perineal scar management
Pelvic girdle pain/ “pelvic instability”
Urinary urgency
Neck Pain and Stiffness including and Wry Neck
Headaches
Back Pain including disc injuries and pinched nerves, Sciatica
Wrist pain (carpal tunnel syndrome, de quervain’s tendinitis)
Mastitis

Capital Physiotherapy Treatment Techniques

Depending on your injury and the cause of your injury/discomfort, our therapist will assess and offer a vast array of treatment techniques that will suit you best.

Massage Therapy
Strengthening
Education and Advice
Dry Needling
Clinical Pilates
Electrotherapy
Taping

Commonly a women’s health physiotherapist is also involved with developing exercise programs and running exercise classes specifically for women.

At Capital Physiotherapy, our female physiotherapists use our additional training and advanced knowledge of the female body to expertly design individual programs that are safe and effective for women of all “ages and stages” who may or may not have pain or dysfunction.

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Our Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy

Capital Physiotherapy’s pelvic floor physiotherapists in Melbourne strive to help women rehabilitate their pelvic floor muscles. These muscles can be weakened by childbirth, surgery, heavy lifting, being overweight, constipation or menopause.

The pelvic floor muscles support the womb (uterus), bladder and bowel (colon), forming a ‘sling’ from the pubic bone at the front to the tailbone at the back. If the muscles are weak, this can affect bladder and bowel control, resulting in incontinence (leakage).

For other women, their pelvic floor muscles may be overactive; that is, they can switch on involuntarily when they should be relaxing. These women need to learn to release their muscles. Overactivity can cause difficulty with having sex, emptying the bladder or bowels or using tampons.

Our Pre & Postnatal Physiotherapy

Pregnancy and childbirth can bring great joy, but they can also be hard on your body. Pre and postnatal physiotherapy involves doing simple exercises and forming healthy habits can help you cope with many of the changes to your body. It can also help reduce injuries and problems in the future.

A Women’s Health Physiotherapist can provide advice on active birth positions to help with labour and also help to advise you on what positions to use and avoid with pregnancy related pelvic girdle pain. At Capital Physiotherapy, our female physiotherapists have an important role in helping women prepare for childbirth.

Our Prenatal Physiotherapy Assessment

Our Prenatal Physiotherapy Assessment provides a holistic and caring approach towards pregnancy related, education and treatment.

Our Prenatal Physiotherapy Assessment will help:

Reduce pregnancy related aches and pains
Helps to maintain a healthy weight
Help you to get a better night’s sleep
Educate and prevention for postnatal related complications
Ensure strong and healthy pelvic floor activation throughout pregnancy

Our Postnatal Physiotherapy Assessment

Our Postnatal Physiotherapy Assessment will greatly reduce future risk associated with the postpartum period but also help you return to the sports, fitness, work and various other activities you that you love.

Our Postnatal Physiotherapy Assessment will help:

Accurate diagnosis
Professional treatment
Relieve pain
Education and advice about injuries/discomfort
Recovery from injury
Rapid return to work and lifestyle

FAQ About Women’s Physiotherapy at Capital Physiotherapy

This occurs when the two sides of your ‘six pack’ (the rectus abdominis muscle) move apart. This is quite common in pregnancy and post-partum, when the connective tissue between the muscles becomes stretched and/or weakened.

During your appointment, our physiotherapist will provide you with an assessment to confirm your issue as well as provide a tailored treatment plan! Potentially, your treatment may include gentle and targeted exercises to strengthen specific muscles. This may include your core as well as your pelvic floor muscles. Your physiotherapist may also help you with postural and movement retraining as well as progressive functional exercises to allow you to eventually become stronger in day to day activities!

Physiotherapy can be a part of your team that helps with managing your symptoms and improving the quality of your life. After your initial assessment, your physiotherapist may choose to provide treatment in a number of ways. This may include:

soft tissue release via manual therapy to reduce tension
exercise program, this may include a home exercise program to help manage your condition.
pelvic floor muscle training.
pain education and strategies to help manage pain.

Pelvic Girdle Pain is pain or discomfort felt around the joints of your pelvis, this is usually at the front or back of the pelvis. PGP is quite common during pregnancies though this can continue postpartum for some people.

Some common treatment for this condition may include:

Soft tissue release via manual therapy to reduce tension in specific muscles.
Exercise program to target the areas surrounding the pelvis (Eg, core, pelvic floor and others).
Ergonomic education. This includes giving strategies on how to safely do daily tasks as well as advice on the use of supportive belts and straps if indicated.
Rehab program to return you back to normal function and activity.

More importantly, your physiotherapist will monitor your progress closely to ensure that you are
improving and moving in the right direction!

It is normally safe to begin physiotherapy early postpartum. Your physiotherapy will provide you with a comprehensive assessment to find out what your body needs at the start. You can expect the initial stage postpartum will be a gradual approach, with nothing strenuous. With ongoing assessment and as you improve, your physiotherapist will guide you to a more challenging rehab program that will aim to get you back to normal activities and functioning! You may also ask your obstetrician or GP before starting physio.

Yes, your physiotherapists are well experienced in providing help for those with incontinence issues. Pelvic floor assessment and treatment is a core role of women’s health physiotherapy. After an assessment, you can expect a tailored rehab program designed for you to help manage your condition. This may include exercises that target strengthening as well as behavioural strategies, lifestyle advice and others to help.

Yes, our physiotherapists can help with breastfeeding issues, blocked ducts, and mastitis. Some treatments that your physio may provide you with include: gentle soft tissue work to unclog blocked ducts, assessing and fixing feeding ergonomics and positioning, as well as gentle mobility exercises.

If you prefer a female therapist, you may book an appointment at our Hawthorn clinic. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and we’d be happy to provide help as much as we can.

Absolutely! Prenatal physiotherapy is generally safe and recommended for many women. Our physiotherapists can help you manage any aches and pains that are involved during pregnancy. This includes: back pain, pelvic girdle pain, as well as helping you to prepare your body for childbirth through posture advice and an exercise program. We always tailor the treatment plan to your pregnancy stage, health and your specific symptoms!

You should seek physiotherapy help if you experience:

Persistent or worsening pain
Limited movements or inability to do daily tasks
Difficulty in walking, climbing stairs and other basic movements
New or worsening urinary or bowel symptoms

If you have any other concerns, it is best to write them down, so you can talk about them when you see our physiotherapists. We always recommend coming in early with your concerns. This allows us to provide you with an assessment so we can provide you with the right advice. Our physios have close to 30 years of experience and we are well placed to provide you with the correct treatment as well as the necessary referral to other health professionals.