How Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Affects the Bladder

Many people experience symptoms that involve their bladder. This can include daily struggles such as leakage, urgency, pain, and much more. If you have any of these symptoms, there’s no need to worry!

Bladder-related symptoms are actually very treatable, and many people don’t realize that they are pretty common, too. In other words, you definitely aren’t the only one dealing with symptoms.

While bladder-related symptoms can be caused by many different factors, almost all of them are connected to pelvic floor dysfunction in some way. Pelvic floor dysfunction is an umbrella term that refers to problems with the pelvic floor. We’ll explore more about the pelvic floor and how it can contribute to bladder related symptoms next!

The pelvic floor refers to a very important group of muscles found in your pelvis. These muscles are important because they hold many different jobs! Your pelvic floor supports your bladder (no matter your body type), and your urethra even runs directly through your pelvic floor muscles.

In terms of function, the pelvic floor allows for continence—in other words, control! Your pelvic floor lets you hold your urine while you make your way to a restroom, start and stop a urine stream with ease, and prevent leakage during a cough or sneeze.

It does this through contractions and relaxations. You can control these actions (such as squeezing to hold in gas or urine) but the pelvic floor performs these contractions and relaxations on its own, too. These voluntary and involuntary movements allow the pelvic floor to perform many different functions!

However, for many people, the pelvic floor may not be in complete working order. This can be due to many types of dysfunction, such as tension, weakness, or incoordination of the pelvic floor. Dysfunction of the pelvic floor can cause a wide variety of bladder symptoms, including:

• Incontinence
• Interstitial cystitis
• Overactive bladder
• Frequent UTIs
• Pain with urination
• Urinary frequency
• Urinary hesitancy
• Urinary urgency
• Incomplete bladder emptying
• And more

These symptoms can be long-lasting and are disruptive to everyday life. It is common to have a combination of the symptoms listed above alongside other symptoms of sexual dysfunction or bowel dysfunction, as the pelvic floor controls these functions, too.

We mentioned the pelvic floor helps control continence, and that pelvic floor dysfunction can cause a variety of symptoms—but how exactly does this happen? Let’s take a closer look with some more specific examples of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Tight Pelvic Floor Muscles

Overly tight pelvic floor muscles are in a constant state of contraction—or in other words, they struggle to relax. When someone has tight pelvic floor muscles, the bladder and urethra are constricted or experiencing more pressure than normal.

This can make it difficult or painful to urinate, and may make someone feel like they need to urinate more frequently. It may be difficult to start and stop a urine stream because your pelvic floor struggles to relax properly. A tight pelvic floor can also cause pelvic pain or bladder pain.

Tight pelvic floor muscles can affect other functions of the pelvic floor, such as sexual or bowel functions. Visit the pelvic floor tension page to learn about other symptoms and conditions associated with tightened muscles.

Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles

Weak pelvic floor muscles struggle to perform their usual daily tasks and don’t provide enough support to the bladder. This can result in incomplete bladder emptying, urinary urgency (rushing to the restroom), and urinary incontinence (and leakage).

Those with weak pelvic floor muscles may feel like they have no control over their bladder, and may experience leakage when coughing, laughing, or sneezing. Having a weak pelvic floor also increases the risk of bladder prolapse (cystocele).

Just like with tightness, weak pelvic floor muscles cause a variety of sexual and bowel-related symptoms, too. You can read more about these conditions on the pelvic floor weakness page.

Understanding Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic floor dysfunction is not always as simple as being too tight or too weak. Your pelvic floor muscles can actually be tight, weak, inflexible, short, or uncoordinated. They are often a combination of these—even tight and weak at the same time! Due to this, your pelvic floor dysfunction symptoms may overlap and can vary widely.

While experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction can be confusing and frustrating, it doesn’t have to be! Seeking the help of a pelvic floor physical therapist can make understanding your body and symptoms much clearer.

They’ll be able to identify the root of your symptoms, and create a comprehensive treatment plan for your unique needs. We’ll talk more about pelvic floor physical therapy treatment next!

Pelvic floor physical therapy treatment is very effective for treating bladder conditions and their related symptoms! This can include alleviating symptoms associated with pelvic floor dysfunction, as well as better managing long-term symptoms of chronic pelvic conditions. 

I’ve worked as a pelvic floor physical therapist for many years, and have helped countless patients regain control of their bladders and pelvic floor. While chronic conditions will require more long-term maintenance, pelvic floor physical therapy can support that maintenance by preventing pelvic floor dysfunction and reducing your symptoms!

For each of my patients, I look to meet their individual needs and cater treatment to their symptoms. Each patient’s bladder condition and type of pelvic floor dysfunction can vary, so it is important to have a treatment plan that is unique to you!

I am able to create holistic and comprehensive treatment plans for my patients by starting with a thorough evaluation and examination (if needed). By doing so, I can help identify the root cause of your condition and start treatment from there!

So, each and every patient will have different needs based on their pelvic floor health, medical history, and symptoms—but what could treatment look like? Explore some examples of pelvic floor physical therapy treatment below!

Relaxing Your Pelvic Floor

For many with pelvic floor dysfunction, it can be necessary to engage in treatments that relieve tension from the pelvic floor.

This can include treatments such as manual therapy, breathing techniques, stretching and exercise, and exploring possible behavioral modifications. Releasing tension is essential to restore mobility and movement to the pelvic floor, which will reduce pain and improve function!

Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor

Having a strong pelvic floor is important for every person, as it allows proper support of the pelvic organs and effective function. Your pelvic floor muscles don’t work alone, though—they connect to other areas such as your abdominals, lower, back, and hips.

Therefore, you can expect a curated exercise plan that will engage all of these areas, including your pelvic floor, as needed. A thorough exercise plan will encourage better muscle balance, reduce tension, and improve function!

Restoring Coordination

Having a strong pelvic floor is important—but having proper control and coordination for your pelvic floor is, too! Being unable to control your pelvic floor can cause a variety of symptoms. In terms of the bladder, it can result in urinary incontinence and leakage. This lack of coordination can also create tension that worsens your symptoms of dysfunction. 

In order to restore your control over your pelvic floor, I’ll utilize treatments such as neuromuscular re-education and biofeedback. Although these treatments may sound complicated, they actually allow you to practice contraction and relaxation of your muscles while seeing or hearing real-time feedback via a monitor or verbal confirmation!

This activity will help you better understand and control the contraction and relaxation of your pelvic floor, which is incredibly important for both urinary function and other treatments.

Education and At-Home Exercises

I value effective care that supports long-term preventative health. To incorporate this into your treatment plan, I can provide ample explanations and education throughout your treatments.

I can teach you all about the pelvic floor, your individual symptoms, and how each treatment works. Questions are very welcome during your sessions, as I want you to feel comfortable and confident during treatment!

Part of the education that you may experience in your treatment plan includes behavioral modifications. This refers to changes in daily habits that may be negatively impacting your pelvic floor health, such as poor posture, harmful restroom habits, form during exercise, and much more.

Additionally, treatment is not limited to the clinic. You can expect to receive guidance and resources on continuing a variety of exercises, stretches, and other activities at home. This “homework” is a very important part of your treatment progress!

Every person’s treatment plan may differ, but hopefully you now have a better idea of what physical therapy treatment may look like for bladder conditions. If you’d like to work with me, you can get started by making an appointment! I offer both virtual and in-person sessions.

For those with a few more questions, feel free to explore the discovery call.