Did you know that as many as 1 in 7 school-aged children struggle with pelvic floor issues?
This can frequently show up in children as leaking of urine (urinary incontinence), leaking of poop (fecal incontinence), and constipation.
Frequently, if these symptoms begin during childhood and go unaddressed, pelvic floor issues from childhood can continue into adulthood.
pediatric pelvic floor conditions
didn’t know that pelvic floor therapy can help kiddos?
That’s okay! Most people and parents think that pelvic floor physical therapy is only for adults, but as it turns out everyone has a pelvic floor including children.
It can be incredibly distressing as a parent when your child is struggling with different issues like bedwetting at night while sleeping, giggle incontinence, and constipation and you feel like you have no resources and don’t know what to do. Just know that even though these conditions are extremely common in children, that they aren’t normal and there is help available (including pelvic floor physical therapy treatment)!
Wondering what we do during pelvic floor physical therapy for children? Great question! I typically complete a thorough intake of your kiddo’s medical history during our first appointment where I’m able to get a better idea of what you’re struggling with and to get an idea of your family dynamics and lifestyle. From there we usually have a ton of parent and child education and behavior modification, different strength and flexibility exercises, and hands-on techniques that we go over during our appointments depending on the specific needs of your child.
pelvic floor therapy for your child
As a pelvic floor physical therapist I have extensive training to work with children who are five years old and older address different types of pelvic floor dysfunction. Some of the things that I have been able to successfully address with kiddos include:
Problems with pooping like constipation, fear of using the toilet, withholding, or behavioral resistance to toileting
Leaking of poop or pee with a strong urge to use the toilet (urge incontinence)
Leaking of loose or liquid poop associated with constipation (overflow incontinence)
Leaking of poop or pee with different activities like exercise (stress incontinence)
Leaking of urine while sleeping at night (nocturnal enuresis)
Leaking of urine while laughing (giggle incontinence)
Pelvic pain including pain during a pelvic exam or while trying to insert a tampon or menstrual cup or fear of engaging in sexual activity or being unable to have pelvic penetration because of feeling as though they are “hitting a wall” (vaginismus)
Pain with pooping or peeing
Frequent trips to the bathroom to pee (urinary urgency) or poop (fecal urgency)
See more here for a comprehensive list of pelvic floor dysfunction and diagnoses treated at Flora that can occur during childhood.
what clients are saying about flora
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brook is an incredibly knowledgeable doctor who clearly has a passion and a gift for physical therapy. dealing with pelvic floor pain can sometimes be embarrassing, but dr. brook makes you feel so welcome and takes all of your concerns seriously. if you live in durham or the triangle, I highly recommend seeing her for therapy...10/10.
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dr. brook was so kind, gentle, caring, and compassionate. she explained every step of the process beforehand and made the experience easy. 10/10 recommend her.